North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 04 - COMMERCE › Chapter 11 - UTILITIES COMMISSION › Chapter 12 › Section 11 R12-15 - BILL INSERTS FOR ELECTRIC AND NATURAL GAS UTILITIES

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a)
				Each electric and natural gas utility shall maintain records and accountings
				adequate to identify all costs and expenses reasonably allocable to the
				preparation, printing and distribution (including any incremental mailing,
				handling, and distribution costs) of each bill insert other than bill inserts
				constituting one or more of the classes of advertising described in Rule
				R12-12(d). Such records and accountings, together with copies of the bill
				insert to which they relate, shall be retained by the public utility for a
				period of at least three years from the date on which the bill insert was last
				disseminated by the public utility and shall be subject to inspection by
				members of the Commission, the Commission Staff, and the Public
				Staff.
(b) In ascertaining
				reasonable operating expenses pursuant to
				G.S.
				62-133, no electric or natural gas utility
				shall be permitted to recover from its ratepayers any direct expenditure made
				by such utility which is specifically identifiable with the preparation,
				printing, and distribution of bill inserts containing political or promotional
				advertising as defined in Rule R12-12 or other nonutility advertising. Nor
				shall any of the incremental or additional mailing, handling, and distribution
				costs incurred in conjunction with the preparation, printing, and distribution
				of political, promotional, or nonutility bill inserts be charged to the
				ratepayers of the public utility distributing such bill inserts. Such direct
				and incremental costs are not properly includable as a just and reasonable
				operating expense of an electric or natural gas utility and shall be assigned
				to a nonoperating (or nonutility) expense account or accounts when
				incurred.
(c) Nothing in this rule
				shall preclude the Commission from examining and determining, on a case-by-case
				basis, the extent to which any portion of the joint mailing, handling, and
				distribution costs incurred by an electric or natural gas utility in
				conjunction with the preparation, printing, and distribution of political,
				promotional, or nonutility bill inserts should be excluded as an operating
				expense of the utility disseminating such bill inserts. Nor shall the
				Commission be precluded from determining, on a case-by-case basis, the extent
				to which any portion of the costs incurred in conjunction with the preparation,
				printing, and distribution of bill inserts of a type other than that which may
				be defined as political, promotional, or nonutility in nature may have exceeded
				a reasonable level or amount for rate-making purposes.
(d) Bill inserts containing either political
				or promotional advertisements as defined by Rule R12-12 or other nonutility
				advertisements shall be accompanied by the following statement or a statement
				substantially to the following effect:
THIS MESSAGE IS NOT PAID FOR BY THE CUSTOMERS OF (the
				  electric or natural gas utility distributing the bill insert).
This statement shall be so located and of such size so as to
				  be readily visible to those individuals who may be exposed to the bill
				  insert.
NCUC Docket No. M-100,
				  Sub 80, 10/14/80; 10/31/80.