1. (a) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall establish and each electric distribution company shall collect a systems benefits charge to be imposed against all end use customers of each electric distribution company beginning January 1, 2000. The authority shall hold a hearing that shall be conducted as a contested case in accordance with chapter 54 to establish the amount of the systems benefits charge. The authority may revise the systems benefits charge or any element of said charge as the need arises. Commencing on July 1, 2015, and annually thereafter, the sum of two million one hundred thousand dollars shall be transferred from the systems benefits charge to Operation Fuel, Incorporated, for energy assistance, provided two hundred thousand dollars of such sum may be used for administrative purposes. The systems benefits charge shall also be used to fund (1) the expenses of the public education outreach program developed under section 16-244d other than expenses for authority staff, (2) the cost of hardship protection measures under sections 16-262c and 16-262d and other hardship protections, including, but not limited to, electric service bill payment programs, funding and technical support for energy assistance, fuel bank and weatherization programs and weatherization services, (3) the payment program to offset tax losses described in section 12-94d, (4) any sums paid to a resource recovery authority pursuant to subsection (b) of section 16-243e, (5) low income conservation programs approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, (6) displaced worker protection costs, (7) unfunded storage and disposal costs for spent nuclear fuel generated before January 1, 2000, approved by the appropriate regulatory agencies, (8) postretirement safe shutdown and site protection costs that are incurred in preparation for decommissioning, (9) decommissioning fund contributions, (10) costs associated with the Connecticut electric efficiency partner program established pursuant to section 16-243v, (11) reinvestments and investments in energy efficiency programs and technologies pursuant to section 16a-38l, costs associated with the electricity conservation incentive program established pursuant to section 119 of public act 07-242*, (12) legal, appraisal and purchase costs of a conservation or land use restriction and other related costs as the authority in its discretion deems appropriate, incurred by a municipality on or before January 1, 2000, to ensure the environmental, recreational and scenic preservation of any reservoir located within this state created by a pump storage hydroelectric generating facility, and (13) the residential furnace and boiler replacement program pursuant to subsection (k) of section 16-243v. As used in this subsection, “displaced worker protection costs” means the reasonable costs incurred, prior to January 1, 2008, (A) by an electric supplier, exempt wholesale generator, electric company, an operator of a nuclear power generating facility in this state or a generation entity or affiliate arising from the dislocation of any employee other than an officer, provided such dislocation is a result of (i) restructuring of the electric generation market and such dislocation occurs on or after July 1, 1998, or (ii) the closing of a Title IV source or an exempt wholesale generator, as defined in 15 USC 79z-5a, on or after January 1, 2004, as a result of such source's failure to meet requirements imposed as a result of sections 22a-197 and 22a-198 and this section or those Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies adopted by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, as amended from time to time, in accordance with Executive Order Number 19, issued on May 17, 2000, and provided further such costs result from either the execution of agreements reached through collective bargaining for union employees or from the company's or entity's or affiliate's programs and policies for nonunion employees, and (B) by an electric distribution company or an exempt wholesale generator arising from the retraining of a former employee of an unaffiliated exempt wholesale generator, which employee was involuntarily dislocated on or after January 1, 2004, from such wholesale generator, except for cause. “Displaced worker protection costs” includes costs incurred or projected for severance, retraining, early retirement, outplacement, coverage for surviving spouse insurance benefits and related expenses.

2. (b) The amount of the systems benefits charge shall be determined by the authority in a general and equitable manner and shall be imposed on all end use customers of each electric distribution company at a rate that is applied equally to all customers of the same class in accordance with methods of allocation in effect on July 1, 1998, provided the system benefits charge shall not be imposed on customers receiving services under a special contract which is in effect on July 1, 1998, until such special contracts expire. The system benefits charge shall be imposed beginning on January 1, 2000, on all customers receiving services under a special contract which are entered into or renewed after July 1, 1998. The systems benefits charge shall have a generally applicable manner of determination that may be measured on the basis of percentages of total costs of retail sales of generation services. The systems benefits charge shall be payable on an equal basis on the same payment terms and shall be eligible or subject to prepayment on an equal basis. Any exemption of the systems benefits charge by customers under a special contract shall not result in an increase in rates to any customer.

