Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 6, September 16, 2024
REVISED GUIDELINES FOR RESOLUTION OF ISSUES REGARDING
INCENTIVE1PROGRAMS
1. To obtain Commission approval of a
residential or commercial program involving incentives per Rule R1-38 [now Rule
R6-95 or R8-68], the sponsoring utility must demonstrate that the program is
cost effective for its ratepayers.
(a)
Maximum incentive payments to any party must be capable of being determined
from an examination of the applicable program.
(b) Existing approved programs are
grandfathered. However, utilities shall file a listing of existing approved
programs subject to these guidelines, including applicable tariff sheets, and
amount and type of incentives involved in each program or procedure for
calculating such incentives in each program, all within 60 days after approval
of these guidelines.
(c) Utilities
shall file a description of any new program or of a change in an existing
program, including applicable tariff sheets, and amount and type of incentives
involved in each program or procedure for calculating such incentives in each
program, all at least 30 days prior to changing or introducing the
program.
(d) The matter of the
relative efficiency of electricity versus natural gas under various scenarios
(space heating alone, space heating plus A/C, etc.) cannot now be resolved. A
better approach at this time would be to determine the acceptability of
incentive programs herein based on the energy efficiency of electricity alone
or of natural gas alone, as applicable.
(e) The criteria for determining whether or
not to approve an electric program pursuant to
G.S.
62-140(c) should not include
consideration of the impact of an electric program on the sales of natural gas,
or vice versa.
(f) Approval of a
program pursuant to Commission Rule R1-38 [now Rule R6-95 or R8-68] does not
constitute approval of rate recovery of the costs of the program. The
appropriateness of rate recovery shall be evaluated in general rate cases or
similar proceedings.
2.
If a program involves an incentive per Rule R1-38 [now Rule R6-95 or R8-68] and
the incentive affects the decision to install or adopt natural gas service or
electric service in the residential or commercial market, there shall be a
rebuttable presumption that the program is promotional in nature.
(a) If the presumption that a program is
promotional is not successfully rebutted, the cost of the incentive may not be
recoverable from the ratepayers unless the Commission finds good cause to do
so.
(b) If the presumption that a
program is promotional is successfully rebutted, the cost of the incentive may
be recoverable from the ratepayers. The cost shall not be disallowed in a
future proceeding on the grounds that the program is primarily designed to
compete with other energy suppliers. The amount of any recovery shall not
exceed the difference between the cost of installing equipment and/or
constructing a dwelling to current state/federal energy efficiency standards
and the more stringent energy efficiency requirements of the program, to the
extent found just and reasonable by the Commission.
(c) The presumption that a program is
promotional may generally be rebutted at the time it is filed for approval by
demonstrating that the incentive will encourage construction of dwellings and
installation of appliances that are more energy efficient than required by
state and/or federal building codes and appliance standards, subject to
Commission approval.
3.
If a program involves an incentive paid to a third party builder (residential
or commercial), the builder shall be advised by the sponsoring utility that the
builder may receive the incentive on a per structure basis without having to
agree to:
(a) a minimum number or percentage
of all-gas or all-electric structures to be built in a given subdivision
development or in total; or (b) the type of any given structure (gas or
electric) to be built in a given subdivision development.
(a) Electric and gas utilities may continue
to promote and pay incentives for all-electric and all-gas structures
respectively, provided such programs are approved by the Commission.
(b) A builder shall be advised by the
sponsoring utility of the availability of natural gas or electric alternatives,
as appropriate.
(c) A builder
receiving incentives shall not be required to advertise that the builder is
exclusively an all-gas or all-electric builder for either a particular
subdivision or in general.
4. The promotional literature for any program
offering energy-efficiency mortgage discounts shall explain that the structures
financed under the program need not be all-electric or all-gas.
5. Duke's proposed Food Service Program shall
be modified to include a definition of qualifying equipment and of conventional
equipment, and is subject to approval in accordance with guideline number 1
above.
(a) The nature or amount of incentive
contained in each program encouraging the installation of commercial appliances
(electric or gas) that use the sponsoring utility's energy product, such as
Duke's Food Service Program, shall be unaffected by the availability or use of
alternate fuels in the applicable customer's facility.
(b) Commercial clients (builders, customers,
etc.) who are offered incentives for installation of appliances shall be
advised by the sponsoring utility of the availability of natural gas or
electric alternatives, as appropriate.
6. Rates, rate design issues, and terms and
conditions of service approved by the Commission are not subject to these
guidelines.
7. Pending applications
involving incentive programs are subject to these guidelines.
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NCUC Docket No. E-100,
Sub 113, 02/29/08; NCUC Docket No. E-100, Sub 150,
11/06/2017.
All incentives referenced in these Revised Guidelines are
participation incentives as now defined in Rule R8-68(b)(7)
