Sec. 39.253. ALLOCATION OF STRANDED COSTS. (a) Any capital costs incurred by an electric utility to improve air quality under Section 39.263 or 39.264 that are included in a utility's invested capital in accordance with those sections shall be allocated among customer classes as follows:

(1) 50 percent of those costs shall be allocated in accordance with the methodology used to allocate the costs of the underlying assets in the electric utility's most recent commission order addressing rate design; and

(2) the remainder shall be allocated on the basis of the energy consumption of the customer classes.

(b) All other retail stranded costs shall be allocated among retail customer classes in accordance with Subsections (c)-(i).

(c) The allocation to the residential class shall be determined by allocating to all customer classes 50 percent of the stranded costs in accordance with the methodology used to allocate the costs of the underlying assets in the electric utility's most recent commission order addressing rate design and allocating the remainder of the stranded costs on the basis of the energy consumption of the classes.

(d) After the allocation to the residential class required by Subsection (c) has been calculated, the remaining stranded costs shall be allocated to the remaining customer classes in accordance with the methodology used to allocate the costs of the underlying assets in the electric utility's most recent commission order addressing rate design. Non-firm industrial customers shall be allocated stranded costs equal to 150 percent of the amount allocated to that class.

(e) After the allocation to the residential class required by Subsection (c) and the allocation to the nonfirm industrial class required by Subsection (d) have been calculated, the remaining stranded costs shall be allocated to the remaining customer classes in accordance with the methodology used to allocate the costs of the underlying assets in the electric utility's most recent commission order addressing rate design.

(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, to the extent that the total retail stranded costs, including regulatory assets, of investor-owned utilities exceed $5 billion on a statewide basis, any stranded costs in excess of $5 billion shall be allocated among retail customer classes in accordance with the methodology used to allocate the costs of the underlying assets in the electric utility's most recent commission order addressing rate design.

(g) The energy consumption of the customer classes used in Subsections (a)(2) and (c) shall be based on the relevant class characteristics as of May 1, 1999, adjusted for normal weather conditions.

(h) For purposes of this section, "stranded costs" includes regulatory assets.

(i) Except as provided by Section 39.262(k), no customer or customer class may avoid the obligation to pay the amount of stranded costs allocated to that customer class.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 405, Sec. 39, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.