   *Note: Section 119 of public act 07-242 is special in nature and therefore has not been codified but remains in full force and effect according to its terms.

(P.A. 98-28, S. 18, 117; P.A. 99-17, S. 1, 2; P.A. 02-64, S. 3; P.A. 03-135, S. 8; 03-140, S. 14; P.A. 04-236, S. 17, 18; 04-247, S. 1; P.A. 05-288, S. 220; P.A. 07-242, S. 13; P.A. 11-80, S. 1; P.A. 13-5, S. 44; 13-232, S. 14; 13-247, S. 118; P.A. 14-94, S. 49; 14-217, S. 208; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5, S. 411.)

History: P.A. 98-28 effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 99-17 amended Subsec. (a) by adding new Subdiv. (11) re costs of conservation or land use restriction, effective May 12, 1999 (Revisor's note: In Subdiv. (11) of Subsec. (a), “... department it its discretion ...” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “... department in its discretion ...” for accuracy); P.A. 02-64 amended Subsec. (a) by redefining “displaced worker protection costs” to change “costs incurred prior to January 1, 2006,” to “costs incurred prior to January 1, 2008,” to add electric suppliers and exempt wholesale generators, to include reasonable costs associated with the dislocation of an employee that is the result of the closing of a Title IV source or exempt wholesale generator due to the source's failure to meet sulfur dioxide emission requirements and to make technical changes, effective January 1, 2004; P.A. 03-135 amended Subsec. (a) to add reference to Subsecs. (f) and (g) of Sec. 16-244d in Subdiv. (1), to add new Subdiv. (11) re the costs of temporary electric generation facilities, to redesignate existing Subdiv. (11) as Subdiv. (12), and to add “an operator of a nuclear power generating facility in this state or” and “coverage for surviving spouse insurance benefits” to the definition of “displaced worker protection costs”, effective January 1, 2004; P.A. 03-140 amended Subsec. (a) to add “operating expenses for the Connecticut Energy Advisory Board”, effective July 1, 2003, until January 1, 2004; P.A. 04-236 amended Subsec. (a) to make a technical change, effective June 8, 2004; P.A. 04-247 amended Subsec. (a) to make technical changes and add certain costs of retraining certain former employees of an unaffiliated exempt wholesale generator in definition of “displaced worker protection costs”, effective June 3, 2004; P.A. 05-288 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective July 13, 2005; P.A. 07-242 added new Subsec. (a)(13) re partner program and Subsec. (a)(14) re energy efficiency and electricity conservation and redesignated existing Subsec. (a)(13) as Subsec. (a)(15), effective June 4, 2007; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Department of Environmental Protection” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Department of Energy and Environmental Protection” and “Department of Public Utility Control” and “department” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Public Utilities Regulatory Authority” and “authority”, respectively, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 13-5 amended Subsec. (a) to delete former Subdivs. (2) and (11) re education outreach consultant and temporary electric generation facilities, to redesignate existing Subdivs. (3) to (10) as Subdivs. (2) to (9) and existing Subdivs. (12) to (15) as Subdivs. (10) to (13), and to make a technical change, effective May 8, 2013; P.A. 13-232 amended Subsec. (a) to delete provision re costs not included in “displaced worker protection costs”, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 13-247 amended Subsec. (a) to add provision, codified by the Revisors as Subdiv. (14), re residential furnace and boiler replacement program, effective June 19, 2013; P.A. 14-94 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting former Subdiv. (10) re operating expenses for the Connecticut Energy Advisory Board and redesignating existing Subdivs. (11) to (14) as Subdivs. (10) to (13), effective June 6, 2014; P.A. 14-217 amended Subsec. (a) by adding provision re annual transfer from systems benefits charge to Operation Fuel, Incorporated and making a technical change, effective June 13, 2014; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “2014” with “2015”, increasing annual transfer to Operation Fuel, Incorporated from $1,100,000 to $2,100,000 and increasing amount of such transfer that may be used for administrative purposes from $100,000 to $200,000, effective June 30, 2015.