[§269-163] Green infrastructure financing order. (a) The public utilities commission shall issue its financing order as final or if a finding in subsection (b) cannot be made, its denial of a financing order, as expeditiously as possible and in any event within ninety days from the date the completed application is submitted.
(b) The public utilities commission may issue a financing order if the public utilities commission finds that the creation of the green infrastructure property to secure the payment of the bonds, including the imposition of the green infrastructure fee, will facilitate the acquisition of low-cost financing, pursuant to an application under section 269-162.
(c) The public utilities commission shall include all of the following in a financing order:
(1) The maximum amount of bonds to be issued by the State acting through the department under the financing order;
(2) A description of the green infrastructure property, the creation of which property is authorized by the financing order;
(3) A description of the financing costs that will be recoverable through green infrastructure fees, including any reserves or overcollateralization amounts required by the department to secure payment of the bonds;
(4) A description of the methodology to be applied by the public utilities commission, on behalf of the department, for calculating the green infrastructure fee, including the allocation of financing costs among electric utilities and customer classes;
(5) A description of the formulaic adjustment mechanism to be used by the public utilities commission, on behalf of the department, to adjust the green infrastructure fee in order to ensure that the amount of the green infrastructure fee projected to be collected shall be sufficient to pay the principal and interest on the bonds, and all related financing costs on a timely basis, including the funding or maintenance of any reserves required to be maintained by the department;
(6) The term of the bonds, as proposed by the department, during which term the green infrastructure fee shall continue to be collected and pledged to pay the bonds, which term shall automatically be extended by the term of any refunding bonds, as approved in a subsequent financing order, issued in such principal amounts as the department may determine to be necessary to refund the bonds that are the subject of the original financing order;
(7) A requirement that the electric utilities, including any successors, serve as agents to collect the green infrastructure fee and transfer those surcharges to the trustee or other financing party as required by the financing order and any agreements with the department;
(8) The procedures to be followed by the electric utilities in the event of nonpayment or partial payment of the green infrastructure fee by the electric utilities' customers, which procedures shall be consistent with the public utilities commission approved procedures for nonpayment and partial payment of rates, charges, and fees under the electric utilities' tariffs;
(9) The distribution of the total amounts collected by the electric utilities for amounts billed to customers for the electric utilities' rates, fees, the green infrastructure fee, other public utilities commission approved fees, and for associated taxes, in the event of partial payments of the billed amounts;
(10) Terms satisfactory to the public utilities commission to ensure that the green infrastructure fee shall be nonbypassable and will be paid by all existing and future customers of an electric utility or any successor; and
(11) Any other provision the public utilities commission considers appropriate to ensure the full and timely imposition, charging, collection, and adjustment, pursuant to an approved adjustment mechanism, of the green infrastructure fee described in this subsection.
The electric utilities serving as billing and collecting agents shall be parties to the proceedings in which the financing order or orders are issued.
(d) The public utilities commission, in a financing order, may permit the department flexibility in establishing the terms and conditions for the bonds to accommodate changes in market conditions, including repayment schedules, interest rates, financing costs, collateral requirements, required debt service and other reserves, and the ability of the department, at its option, to effect a series of issuances of bonds and correlated assignments, sales, pledges, or other transfers of green infrastructure property. Any changes made under this section to terms and conditions for the bonds shall be in conformance with the financing order.
(e) At the request of the department, the public utilities commission shall determine, in accordance with the adjustment mechanism set forth in the financing order, the initial green infrastructure fee after the determination of the final terms of each series of bonds, so that the green infrastructure fee shall be final and effective upon issuance of the bonds.
(f) Any adjustment to the green infrastructure fee made by the public utilities commission pursuant to the adjustment mechanism approved in the financing order shall be a ministerial act of the public utilities commission. [L 2013, c 211, pt of §3]
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