Current through September 9, 2024
(a)
Separate
books and records. A gas company shall maintain its books of account and
records completely separate and apart from those of its affiliates in a manner
that will allow clear and easy affiliate identification on an ongoing
basis.
(b)
Cost Allocation
Manual (CAM).
(1) Each gas company
shall maintain a CAM which shall govern the assignment and allocation of
direct, indirect, and other costs associated with goods and services provided
by a gas company to its affiliates, or provided by an affiliate to a gas
company, or shared between a gas company and any of its affiliates as permitted
under section
16-47a-5
of this Gas Code of Conduct. Each CAM shall include, at minimum, the following:
(A) An organization chart of the holding
company, depicting all affiliates and regulated entities;
(B) A description of all assets, goods and
services (or classes relating thereto) provided to and from, or shared between,
the gas company and each of its affiliates; and
(C) A description of the cost allocators and
methods used by the gas company and by its affiliates related to all assets,
goods or services transferred or shared between the gas company and its
affiliates;
(2) A gas
company shall make its CAMs available to its internal auditors for periodic
review of the allocation policy and process;
(3) Each CAM shall be updated annually. No
later than March 31 of each year, each gas company shall file with the
Department (A) an updated CAM to be in effect for the current year, and (B) a
redlined version of the updated CAM, or a report identifying any and all
changes or revisions that had been made to the updated CAM;
(4) Each gas company shall review allocation
factors annually, and the result of such review shall be reflected in the CAMs
filed pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection;
(5) The Department may, at any time, order an
independent audit or review of a CAM. The cost of any such independent audit or
review shall be shared between the gas company and its affiliates consistent
with the allocation of similar common costs. Any audit or review of a CAM shall
not otherwise limit or restrict the authority of the Department to have access
to the books and records of and audit the operations of the gas company;
and
(6) Any entity required to
provide access to its books and records may request the Department, consistent
with the Department's procedures and practice, for appropriate protective
orders for competitively sensitive information.
(c)
Shared personnel and
facilities. A gas company shall document each occasion that one of its
employees transfers to an affiliate and each occasion that an employee of one
of its affiliates transfers to the gas company. Such documentation shall
include a brief description of the employee's position and responsibility
before and after the transfer. A gas company shall maintain up to date books,
accounts and records which (1) show all costs of shared facilities and
personnel, which shall be fully and transparently allocated between a gas
company and its affiliates, and (2) identify all costs incurred on behalf of an
affiliate.
(d)
List of
Affiliates. Each gas company shall maintain a complete and accurate list
of all of its affiliates. This list shall include the name and address of each
affiliate and the name and contact information of at least one officer of each
affiliate. A gas company shall file this list with the Department no later than
March 31 of each year and shall make this list available to the public upon
request.
(e)
Books and
Records of Affiliates. Each gas company shall ensure that its parent and
all other affiliates maintain books and records that include, at a minimum, the
following information regarding affiliate transactions:
(1) Documentation of the cost associated with
affiliate transactions that are incurred by the parent or affiliated entity and
charged to the gas company;
(2)
Documentation of the methods used to allocate and/or share costs between
affiliated entities, including other jurisdictions and/or corporate
divisions;
(3) Description of costs
that are not subject to allocation to affiliate transactions and documentation
supporting the nonassignment of these costs to affiliate
transactions;
(4) Description of
the types of services that corporate divisions and/or other centralized
functions provided to any affiliated entity or division accessing the gas
company's contracted services or facilities;
(5) Names and job descriptions of the
employees from the gas company that transferred to an unregulated affiliated
entity; and
(6) Policies regarding
the availability of customer information and the access to services available
to unregulated affiliated entities desiring use of the gas company's contracts
and facilities.
(f)
Access to Affiliate Records.
(1)
The Department shall have complete access to all applicable affiliate records,
consistent with section
16-47a
of the Connecticut General Statutes, necessary to ensure that cost allocations
and affiliate transactions are conducted in accordance with the Gas Code of
Conduct and to evaluate whether subsidization exists. In accordance with and to
the extent permitted under section
16-8c
and section
16-47a
of the Connecticut General Statutes, the Department may (A) review, inspect and
audit books, accounts and other records kept by a gas company or affiliates, or
(B) investigate the operations of a gas company or an affiliate and their
relationship to each other, for the sole purpose of ensuring compliance with
the Gas Code of Conduct. The Department or any auditors acting on behalf of the
Department, not the audited gas company or affiliate, shall determine what
information is relevant for a particular audit objective.
(2) If such affiliate records cannot be
reasonably made available to the Department and OCC staff in the state of
Connecticut, then upon request of the Department or OCC staff, the appropriate
gas company or affiliate shall reimburse the Department or OCC for travel
expenses reasonably incurred.
(g)
Log of Emergency Actions and
Communications. Each gas company shall maintain a log of all actions or
communications made pursuant to section
16-47a(g)
of the Connecticut General Statutes or section
16-47a-2(f)
of this Gas Code of Conduct.
(h)
Record Retention. Records required under the Gas Code of Conduct
shall be maintained by each gas company for a period of not less than 10
years.
