Section 5.601 Purpose
This
Rule implements the legislative mandate of
30 V.S.A. §
209(b)(1)(B).
Section 5.602
Applicability
This Electric Service Extension Policy shall apply
to all single-phase and multi-phase distribution service extensions
by Vermont electric utilities (as defined by
30 V.S.A. §§
201 and
203
). All such utilities shall revise their tariffs to conform to these
rules. These rules shall supercede any utility tariff provision
determined to conflict with these rules.
Section 5.603 Definitions
(a) Application fee: the fee paid
by the line extension customer at the time the customer submits a
written application for a line extension. The phrase "application
fee" is intended to include any "engineering fee." The application
fee shall not exceed $ 250, unless a higher fee is specified in the
utility's line extension tariff. If applicable, such a higher fee
shall be based on an average of all the costs incurred by the utility
for all line extensions constructed in a test year. The application
fee shall be credited to the customer against the total cost of the
line extension if the extension is constructed.
(b)
Contributions-In-Aid-Of-Construction: the monetary contributions by a
customer requesting service to an electric utility to design,
furnish, place and construct such primary and secondary service
extensions as are necessary to render the service
requested.
(c) Conduit:
the pipe that encloses and protects electric conductors in
underground power installations, including necessary fittings and
connectors.
(d)
Customer-Owned Lines: electric service lines, at either primary or
secondary voltage, extending from the Delivery Point.
(e) Delivery Point: the point at
which the utility-owned facilities first connect to the
customer-owned facilities. Each utility's line extension tariff shall
specifically identify the typical Delivery Point for each type of
electric service that it provides and shall state how the Delivery
Point may be determined for specific situations in which the actual
Delivery Point differs from the typical Delivery Point.
(f) Looped Electric Utility
Service: electric service provided to a customer from a distribution
line which receives, or is capable of receiving, its electric supply
from both directions of the distribution line.
(g) Primary Line: an electric
distribution line operating at greater than 600 volts.
(h) Secondary line: an electric
distribution line operating at 600 volts or less.
(i) Service Drop: includes a
100-foot overhead power line(s) from the initial customer connection
with the utility's secondary facilities to the Delivery Point. The
service drop is the minimum overhead secondary electrical connection
and shall not include poles, primary wiring, right-of-way clearing or
acquisition, trenching or backfilling, or any other cost item
required to serve a new or relocated customer.
(j) Service Extension: the electric
facilities required to connect the power line existing at the time of
the request for service to the customer's premises. The service
extension shall include all poles, primary wiring, secondary wiring,
right-of-way acquisition and clearing, trenching and backfilling, any
other one-time cost items associated with service only to that new
customer, and transformer(s) and meter(s) if so provided in the
utility's tariff. A Service Extension shall include the
reestablishment of a previously abandoned Service
Extension.
Section
5.604 Contributions-in-Aid-of-Construction for Electric
Service Extensions
Upon written application of the owner of any
property, or occupant with the consent of the owner, the electric
utility shall furnish, place, and construct such secondary and
primary service extensions as are necessary to render the service
requested. The total cost of the service extension, less any credits
outlined below, shall be paid by the party requesting the service
extension. This requirement is subject to the following
conditions/exceptions:
(a)
Line Assessment Charges: all customer charges for construction of new
utility lines shall be based on the actual costs to the utility.
However, a utility shall charge average costs for those elements for
which average costs are specified in its tariff.
(b) Service Drop Credit: each new
single-family residence or individual dwelling unit is entitled to a
credit equal to the cost of the service drop(s) as defined above.
However, if the cost of a line extension is less than the cost of the
service drop(s) as defined above, the amount of the service drop
credit shall be the same as the cost of the extension.
(c) Installation of Conduit: the
additional material cost of installation of conduit for underground
primary and secondary line extensions shall be shared equally between
the customer and the utility. The cost of trenching and backfilling
of the trench shall be the responsibility of the owner of the
property.
Section
5.605 Cost Recovery Period for
Contributions-in-Aid-of-Construction
Whenever more than one
customer is connected to a customer-financed line extension, total
contributions-in-aid-of-construction shall be computed to yield to
the utility not more than the total cost of extending or expanding
service to the new customer(s), less the service drop credit(s).
Amounts to be collected from new customers connecting to
customer-financed lines shall be computed as follows:
(a) For a period of five (5) years
from the completion of construction of a line extension,
reimbursement from new customers connecting to said line to customers
entitled to reimbursements shall be based upon an equal sharing of
the full cost of construction of the subject line extension, adjusted
to the percentage used of that line extension to the point of
connection (or other reasonable method employed by the utility to
determine the cost of the portion of the line actually
used).
(b) For a period
of ten (10) years immediately following the initial five (5) year
period discussed in (a) above, reimbursement to customers entitled to
reimbursements shall be based upon an equal sharing of the full cost
of construction of the subject line extension depreciated at a
straight line rate to zero at the end of the ten (10) year period,
also adjusted to the percentage of the line extension used to the
point of connection (or other reasonable method employed by the
utility to determine the cost of the portion of the line actually
used).
