(a) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall, not later than January 1, 2006, establish a program to grant awards to retail end use customers of electric distribution companies to fund the capital costs of obtaining projects of customer-side distributed resources, as defined in section 16-1. Any project shall receive a one-time, nonrecurring award in an amount of not less than two hundred dollars and not more than five hundred dollars per kilowatt of capacity for such customer-side distributed resources, recoverable from federally mandated congestion charges, as defined in section 16-1. No such award may be made unless the projected reduction in federally mandated congestion charges attributed to the project for such distributed resources is greater than the amount of the award. The amount of an award shall depend on the impact that the customer-side distributed resources project has on reducing federally mandated congestion charges, as defined in section 16-1. Not later than October 1, 2005, the authority shall conduct a contested case proceeding, in accordance with chapter 54, to establish additional standards for the amount of such awards and additional criteria and the process for making such awards.

(b) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall, not later than January 1, 2006, establish a program to grant to an electric distribution company a one-time, nonrecurring award to educate, assist and promote investments in customer-side distributed resources developed in such company's service territory, which resources the authority determines will reduce federally mandated congestion charges, in accordance with the following: (1) On or before January 1, 2008, two hundred dollars per kilowatt of such resources, (2) on or before January 1, 2009, one hundred fifty dollars per kilowatt of such resources, (3) on or before January 1, 2010, one hundred dollars per kilowatt of such resources, and (4) fifty dollars per kilowatt of such resources thereafter. Payment of the award shall be made at the time each such resource becomes operational. The cost of the award shall be recoverable from federally mandated congestion charges. Revenues from such awards shall not be included in calculating the electric distribution company's earnings for the purpose of determining whether its rates are just and reasonable under sections 16-19, 16-19a and 16-19e.

(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-1, S. 8; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.)

History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-1 effective July 21, 2005; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Department of Public Utility Control” and “department” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Public Utilities Regulatory Authority” and “authority”, respectively, effective July 1, 2011.