Sec. 6l.
(1) For purposes of implementing sections 6h, 6i, 6j, and 6k, this section and section 6m shall provide means of insuring equitable representation of the interests of energy utility customers.
(2) As used in this section and section 6m:
(a) “Annual receipts” means the payments received by the fund under section 6m(2)(a) and (b) during a calendar year.
(b) “Board” means the utility consumer participation board created under subsection (3).
(c) “Department” means the department of management and budget.
(d) “Energy cost recovery proceeding” means any proceeding to establish or implement a gas cost recovery clause or a power supply cost recovery clause as provided in sections 6h, 6i, 6j, or 6k, to set gas cost recovery factors pursuant to section 6h(17), or to set power supply cost recovery factors pursuant to section 6j(18).
(e) “Energy utility” means each electric or gas company regulated by the public service commission.
(f) “Fund” means the utility consumer representation fund created in section 6m.
(g) “Household” means a single-family home, duplex, mobile home, seasonal dwelling, farm home, cooperative, condominium, or apartment which has normal household facilities such as a bathroom, individual cooking facilities, and kitchen sink facilities. Household does not include a penal or corrective institution, or a motel, hotel, or other similar structure if used as a transient dwelling.
(h) “Jurisdictional” means subject to rate regulation by the Michigan public service commission.
(i) “Net grant proceeds” means the annual receipts of the fund less the amounts reserved for the attorney general's use and the amounts expended for board expenses and operation.
(j) “Residential energy utility consumer” or “consumer” means a customer of an energy utility who receives utility service for use within an individual household or an improvement reasonably appurtenant to and normally associated with an individual household.
(k) “Residential tariff sales” means those sales by an energy utility which are subject to residential tariffs on file with the commission.
(l) “Utility consuming industry” means a person, sole proprietorship, partnership, association, corporation, or other entity which receives utility service ordinarily and primarily for use in connection with the manufacture, sale, or distribution of goods or the provision of services, but does not include a nonprofit organization representing residential utility customers.
(3) The utility consumer participation board is created within the department and shall exercise its powers and duties under this act independently of the department. The procurement and related management functions of the commission shall be performed under the direction and supervision of the department. The board shall consist of 5 members appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be chosen from 1 or more lists of qualified persons submitted by the attorney general.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (5) only, “utility” means an electric or gas company located in or outside of this state.
(5) Each member of the board shall meet the following requirements:
(a) Shall be an advocate for the interests of residential utility consumers, as demonstrated by the member's knowledge of and support for consumer interests and concerns in general or specifically related to utility matters.
(b) Shall not be, or shall not have been within the 5 years preceding appointment, a member of a governing body of, or employed in a managerial or professional or consulting capacity by a utility or an association representing utilities; an enterprise or professional practice which received over $1,500.00 in the year preceding the appointment as a supplier of goods or services to a utility or association representing utilities; or an organization representing employees of such a utility, association, enterprise, or professional practice, or an association which represents such an organization.
(c) Shall not have, or shall not have had within 1 year preceding appointment, a financial interest exceeding $1,500.00 in a utility, an association representing utilities, or an enterprise or professional practice which received over $1,500.00 in the year preceding the appointment as a supplier of goods or services to a utility or association representing utilities.
(d) Shall not be an officer or director of an applicant for a grant under section 6m.
(e) Shall not be a member of the immediate family of a person who would be ineligible under subdivisions (a), (b), (c), or (d).
(6) The members of the board shall be appointed for 2-year terms beginning with the first day of a legislative session in an odd-numbered year and ending on the day before the first day of the legislative session in the next odd-numbered year or when the members' successors are appointed, whichever occurs later. The governor shall not appoint a member to the board for a term commencing after the governor's term of office has ended. A vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. If the vacancy is created other than by expiration of a term, the member shall be appointed for the balance of the unexpired term of the member to be succeeded.
(7) The governor shall remove a member of the board if that member is absent for any reason from either 3 consecutive board meetings or more than 50% of the meetings held by the board in a calendar year. However, a person who is removed due to absenteeism is eligible for reappointment to fill a vacancy which occurs in the board membership. The governor also shall remove a member of the board if the member is subsequently determined to be ineligible under subsection (5).
(8) The board shall hold bimonthly meetings and additional meetings as necessary. A quorum consists of 3 members. A majority vote of the members appointed and serving is necessary for a decision. At its first meeting following the appointment of new members, or as soon as possible after the first meeting, the board shall elect biennially from its membership a chairperson and a vice-chairperson.
(9) The board shall not act directly to represent the interests of residential utility consumers except through administration of the fund and grant program under this section.
(10) The business which the board may perform shall be conducted at a public meeting of the board held in compliance with the open meetings act, Act No. 267 of the Public Acts of 1976, being sections 15.261 to 15.275 of the Michigan Compiled Laws. Public notice of the time, date, and place of the meeting shall be given in the manner required by Act No. 267 of the Public Acts of 1976.
(11) A writing prepared, owned, used, in the possession of, or retained by the board in the performance of an official function shall be made available to the public in compliance with the freedom of information act, Act No. 442 of the Public Acts of 1976, being sections 15.231 to 15.246 of the Michigan Compiled Laws.
(12) A member of the board may be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses, including travel expenses to and from each meeting held by the board, incurred in discharging the member's duties under this section and section 6m. In addition to expense reimbursement, a board member may receive remuneration from the board of $100.00 per meeting attended, not to exceed $1,000.00 in a calendar year. These limits shall be adjusted proportionately to an adjustment in the remittance amounts under section 6m(4) to allow for changes in the cost of living.
(13) Until the board certifies that it is operating and ready to perform all duties under this act, the director of the energy administration created by executive directives 1976-2 and 1976-5 shall serve as temporary administrator of the fund and exercise all duties and powers of the board.
History: Add. 1982, Act 304, Imd. Eff. Oct. 13, 1982 ;-- Am. 2000, Act 141, Imd. Eff. June 5, 2000
Last modified: October 10, 2016