2023 Utah Code › Title 54 - Public Utilities › Chapter 7 - Hearings, Practice, and Procedure › Section 13.6 - Low-income assistance program.

Effective 7/1/2022
54-7-13.6.
Low-income assistance program.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Eligible customer" means an electrical corporation or a gas corporation customer:
(i) that earns no more than:
(A) 125% of the federal poverty level for bill payment assistance or 200% of the federal poverty level for any other low-income assistance; or
(B) another percentage of the federal poverty level as determined by the commission by order; and
(ii) whose eligibility is certified by the Utah Department of Workforce Services.
(b) "Low-income assistance" means:
(i) bill payment assistance;
(ii) replacement of an appliance with a more efficient appliance;
(iii) replacement of a wood burning appliance or wood burning fireplace with an efficient appliance; or
(iv) other energy efficient improvement to an eligible customer's residence.
(2) A customer's income eligibility for the program described in this section shall be renewed annually.
(3) An eligible customer may not receive low-income assistance at more than one residential location at any one time.
(4) Notwithstanding Section 54-3-8, the commission may approve a low-income assistance program to provide low-income assistance to an eligible customer who is a residential customer of:
(a) an electrical corporation with more than 50,000 customers; or
(b) a gas corporation with more than 50,000 customers.
(5)
(a)
(i) Subject to Subsection (5)(a)(ii), low-income assistance program funding from each rate class may be in an amount determined by the commission.
(ii) Low-income assistance program funding described in Subsection (5)(a)(i) may not exceed 0.5% of the rate class's retail revenues.
(iii) An electrical corporation or gas corporation may use low-income assistance program funding to pay:
(A) administrative costs associated with the electrical corporation's or gas corporation's program; or
(B) contractor or employee costs incurred in implementing or installing a measure described in Subsections (1)(b)(ii) through (iv).
(b)
(i) Low-income assistance program funding shall be provided through a surcharge on the monthly bill of each Utah retail customer of the electrical corporation or gas corporation providing the low-income assistance program.
(ii) The surcharge described in Subsection (5)(b)(i) may not be collected from a customer who is receiving bill payment assistance.
(c)
(i) Subject to Subsection (5)(c)(ii), the monthly surcharge described in Subsection (5)(b)(i) shall be calculated as an equal percentage of revenues from all rate schedules.
(ii) The monthly surcharge described in Subsection (5)(b)(i) may not exceed $50 per month for any customer, adjusted periodically as the commission determines appropriate for inflation.
(6)
(a) An eligible customer shall receive low-income assistance in the form of one or more of the following:
(i) a billing credit on the monthly electric or gas bill for the customer's residence;
(ii) replacement of an appliance with a more efficient appliance;
(iii) replacement of a wood burning appliance or wood burning fireplace with an efficient appliance; or
(iv) other energy efficiency improvement to the eligible customer's residence.
(b) The allocation of low-income assistance to an eligible customer, as described in Subsection (6)(a), shall be determined by the commission based on:
(i) the projected funding of the low-income assistance program;
(ii) the projected customer participation in the low-income assistance program; and
(iii) other factors that the commission determines relevant.
(c) The low-income assistance funding level shall be adjusted concurrently with the final order in a general rate increase or decrease case under Section 54-7-12 for the electrical corporation or gas corporation providing the program or as determined by the commission.
Amended by Chapter 100, 2022 General Session