An Act To Exempt Certain Natural Gas Consumers from an Assessment and To Extend a Moratorium on Assessments for Other Large-volume Consumers of Natural Gas
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1651
Amends: 35-A MRSA §10111

Legislative Document 
No. 1651 
H.P. 1122 
House of Representatives, March 15, 2016 
An Act To Exempt Certain Natural Gas Consumers from an 
Assessment and To Extend a Moratorium on Assessments for Other 
Large-volume Consumers of Natural Gas 
Reported by Representative DION of Portland for the Joint Standing Committee on 
Energy, Utilities and Technology pursuant to Resolve 2015, chapter 39, section 2. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  35-A MRSA §10111, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2013, c. 369, Pt. A, §25, 
is further amended to read: 
2.  Funding level.  The natural gas conservation fund, which is a nonlapsing fund, is 
established to carry out the purposes of this section.  The commission shall assess each 
gas utility, in accordance with the triennial plan, an amount necessary to capture all cost-
effective energy efficiency that is achievable and reliable for those consumers who are 
eligible to receive funds from the natural gas conservation fund.  All amounts collected 
under this subsection must be transferred to the natural gas conservation fund.  Any 
interest on funds in the fund must be credited to the fund.  Funds not spent in any fiscal 
year remain in the fund to be used for the purposes of this section. 
The assessments charged to gas utilities under this section are just and reasonable costs 
for rate-making purposes and must be reflected in the rates of gas utilities. 
All funds collected pursuant to this section are collected under the authority and for the 
purposes of this section and are deemed to be held in trust for the purposes of benefiting 
natural gas consumers served by the gas utilities assessed under this subsection. In the 
event funds are not expended or contracted for expenditure within 2 years of being 
collected from consumers, the commission shall ensure that the value of those funds is 
returned to consumers. 
Rules adopted by the commission under this subsection are routine technical rules as 
defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 2.  35-A MRSA §10111, sub-§2-A is enacted to read: 
2-A.  Exemption.  A wholesale electricity-generating facility that has a nameplate 
capacity of 3 megawatts or greater is not eligible to participate in any natural gas 
conservation program under this section. The commission may not allow a gas utility to 
collect an assessment under this section through its rates from a wholesale electricity-
generating facility that has a nameplate capacity of 3 megawatts or greater. 
Sec. 3.  Moratorium on assessments by gas utilities on large-volume 
consumers.  Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, section 10111, 
until 90 days after the adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 128th Legislature: 
1.  Large-volume consumers of a gas utility are not eligible to participate in any 
Efficiency Maine Trust natural gas conservation programs; 
2.  The Public Utilities Commission may not allow a gas utility to collect an 
assessment under Title 35-A, section 10111 through its rates from large-volume 
consumers and may not make a final decision regarding the appropriateness of or size of 
such collections from large-volume consumers; and 
3.  The Public Utilities Commission may not order or authorize a gas utility assessed 
under Title 35-A, section 10111 to exempt any consumers other than large-volume 
consumers and those consumers exempted under Title 35-A, section 10111, subsection 
2-A from the collection of that assessment through its rates. 
Prior to 90 days after the adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 128th 
Legislature, any assessment by the Public Utilities Commission under Title 35-A, section 
10111 must be in an amount necessary to capture all cost-effective energy efficiency that 
is achievable and reliable only for consumers who are not exempt under Title 35-A, 
section 10111, subsection 2-A or under this section. 
For the purposes of this section, "large-volume consumer" means a consumer of a gas 
utility that uses 1,000,000 centum cubic feet or more of natural gas per year. 
SUMMARY 
This bill is reported out by the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and 
Technology pursuant to Resolve 2015, chapter 39, section 2. It prohibits the Public 
Utilities Commission from allowing a gas utility to collect an assessment under the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, section 10111 through its rates from a wholesale electricity-
generating facility that has a nameplate capacity of 3 megawatts or more and prohibits 
such a facility from participating in any natural gas conservation program.  The bill also 
establishes a moratorium on assessments for large-volume consumers by gas utilities until 
days after the adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 128th Legislature. This 
bill specifies that the Public Utilities Commission may not allow a natural gas utility to 
collect an assessment under Title 35-A, section 10111 through its rates from large-
volume consumers and may not make a final decision regarding the appropriateness of or 
size of such collections from large-volume consumers.  The bill specifies that the Public 
Utilities Commission may not order or authorize a natural gas utility to exempt from 
collection of an assessment through its rates any consumers other than large-volume 
consumers.  The bill specifies that, during this same time period, large-volume consumers 
are not eligible to participate in any Efficiency Maine Trust natural gas conservation 
programs.  This bill also ensures that any assessment by the commission under Title 
35-A, section 10111 must be in an amount necessary to capture all cost-effective energy 
efficiency that is achievable and reliable only for consumers who are not exempt under 
Title 35-A, section 10111, subsection 2-A, or who are not large-volume consumers, until 
days after adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 128th Legislature. 
This bill defines "large-volume consumer" as a consumer using 1,000,000 centum 
cubic feet or more of natural gas per year. 
Revised: 03/10/16
LD 1651
LR 2709(01)
Fiscal Detail and Notes
Fiscal Note
Potential current biennium revenue decrease - Other Special Revenue Funds
The bill requires that the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) not assess any large volume customer of a gas utility or 
make any final decision regarding the appropriateness or size of assessments on large volume customers until 90 days 
after adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 128th Legislature in fiscal year 2017-18. Large volume 
customers are not currently being assessed by the PUC. Any revenue, if they were to be assessed, would be transferred 
to the Efficiency Maine Trust by the PUC. No estimate is made at this time on whether and at what rate they would be 
assessed. The bill also exempts wholesale electricity-generating facilities having a nameplate capacity of 3 megawatts 
or greater from assessments. No estimate is made at this time on the potential revenue loss from exempting these 
wholesale electricity-generating facilities.
An Act To Exempt Certain Natural Gas Consumers from an Assessment and To Extend a 
Moratorium on Assessments for Other Large-volume Consumers of Natural Gas
Fiscal Note for Original Bill
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
LR2709(01) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1