(a) Fee Imposed.
G.S.
62-302 requires each public utility regulated
by the North Carolina Utilities Commission to pay a quarterly regulatory fee to
the Commission, which shall be used only to pay the expenses of the Commission
and the Public Staff in regulating public utilities in the interest of the
public and to maintain a reasonable margin for a reserve fund.
The electric membership corporation regulatory fee for each
fiscal year is two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000).
(b) Procedure for Setting the Regulatory Fee
Rate. In the first half of each calendar year, the Commission shall review the
estimated cost of operating the Commission and the Public Staff for the next
fiscal year, including a reasonable margin for the reserve fund allowed under
G.S.
62-302, and shall, if there is a change in
the regulatory fee rate or other reason, enter an order setting the regulatory
fee rate effective for the next fiscal year. In making this determination, the
Commission shall consider all relevant factors that may affect the cost of
operating the Commission or the Public Staff or a possible unanticipated change
in competitive and noncompetitive jurisdictional revenues.
If the estimated receipts provided for under this section are
less than the estimated cost of operating the Commission and the Public Staff
for the next fiscal year, including the reasonable margin for the reserve fund,
then the Commission may issue an order in Docket No. M-100, Sub 142 increasing
the public utility regulatory fee rate on noncompetitive jurisdictional
revenues effective for the next fiscal year. In no event may the percentage
rate of the public utility regulatory fee on noncompetitive jurisdictional
revenues exceed seventeen and one-half hundredths of one percent
(0.175%).
If the estimated receipts provided for under this section are
more than the estimated cost of operating the Commission and the Public Staff
for the next fiscal year, including the reasonable margin for the reserve fund,
then the Commission shall issue an order in Docket No. M-100, Sub 142
decreasing the public utility regulatory fee rate on noncompetitive
jurisdictional revenues effective for the next fiscal year.
(c) Definitions. As used in this rule:
(1) "Noncompetitive jurisdictional revenues"
means all revenues derived or realized from intrastate tariffs, rates, and
charges approved or allowed by the Commission or collected pursuant to
Commission order or rule, but not including tap-on fees or any other form of
contributions in aid of construction. For telecommunications companies, all
revenues and other receipts derived from access charges are to be included as
noncompetitive jurisdictional revenues.
(2) "Subsection (h) competitive
jurisdictional revenues" means all revenues derived from retail services
provided by local exchange companies and competing local providers that have
elected to operate under
G.S.
62-133.5(h), including all
revenues and other receipts derived from yellow pages advertising.
(3) "Subsection (m) competitive
jurisdictional revenues" means all revenues derived from retail services
provided by local exchange companies and competing local providers that have
elected to operate under
G.S.
62-133.5(m), including all
revenues and other receipts derived from yellow pages advertising.
(d) When Due. The regulatory fee
imposed by
G.S.
62-302 is due and payable to the Commission
on or before the 15th day of the second month following the end of each
quarter. Each public utility subject to the regulatory fee shall, on or before
the date the fee is due for each quarter, prepare and file a report, either
electronically on the Commission's website or by hard copy, on the form
prescribed by the Commission. The report shall state the public utility's total
North Carolina jurisdictional revenues for the preceding quarter. Receipts
shall be reported on an accrual basis. The form of the report shall be posted
on the Commission's website at http://www.ncuc.net/regfeereporting.html.
If a public utility's report for the first quarter of any
fiscal year shows that application of the percentage rate would yield a
quarterly fee of six dollars and twenty-five cents ($6.25) or less, the public
utility shall pay an estimated fee for the entire fiscal year in the amount of
twenty-five dollars ($25.00)($6.25 x 4). The estimated fee of $25.00 is on a
per company basis. If, after payment of the estimated fee, the public utility's
subsequent returns show that application of the percentage rate would yield
quarterly fees that total more than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for the entire
fiscal year, the public utility shall pay the cumulative amount of the fee
resulting from application of the percentage rate, to the extent it exceeds the
amount of fees, other than any surcharge, previously paid.
(e) Use of Proceeds. A special fund in the
Office of the State Treasurer, the "Utilities Commission and Public Staff
Fund," shall be created. The fees collected pursuant to
G.S.
62-302 and all other funds received by the
Commission and the Public Staff shall be deposited in the Utilities Commission
and Public Staff Fund. The Fund shall be placed in an interest bearing account
and any interest or other income derived from the Fund shall be credited to the
Fund. Monies in the Fund shall only be spent pursuant to appropriation by the
General Assembly.
The Utilities Commission and Public Staff Fund shall be
subject to the provisions of the Executive Budget Act except that no unexpended
surplus of the Fund shall revert to the General Fund. All funds credited to the
Utilities Commission and Public Staff Fund shall be used only to pay the
expenses of the Commission and the Public Staff in regulating public utilities
in the interest of the public as provided by Chapter 62 of the North Carolina
General Statutes.
(f)
Supporting Data. Upon request of the Commission or the Public Staff, a utility
shall supply supporting data and workpapers substantiating its Public Utility
Regulatory Fee Report (NCUC FORM RF).
Utilities now filing quarterly reports with the Commission in
compliance with the Commission's ongoing surveillance program (NCUC FORMS
E.S.-1 and G.S.- 1) shall include as part of those quarterly reports a schedule
setting forth a detailed reconciliation of the noncompetitive jurisdictional
revenues reflected in those reports to the level of noncompetitive
jurisdictional revenues reflected in the Public Utility Regulatory Fee Report
(NCUC FORM RF) for the same quarterly reporting period.
Utilities not now filing quarterly reports shall include as
part of their annual reports to be filed with the Commission a schedule setting
forth a detailed reconciliation of the total noncompetitive jurisdictional
revenues reflected in those annual reports to the level of noncompetitive
jurisdictional revenues reflected in the four quarterly Public Utility
Regulatory Fee Reports encompassed by the 12-month period on which the annual
report is based.
(g)
Failure to File. Failure to complete and file the Public Utility Regulatory Fee
Report (NCUC FORM RF) and pay the regulatory fee as prescribed may result in
the imposition of a penalty, a fine, and/or cancellation of
certificate.
(h) Procedure to
Reflect Regulatory Fee Change. Effective July 1, 2015, if the rates of a
utility include the regulatory fee, upon any change in the regulatory fee,
rates shall be adjusted to reflect the change in the regulatory fee as follows:
a. If a utility requests authority to adjust
its base rates for a change in the regulatory fee obligation, the Commission
shall issue an order authorizing the change in base rates. The Public Staff
shall make a determination on the accuracy of the utility's requested change to
its base rates and shall file with the Commission the results of the Public
Staff's review within 15 days of the utility's request.
b. If a utility does not file a request under
subdivision (a), rates shall be adjusted in the next proceeding changing the
utility's base rates or rider rates. A utility shall defer in a regulatory
asset or regulatory liability account the difference between the regulatory fee
included in base rates or rider rates and the new regulatory fee. The
disposition of any deferral shall be addressed in the utility's next general
rate case.
Notes
04
N.C. Admin. Code 11 R15-01
NCUC Docket No. M-100,
Sub 118, 9/15/89; NCUC Docket No. M-100, Sub 140, 12/03/13; NCUC Docket No.
M-100, Sub 142, 8/15/2016; NCUC Docket No. M-100, Sub 142, 9/12/2016; NCUC
Docket No. M-100, Sub 142, 7/26/2017.
NCUC Docket No. M - 100,
Sub 118, 9/15/89; NCUC Docket No. M - 100, Sub 140,
12/03/13.
