Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 39 - UTILITIES › Part 1 - PUBLIC UTILITIES RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE › Chapter 21 - Rate Base, Operating Expenses and Rate of Return › Rule 39-1-21 › Section 39-1-21-103 - Inclusions and Exclusions

Current through June 25, 2024
1. Donated Property
The rate base shall not include property donated to such
					 utility without any consideration nor shall operating expenses include
					 depreciation of such donated property.
2. Operating Expenses
The allowable operating expenses of a utility for
					 ratemaking purposes shall include all necessary, prudent and reasonable
					 expenses incurred or to be incurred in the rendition of the utility's
					 service.
3. Specific Expense
				  Items
The following expenditures are not considered allowable
					 operating expenses:
a. Any
				  interest such utility paid, or credited, to its consumers in connection with
				  refunds in a rate proceeding in which its rates were finally determined to be
				  excessive.
b. The cost of
				  legislative-advocacy expenses.
c.
				  Expenditures for business gifts and entertainment that the Commission
				  determines not to be in the public interest.
d. Expenditures of any kind which the
				  Commission determines not to have been prudently incurred or not incurred in
				  the interest of the public.
e.
				  Attorneys' fees, costs and expenses associated with any adversarial proceeding,
				  excluding periodic formulary rate plan evaluations, in which the public
				  utility, ultimately, (i) is ordered or agrees to make a refund to ratepayers or
				  (ii) is found to have or admits to having acted illegally or committed any
				  wrongdoing associated with a regulated activity, excluding ordinary negligence.
				  Attorneys' fees, costs and expenses associated with parts (i) and (ii) of this
				  paragraph will be considered allowable operating expenses upon a showing by the
				  public utility that such expenses were prudent, in the public interest and
				  result in just and reasonable rates. Nothing in this paragraph shall be
				  construed to diminish or restrain the Commission's authority as recognized in
				  paragraph "d." above.
f.
				  Expenditures associated with private aircraft, except that the equivalent cost
				  of a standard economy class flight on a commercial carrier may be considered as
				  an allowable operating expense when supported by appropriate documentation and
				  justification, submitted by the utility seeking recovery, showing that such
				  expenses are reasonable and result in benefits to ratepayers. For purposes of
				  this subsection, "appropriate documentation and justification" shall include,
				  but not be limited to:
i A log of commercial
				  flights and cost data used to support the determination of the equivalent cost
				  of a standard economy class flight on a commercial air carrier. Equivalent cost
				  shall be determined by calculating the average market rate of a flight segment
				  of commercial air travel on the date private aircraft travel was undertaken.
				  That average market rate would then be applied to each flight segment traveled
				  on the private aircraft.
ii An
				  accurate flight log with a detailed explanation of the purpose for which each
				  passenger is traveling so that the Commission can determine that the flights
				  were taken for utility business purposes only.