Nevada Administrative Code › Chapter 704 - Regulation of Public Utilities Generally › RESOURCE PLANNING AND ENERGY CONSERVATION FOR CERTAIN NATURAL GAS UTILITIES › Conservation and Energy Efficiency Programs › Section 704.9716 - Use of general revenue decoupling methodology in lieu of equity adder methodology

Current through June 11,
				2024
1. To remove
				financial disincentives that discourage a public utility which purchases
				natural gas for resale from planning and implementing substantive conservation
				and energy efficiency programs, a gas utility not electing to recover program
				costs using an equity adder methodology may seek approval from the Commission
				to decouple general revenue. A gas utility seeking approval from the Commission
				to decouple general revenue must file a request to decouple general revenue
				with the Commission as part of a general rate application filed pursuant to NRS
				NRS
				704.110. A gas utility electing to decouple
				general revenue must recover the costs of its substantive conservation and
				energy efficiency programs pursuant to subsection 5 of NAC 704.9714. If the gas
				utility files a request to decouple general revenue, the gas utility's
				application must include a discussion identifying any change in risk for the
				gas utility and a calculation to adjust for the change in risk and demonstrate
				the impact on the current and requested rate design for the gas utility. If the
				Commission approves a gas utility's request to decouple general revenue, the
				gas utility is not required to include a discussion identifying any change in
				risk associated with the approved general revenue decoupling methodology in its
				subsequent general rate application filed pursuant to
				NRS
				704.110 but in determining the gas utility's
				return on equity, the Commission may consider evidence concerning any change in
				risk associated with the approved general revenue decoupling methodology
				provided in the general rate application.
2. As part of a gas utility's general rate
				case application seeking approval from the Commission to decouple general
				revenue, the gas utility must outline its plan to educate customers about
				general revenue decoupling.
3. In
				considering a request to decouple general revenue, the Commission will seek to
				harmonize the incentives of general revenue decoupling methodology with the
				rate design of the gas utility filing the request. Harmonization by the
				Commission will include, without limitation, the use of the information
				contained in the approved conservation and energy efficiency plan to modify the
				customer class billing determinants used to establish the base tariff general
				rate in the general rate application filed pursuant to
				NRS
				704.110 that includes the request to decouple
				general revenue. In the initial general rate application requesting approval to
				decouple general rate revenues and each subsequent general rate application for
				which the gas utility continues to use the general revenue decoupling
				methodology, the gas utility must request approval to exempt any customer class
				from the general revenue decoupling methodology. The gas utility must apply the
				approved general revenue decoupling methodology to all customer classes not
				specifically exempted by the Commission.
4. To file a request to decouple general
				revenue, a gas utility must have an order of the Commission accepting the
				conservation and energy efficiency plan, with the acceptance occurring not more
				than 1 year before the gas utility files the request to decouple general
				revenue. Execution of the conservation and energy efficiency plan will be
				deferred until the general revenue decoupling methodology is
				implemented.
5. A gas utility's
				request to discontinue the approved general revenue decoupling methodology must
				be included in a general rate application filed pursuant to NRS
				NRS
				704.110.
Added to
				  NAC by Pub. Utilities Comm'n by R067-09, eff. 11-25-2009; A by
				  R003-14,
				  eff. 10/24/2014
NRS
					 703.025,
					 704.210,
					 704.992