Texas Administrative Code
Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION
Part 2 - PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS
Chapter 25 - SUBSTANTIVE RULES APPLICABLE TO ELECTRIC SERVICE PROVIDERS
Subchapter H - ELECTRICAL PLANNING
Division 2 - ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CUSTOMER-OWNED RESOURCES
Section 25.182 - Energy Efficiency Cost Recovery Factor

(A) The utility's forecasted annual energy efficiency program expenditures, the preceding year's over- or under-recovery including interest and municipal and utility EECRF proceeding expenses, any performance bonus earned under subsection (e) of this section, and evaluation, measurement, and verification (EM&V) contractor costs allocated to the utility by the commission for the preceding year under § 25.181 of this title.

(B) For a utility that collects any amount of energy efficiency costs in its base rates, the amounts described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph in excess of the actual energy efficiency revenues collected from base rates as described in paragraph (2) of this subsection.

(A) For a utility's EECRF proceeding expenses, the utility may include only its expenses for the immediately previous EECRF proceeding conducted under this subsection.

(B) For municipalities' EECRF proceeding expenses, the utility may include only expenses paid or owed for the immediately previous EECRF proceeding conducted under this subsection for services reimbursable under PURA §33.023(b).

(A) For residential customers for program year 2018, $0.001263 per kWh increased or decreased by a rate equal to the 2016 calendar year's percentage change in the South urban consumer price index (CPI), as determined by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics; and

(B) For commercial customers for program year 2018, rates designed to recover revenues equal to $0.000790 per kWh increased or decreased by a rate equal to the 2016 calendar year's percentage change in the South urban CPI, as determined by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics times the aggregate of all eligible commercial customers' kWh consumption.

(C) For the 2019 program year and thereafter, the residential and commercial cost caps shall be calculated to be the prior period's cost caps increased or decreased by a rate equal to the most recently available calendar year's percentage change in the South urban CPI, as determined by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

(A) For a utility in an area in which customer choice is not offered, the presiding officer shall set a procedural schedule that will enable the commission to issue a final order in the proceeding prior to the January 1 effective date of the new or adjusted EECRF, except where good cause supports a different procedural schedule.

(B) For a utility in an area in which customer choice is offered, the effective date of a new or adjusted EECRF shall be March 1. The presiding officer shall set a procedural schedule that will enable the utility to file an EECRF compliance tariff consistent with the final order within ten days of the date of the final order. The procedural schedule shall also provide that the compliance filing date will be at least 45 days before the effective date of March 1. In no event shall the effective date of any new or adjusted EECRF occur less than 45 days after the utility files a compliance tariff consistent with a final order approving the new or adjusted EECRF. The utility shall serve notice of the approved rates and the effective date of the approved rates by the working day after the utility files a compliance tariff consistent with the final order approving the new or adjusted EECRF to retail electric providers that are authorized by the registration agent to provide service in the utility's service area. Notice under this subparagraph may be served by email. The procedural schedule may be extended for good cause, but in no event shall the effective date of any new or adjusted EECRF occur less than 45 days after the utility files a compliance tariff consistent with a final order approving the new or adjusted EECRF, and in no event shall the utility serve notice of the approved rates and the effective date of the approved rates to retail electric providers that are authorized by the registration agent to provide service in the utility's service area more than one working day after the utility files the compliance tariff.

(C) For a utility in an area in which customer choice is offered in some but not all parts of its service area and that files one energy efficiency plan and report covering all of its service area, the presiding officer shall set a procedural schedule that will enable the commission to issue a final order in the proceeding prior to the January 1 effective date of the new or adjusted EECRF for the areas in which customer choice is not offered, except where good cause supports a different schedule. For areas in which customer choice is offered, the effective date of the new or adjusted EECRF shall be March 1. The presiding officer shall set a procedural schedule that will enable the utility to file an EECRF compliance tariff consistent with the final order within ten days of the date of the final order. The procedural schedule shall also provide that the compliance filing date will be at least 45 days before the effective date of March 1. In no event shall the effective date of any new or adjusted EECRF occur less than 45 days after the utility files a compliance tariff consistent with a final order approving the new or adjusted EECRF. The utility shall serve notice of the approved rates and the effective date of the approved rates by the working day after the utility files a compliance tariff consistent with the final order approving the new or adjusted EECRF to retail electric providers that are authorized by the registration agent to provide service in the utility's service area. Notice under this subparagraph of this paragraph may be served by email. The procedural schedule may be extended for good cause, but in no event shall the effective date of any new or adjusted EECRF occur less than 45 days after the utility files a compliance tariff consistent with a final order approving the new or adjusted EECRF, and in no event shall the utility serve notice of the approved rates and the effective date of the approved rates to retail electric providers that are authorized by the registration agent to provide service in the utility's service area more than one working day after the utility files the compliance tariff.