(c) For each new
transaction (defined as one or more new connections at the same time
and location) involving a line that is subject to
contribution-in-aid-of-construction payments for new connections
within the 15-year reimbursement period, an administrative fee not to
exceed $ 100.00 shall be retained by the utility from the total
amount to be reimbursed to customers entitled to reimbursements. If
the total amount of all reimbursements owed for each transaction is
less than the utility's administrative fee, no reimbursements shall
be collected or distributed.
(d) All line extension
reimbursements shall be paid by electric utilities to the current
owners of the dwellings or structures served by line extensions that
are subject to reimbursement payments for new connections, except
that reimbursement payments shall be made to any customer who paid
for or contributed to the costs of line extensions and who
subsequently sold the dwellings or structures originally served prior
to the effective date of the Board's Order of September 21, 1999, in
Docket 5496.
Section
5.606 Tax Assessments on
Contributions-in-Aid-of-Construction
Customers shall be
responsible for all costs of line extensions, including the actual
utility tax liability from
contributions-in-aid-of-construction.
Section 5.607 Interest on Customer
Funds Held by Utilities
(a) No
interest shall be paid on an initial application fee.
(b) No interest shall be paid on
funds received in advance of line extension construction and used for
the purpose of ordering long lead time specialty items necessary for
the subject line extension.
(c) With the exception of items (a)
& (b) above, interest shall be paid, at the rate of 1% per month,
to line extension customers on funds received in advance of
construction (unless returned to the customer due to perceived
delays), from sixty (60) days after the payment is received by the
utility to the date of the commencement of the line extension
construction.
(d) No
interest shall be paid by the utility under item (c) above as a
result of construction delays beyond the control of the
utility.
(e) Interest to
be paid on funds received more than sixty (60) days in advance of the
commencement of line extension construction may be waived by
customers seeking priority status for construction at a specified
time as agreed to by both the customer and the utility.
Section 5.608
Construction Standards
(a) Minimum
Standards: All line extensions shall conform to the latest edition of
the National Electrical Safety Code at a minimum; except that
Cooperatives may have higher minimum standards pursuant to the
requirements of the Rural Utilities Service.
(b) Customer-Owned Lines: As a
general rule, residential customers shall not own primary lines
(overhead or underground) that are installed after the effective date
of this rule. In certain circumstances where the utility and customer
agree that such ownership would be appropriate, the utility and the
customer shall petition the Board for a waiver of this prohibition.
Any such petition shall address the issue of underground damage
prevention with respect to the facilities to be owned by the
customer. However, no such petition shall be required for a customer
to extend or connect to a line already owned by that
customer.
(c) Customer
Information for Line Extensions: To explain utility line extension
policies adequately to its customers, all utilities shall develop,
either individually or collectively, a comprehensive information
booklet or brochure for line extension customers that fully explains
its line extension policies and their rationale. This booklet shall
explain that utilities will, to the extent possible, try to
accommodate individual customer line extension needs, but that no
deviations will be granted that will result in significant additional
maintenance problems for the utility, and additional costs resulting
from the accommodation will be the responsibility of the
customer.
Section
5.609 Use of Private Contractors for Line
Extensions
All electric utilities shall allow customers to hire
private contractors for construction of routine distribution line
extensions. Utilities shall be allowed to design and monitor the
construction of these lines at customer expense.
Section 5.610 Appropriate Customer
Payment of Contributions-in-Aid-of-Construction for Electric Line
Relocations
For all relocated distribution lines that provide a
benefit to the utility, customers who request the relocation shall
reimburse electric utilities for distribution line relocations
according to the following formula:
|
CP TAX ADJ
|
=
|
New Line + PVDEP -
SVEXISTING
|
|
Where:
|
|
CP TAX ADJ
|
=
|
Customer Payment, adjusted for any utility
tax liability
|
|
New Line
|
=
|
Total cost of relocating the line
today
|
|
PVDEP
|
=
|
Present value of any unrealized depreciation
expense associated with the existing line
|
|
SVEXISTING
|
=
|
Salvage Value of existing line (including
line removal costs)
|
Section
5.611 Change in Presumption as to Reimbursements for
Contributions-in-Aid-of-Construction
The presumption regarding
reimbursements for customer-financed lines shall be changed if there
is a grantee/grantor relationship between the person connecting to a
customer-financed line and the person who originally paid for the
line to whom a reimbursement would otherwise have been due. In such
cases, no reimbursement will be collected from the connecting
customer or paid by the utility to the grantor.
Section 5.612 Considerations in the
Design and Siting of Line Extensions
(1) In determining the appropriate
design and siting (e.g., whether roadside or off- road and overhead
or underground) of electric distribution line extensions and
relocations of line extensions, electric utilities shall consider:
maintenance and reliability; worker and public safety; aesthetics;
cost; customer, landowner and municipal preference; and environmental
and land use implications.
(2) When a customer requests an
electric line extension, the utility shall inform the customer in
writing of customer and company rights, responsibilities and options
for line extensions, including but not limited to: payment terms;
easement and right-of-way information;
contribution-in-aid-of-construction; basic information about design,
siting and location, such as overhead or underground placement, and
road-side or off-road siting; and how to contact the Vermont
Department of Public Service Consumer Affairs Division by toll-free
phone or in writing in the event of a dispute.
Section 5.613 Information Regarding
Line Extension Alternatives
Upon request, a retail electric
distribution utility shall provide relevant information in writing,
preferably brochures, with respect to off-grid electric generation
solutions and options.
