a) A utility
that has a QIP surcharge in effect shall file with the Commission an annual petition
to initiate a reconciliation proceeding. The petition shall comply with the
following provisions:
1) For each calendar year in
which a surcharge tariff is in effect, the natural gas utility shall file a petition
on or before March 20 of the following year with the Commission to initiate hearings
to reconcile amounts billed under each surcharge authorized with the actual
prudently incurred costs recoverable under this tariff in the preceding year. The
petition filed by the natural gas utility shall include testimony and schedules that
support the accuracy and the prudence of the qualifying infrastructure investment
for the calendar year being reconciled. [220 ILCS
5/9-220.3(e)(2)]
2) The petition filed shall also include the
number of jobs attributable to the qualifying infrastructure investments whose costs
are recovered through the QIP surcharge tariff. [220 ILCS 5/9-220.3(e)(2)] The
utility shall describe in its petition how it determined the number of
jobs.
3) As required by this Section,
the annual reconciliation shall include a calculation of the R component necessary
to adjust revenue collected under the QIP surcharge in effect during the
reconciliation year to an amount equivalent to the actual level of
prudently-incurred qualified infrastructure investment for the reconciliation
year.
b) After a hearing on
the petition, the Commission shall determine the amount of the adjustment, if any,
that should be made through the O component to the level of revenue collected by
operation of the QIP surcharge during the reconciliation year. The adjustment shall
be calculated so that the amount of the revenue equals the actual level of prudently
incurred qualified infrastructure investment costs for the reconciliation year, to
the extent that the adjustment has not already been reflected through an adjustment
made by the utility to the R component of the QIP surcharge percentage.
c) The R component shall be calculated by using
the following formula:
R
|
=
|
(ActNetQIP x PTR) + ActNetDep - QIPRev + Rpy + Opy
|
Where:
R
|
=
|
Utility-determined reconciliation component.
|
ActNetQIP
|
=
|
The average actual cost of the investment in QIP for the
reconciliation year net of the actual accumulated depreciation and accumulated
deferred income tax liabilities net of deferred tax assets resulting from the
additional QIP associated with the investment in QIP based on the 13-month average
for the reconciliation year.
|
PTR
|
=
|
Pre-tax overallrate of return authorized by the Commission
in the utility's last rate case calculated as described in Section
556.50
[220 ILCS
5/9-220.3(f)].
|
ActNetDep
|
=
|
Actual depreciation expense related to the investment in QIP
for the reconciliation year. Depreciation expense shall be net of depreciation
expense applicable to the plant being retired, as defined in Section
556.10.
|
QIPRev
|
=
|
Actual QIP revenues collected during the reconciliation year
through the QIP surcharge.
|
Rpy
|
=
|
The R component from the previous reconciliation
year.
|
Opy
|
=
|
The sum of the O components and the calculated interest
attributable to the O components included in the calculation of the QIP surcharge
percentage during the reconciliation year.
|
d) Each
annual reconciliation shall include the following schedules:
1) A schedule showing the actual monthly costs
associated with the qualified infrastructure investment for the reconciliation
year;
2) A schedule showing the actual
monthly revenues arising from the application of the QIP surcharge during the
reconciliation year;
3) A schedule
showing the reconciliation component determined by the utility of the amount to be
recovered or refunded over a nine-month period commencing on April 1; and
4) A schedule showing the utility's calculation of
actual operating income and 13-month average rate base for the reconciliation year.
The calculation of actual operating income and 13-month average rate base shall be
adjusted for the impact of adjustments accepted by the Commission in the utility's
last rate case represented by the pro rata percentages of net plant and operating
expenses approved by the Commission compared to the net plant and operating expenses
requested by the utility in its initial filing. In calculating the amount of federal
and State income tax expense reflected in operating income, the utility shall show
as deductible interest expense for tax purposes the product that results when the
weighted embedded cost-of-debt reflected in the overall rate of return calculation
used in the utility's last rate proceeding is multiplied by the rate as shown in the
annual reconciliation.
e) The
first reconciliation year shall take effect on the first day of the calendar year in
which the Commission issues an order approving the QIP surcharge tariff and shall
end on December 31 of the same calendar year. Subsequent reconciliation years shall
end on December 31.
f) When the utility
files its annual reconciliation petition, the utility shall provide to the
Commission's Manager of the Accounting Department electronic copies of the following
items:
1) Copies of all work papers pertaining to
the reconciliation;
2) A summary of all
work orders or projects that support the costs claimed for recovery through the QIP
surcharge;
3) The total annual amounts
invested, for each of the categories described in Section 9-220.3(b)(1) through
(b)(7) of the Act, for qualifying infrastructure investment that support the costs
claimed for recovery through the QIP surcharge;
4) Copies of the applicable general ledger or
comparable material supporting the recovery of the QIP surcharge;
5) A detailed worksheet showing the calculation of
any utility-determined reconciliation component (R component) amount based upon the
annual reconciliation; and
6)
Information regarding the prudence of the utility's investment in QIP.
g) The annual reconciliation shall be
verified by an officer of the utility.