(D) If no hearing is requested within 30 days of the filing of the application, the presiding officer shall set a procedural schedule that will enable the commission to issue a final order in the proceeding within 90 days after a sufficient application was filed; or

(E) If a hearing is requested within 30 days of the filing of the application, the presiding officer shall set a procedural schedule that will enable the commission to issue a final order in the proceeding within 180 days after a sufficient application was filed. If a hearing is requested, the hearing will be held no earlier than the first working day after the 45th day after a sufficient application is filed.

(A) the utility's forecasted energy efficiency costs;

(B) the actual base rate recovery of energy efficiency costs, adjusted for changes in load and usage subsequent to the last base rate proceeding, with supporting calculations;

(C) a calculation showing whether the utility qualifies for an energy efficiency performance bonus and the amount that it calculates to have earned for the prior year;

(D) any adjustment for past over- or under-recovery of energy efficiency revenues, including interest;

(E) information concerning the calculation of billing determinants for the preceding year and for the year in which the EECRF is expected to be in effect;

(F) the direct assignment and allocation of energy efficiency costs to the utility's eligible rate classes, including any portion of energy efficiency costs included in base rates, provided that the utility's actual EECRF expenditures by rate class may deviate from the projected expenditures by rate class, to the extent doing so does not exceed the cost caps in paragraph (7) of this subsection;

(G) information concerning calculations related to the requirements of paragraph (7) of this subsection;

(H) the incentive payments by the utility, by program, including a list of each energy efficiency administrator and/or service provider receiving more than 5% of the utility's overall incentive payments and the percentage of the utility's incentives received by those providers. Such information may be treated as confidential;

(I) the utility's administrative costs, including any affiliate costs and EECRF proceeding expenses and an explanation of both;

(J) the actual EECRF revenues by rate class for any period for which the utility calculates an under- or over-recovery of EECRF costs;

(K) the utility's bidding and engagement process for contracting with energy efficiency service providers, including a list of all energy efficiency service providers that participated in the utility programs and contractors paid with funds collected through the EECRF. Such information may be treated as confidential;

(L) the estimated useful life used for each measure in each program, or a link to the information if publicly available; and

(M) any other information that supports the determination of the EECRF.

(A) the costs are less than or equal to the benefits of the programs, as calculated in § 25.181(d) of this title;

(B) the program portfolio was implemented in accordance with recommendations made by the commission's EM&V contractor and approved by the commission and the EM&V contractor has found no material deficiencies in the utility's administration of its portfolio of energy efficiency programs under § 25.181 of this title. This subparagraph does not preclude parties from examining and challenging the reasonableness of a utility's energy efficiency program expenses nor does it limit the commission's ability to address the reasonableness of a utility's energy efficiency program expenses;

(C) if a utility is in an area in which customer choice is offered and is subject to the requirements of PURA §39.905(f), the utility met its targeted low-income energy efficiency requirements under § 25.181 of this title;

(D) existing market conditions in the utility's service territory affected its ability to implement one or more of its energy efficiency programs or affected its costs;

(E) the utility's costs incurred and achievements accomplished in the previous year or estimated for the year the requested EECRF will be in effect are consistent with the utility's energy efficiency program costs and achievements in previous years notwithstanding any recommendations or comments by the EM&V contractor;

(F) changed circumstances in the utility's service area since the commission approved the utility's budget for the implementation year that affect the ability of the utility to implement any of its energy efficiency programs or its energy efficiency costs;

(G) the number of energy efficiency service providers operating in the utility's service territory affects the ability of the utility to implement any of its energy efficiency programs or its energy efficiency costs;

(H) customer participation in the utility's prior years' energy efficiency programs affects customer participation in the utility's energy efficiency programs in previous years or its proposed programs underlying its EECRF request and the extent to which program costs were expended to generate more participation or transform the market for the utility's programs;

(I) the utility's energy efficiency costs for the previous year or estimated for the year the requested EECRF will be in effect are comparable to costs in other markets with similar conditions; and

(J) the utility has set its incentive payments with the objective of achieving its energy and demand goals under § 25.181 of this title at the lowest reasonable cost per program.

(A) All parties in the utility's most recent completed EECRF docket;

(B) All retail electric providers that are authorized by the registration agent to provide service in the utility's service area at the time the EECRF application is filed;

(C) All parties in the utility's most recent completed base-rate proceeding; and

(D) The state agency that administers the federal weatherization program.