1. (a) At the beginning of each fiscal year, to prioritize its circuit rider assistance for that year, the authority will evaluate and rank deficiencies and needs for circuit rider assistance that year

   1. (1) for a utility that serves a community in this state that

      1. (A) has a population of at least 20 but less than 2,000;
      2. (B) is not predominately a military or industrial site;
      3. (C) has a central community power system;
      4. (D) is not connected to a power distribution system identified in 3 AAC 108.110(c)(4); and
      5. (E) is located off an interconnected road system; and

   2. (2) so that the ranking corresponds to the ranking under 3 AAC 108.110(c) for power system upgrade assistance to the community served by the utility, with modifications to that ranking as the authority considers necessary to address

      1. (A) The authority's assessment under 3 AAC 108.220 (b) of the utility's major needs and the authority's ability to provide assistance for those needs;
      2. (B) the risk of catastrophic system failure;
      3. (C) the utility's management practices and operations;
      4. (D) the utility's maintenance practices;
      5. (E) the utility's ability to obtain and pay for assistance from other sources; and
      6. (F) how recently the utility received circuit rider assistance from the authority.
2. (b) The authority will respond to requests for circuit rider assistance from eligible utilities taking into account the prioritization under (a) of this section, the availability of appropriations, and the authority's ability to efficiently administer circuit rider assistance, including its ability to provide assistance in multiple communities during one circuit rider trip.

(Eff. 3/25/2005, Register 173)