Code of Maine Rules › 65 - DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION › 407 - PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION › Chapter 301 - STANDARD OFFER SERVICE › Section 407-301-5 - Obligations of the Transmission and Distribution Utility

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A.
Power Delivery
The transmission and distribution utility shall provide
				  transmission and distribution services within its service territory to all
				  standard offer service customers.
B.
Billing and Metering
Each customer receiving standard offer service shall receive
				  a single bill from the transmission and distribution utility pursuant to
				  provisions governing consolidated utility billing in Chapter 322 of the
				  Commission's Rules. The bill shall separately state charges for generation
				  service supplied by the standard offer service providers and charges for
				  services supplied by the transmission and distribution utility pursuant to
				  section
				  4(H) of Chapter 305
				  of the Commission's Rules. The bill shall prominently display the names of the
				  standard offer service providers that provide standard offer generation service
				  to the customer's standard offer class. The transmission and distribution
				  utility shall provide all meters, perform all metering and meter reading and
				  provide all billing for standard offer service customers within its service
				  area until such time as those services may be provided by other authorized
				  entities.
C.
Administration of Service Connections and Terminations
The transmission and distribution utility shall administer
				  all billing, metering and other functions described in this rule in association
				  with transfers to or from standard offer service.
D.
Standard Contract Between
				Transmission and Distribution Company and Standard Offer Providers
Each transmission and distribution utility in the State shall
				  have on file with the Commission a proposed standard form contract between
				  itself and standard offer providers. The standard form contract shall include
				  terms governing billing, metering, collections, transfer of funds, exchange of
				  data, transmission delivery point, and other matters as determined by the
				  Commission.
The Commission will review proposed standard form contracts
				  filed by each transmission and distribution utility and approve the proposed or
				  a modified version. The Commission shall provide an opportunity for interested
				  persons to comment on substantial changes to the standard form contracts. The
				  Commission may allow standard offer bidders to propose alternatives to the
				  provisions in the standard form contracts during the bid process, but may only
				  accept alternative provisions to the contract after consultation with the
				  applicable transmission and distribution utility. Commission authority to
				  review and approve changes to the standard form contract is delegated to the
				  Director of Technical Analysis.
E.
Provision of Standard Offer Service
				by an Affiliate of a Large Transmission and Distribution Utility
1. Pursuant to
				 35-A M.R.S.A.
				§3212(2)(C), a large
				investor-owned transmission and distribution utility may not provide standard
				offer service except through an affiliate, and the affiliate may submit a bid
				for only 20% of a standard offer class within the service territory of the
				affiliated large transmission and distribution utility.
2. An affiliate of a large investor-owned
				transmission and distribution utility may not provide a greater share of the
				standard offer service, within the service territory of the affiliated large
				transmission and distribution utility, than has been authorized pursuant to the
				selection process described in section
				6.
3. Each large investor-owned transmission and
				distribution utility or the affiliate of the utility that provides standard
				offer service shall submit reports twice each year to the Commission
				demonstrating that it did not provide more than the authorized amount of
				standard offer service requirements in the previous six months.
4. If the Commission finds that an affiliate
				of a large investor-owned transmission and distribution utility provided more
				than the authorized amount of the standard offer service within the service
				area of its affiliate, the Commission may impose penalties as provided in
				 35-A M.R.S.A.
				§3205(5).