(a) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall require each gas and electric public service company to implement a cost effective conservation and load management program consistent with integrated resource planning principles. As part of each conservation and load management program, the authority shall require specific programs to target the needs of manufacturers. The authority shall allow the gas or electric public service company either: (1) To earn a return on prudently incurred multiyear conservation and load management expenditures on programs and measures approved by the authority included in the company's rate base and successfully implemented by the company at a rate at least one percentage point but no more than five percentage points higher than such company's rate of return otherwise found to be reasonable; or (2) authorize a return of at least one percentage point but no more than five percentage points on the company's prudently incurred conservation and load management expenditures treated as operating costs on programs and measures approved by the authority and successfully implemented by the company. For the purposes of this section, “conservation and load management expenditures” shall include all prudent expenditures, approved by the authority by gas or electric public service companies designed to conserve energy or manage gas or energy load.

(b) The authority may authorize an electric public service company a return on such company's expenditures in acquiring energy conservation or load management measures, approved by the authority, from private power providers, as defined in section 16-243b.

(P.A. 88-57, S. 1; P.A. 90-65, S. 3, 5; P.A. 91-248, S. 6, 13; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 98-1, S. 47, 121; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 90-65 added provision requiring specific conservation and load management programs for manufacturers; P.A. 91-248 added provisions re rate of return for certain conservation and load management programs and return on certain operating costs of certain conservation and load management programs and added a new Subsec. (b) allowing the department to authorize a return on company expenditures in acquiring certain conservation measures from private power producers; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 98-1 made a technical change to Subsec. (a), effective June 24, 1998; 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.