SENATE BILL No. 936

 

 

May 14, 2014, Introduced by Senators JONES, WHITMER and HUNE and referred to the Committee on Energy and Technology.

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 1939 PA 3, entitled

 

"An act to provide for the regulation and control of public and

certain private utilities and other services affected with a public

interest within this state; to provide for alternative energy

suppliers; to provide for licensing; to include municipally owned

utilities and other providers of energy under certain provisions of

this act; to create a public service commission and to prescribe

and define its powers and duties; to abolish the Michigan public

utilities commission and to confer the powers and duties vested by

law on the public service commission; to provide for the

continuance, transfer, and completion of certain matters and

proceedings; to abolish automatic adjustment clauses; to prohibit

certain rate increases without notice and hearing; to qualify

residential energy conservation programs permitted under state law

for certain federal exemption; to create a fund; to provide for a

restructuring of the manner in which energy is provided in this

state; to encourage the utilization of resource recovery

facilities; to prohibit certain acts and practices of providers of

energy; to allow for the securitization of stranded costs; to

reduce rates; to provide for appeals; to provide appropriations; to

declare the effect and purpose of this act; to prescribe remedies

and penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,"


 

(MCL 460.1 to 460.11) by adding section 9u.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 9u. (1) A provider's governing board shall consist of 8

 

members. Members of a governing board shall be apportioned among

 

the municipalities served by that provider based on the percentage

 

of peak load used by each municipality, but each municipality

 

served shall have at least 1 member. Each municipality's chief

 

executive shall appoint the members apportioned to that

 

municipality. The board shall include each of the following:

 

     (a) At least 1 board member appointed to a board shall be a

 

professional engineer licensed under article 20 of the occupational

 

code, 1980 PA 299, MCL 339.2001 to 339.2014.

 

     (b) At least 1 board member appointed to a board shall be a

 

certified public accountant who is licensed as a certified public

 

accountant under article 7 of the occupational code, 1980 PA 299,

 

MCL 339.720 to 339.736.

 

     (c) At least 1 board member appointed to a board shall be an

 

attorney licensed to practice in this state.

 

     (2) A provider shall apportion any profit made by that

 

provider among the municipalities served by that provider based on

 

the percentage of peak load used by each municipality.

 

     (3) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a provider

 

shall have electric rates equal to the cost of providing service to

 

each customer class. The cost of providing service to each customer

 

class shall be based on the allocation of production-related and

 

transmission costs based on using the 50-25-25 method of cost

 

allocation. Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, a


 

provider may establish eligible low-income customer or eligible

 

senior citizen customer rates.

 

     (4) Beginning on the effective date of the amendatory act that

 

added this section, a provider shall not enter into a multiyear

 

contract with the provider's director or any member of the

 

provider's executive management team.

 

     (5) A provider shall create an emergency response and

 

communications plan. The plan shall comply with the national

 

incident management system

 

     (6) As used in this section:

 

     (a) "Eligible low-income customer" means that term as defined

 

in section 10t.

 

     (b) "Eligible senior citizen customer" means that term as

 

defined in section 10t.

 

     (c) "Provider" means a municipally owned electric utility

 

owned by a city with a population of more than 100,000 but less

 

than 150,000.