Texas Utilities Code Title 2, Chapter 36 - Rates

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 36.001 - Authorization To Establish And Regulate Rates
  (a) The regulatory authority may establish and regulate rates of an electric utility and may adopt rules for determining: (1) the classification of customers and...
• Texas Section 36.002 - Compliance With Title
  An electric utility may not charge or receive a rate for utility service except as provided by this title. Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166,...
• Texas Section 36.003 - Just And Reasonable Rates
  (a) The regulatory authority shall ensure that each rate an electric utility or two or more electric utilities jointly make, demand, or receive is just...
• Texas Section 36.004 - Equality Of Rates And Services
  (a) An electric utility may not directly or indirectly charge, demand, or receive from a person a greater or lesser compensation for a service provided...
• Texas Section 36.005 - Rates For Area Not In Municipality
  Without the approval of the commission, an electric utility's rates for an area not in a municipality may not exceed 115 percent of the average...
• Texas Section 36.006 - Burden Of Proof
  In a proceeding involving a proposed rate change, the electric utility has the burden of proving that: (1) the rate change is just and reasonable,...
• Texas Section 36.007 - Discounted Wholesale Or Retail Rates
  (a) On application by an electric utility, a regulatory authority may approve wholesale or retail tariffs or contracts containing charges that are less than rates...
• Texas Section 36.008 - State Transmission System
  In establishing rates for an electric utility, the commission may review the state's transmission system and make recommendations to the utility on the need to...

SUBCHAPTER B COMPUTATION OF RATES

• Texas Section 36.009 - Billing Demand For Certain Utility Customers
  Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the commission by rule shall require a transmission and distribution utility to: (1) waive the application of demand...
• Texas Section 36.051 - Establishing Overall Revenues
  In establishing an electric utility's rates, the regulatory authority shall establish the utility's overall revenues at an amount that will permit the utility a reasonable...
• Texas Section 36.052 - Establishing Reasonable Return
  In establishing a reasonable return on invested capital, the regulatory authority shall consider applicable factors, including: (1) the efforts and achievements of the utility in...
• Texas Section 36.053 - Components Of Invested Capital
  (a) Electric utility rates shall be based on the original cost, less depreciation, of property used by and useful to the utility in providing service....
• Texas Section 36.054 - Construction Work In Progress
  (a) Construction work in progress, at cost as recorded on the electric utility's books, may be included in the utility's rate base. The inclusion of...
• Texas Section 36.055 - Separations And Allocations
  Costs of facilities, revenues, expenses, taxes, and reserves shall be separated or allocated as prescribed by the regulatory authority. Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166,...
• Texas Section 36.056 - Depreciation, Amortization, And Depletion
  (a) The commission shall establish proper and adequate rates and methods of depreciation, amortization, or depletion for each class of property of an electric or...
• Texas Section 36.057 - Net Income; Determination Of Revenues And Expenses
  (a) An electric utility's net income is the total revenues of the utility less all reasonable and necessary expenses as determined by the regulatory authority....
• Texas Section 36.058 - Consideration Of Payment To Affiliate
  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the regulatory authority may not allow as capital cost or as expense a payment to an affiliate for:...
• Texas Section 36.059 - Treatment Of Certain Tax Benefits
  (a) In determining the allocation of tax savings derived from liberalized depreciation and amortization, the investment tax credit, and the application of similar methods, the...
• Texas Section 36.060 - Consolidated Income Tax Returns
  (a) If an expense is allowed to be included in utility rates or an investment is included in the utility rate base, the related income...
• Texas Section 36.061 - Allowance Of Certain Expenses
  (a) The regulatory authority may not allow as a cost or expense for ratemaking purposes: (1) an expenditure for legislative advocacy; or (2) an expenditure...
• Texas Section 36.062 - Consideration Of Certain Expenses
  The regulatory authority may not consider for ratemaking purposes: (1) an expenditure for legislative advocacy, made directly or indirectly, including legislative advocacy expenses included in...
• Texas Section 36.063 - Consideration Of Profit Or Loss From Sale Or Lease Of Merchandise
  In establishing an electric or municipally owned utility's rates, the regulatory authority may not consider any profit or loss that results from the sale or...
• Texas Section 36.064 - Self-insurance
  (a) An electric utility may self-insure all or part of the utility's potential liability or catastrophic property loss, including windstorm, fire, and explosion losses, that...

SUBCHAPTER C GENERAL PROCEDURES FOR RATE CHANGES PROPOSED BY UTILITY

• Texas Section 36.065 - Pension And Other Postemployment Benefits
  (a) The regulatory authority shall include in the rates of an electric utility expenses for pension and other postemployment benefits, as determined by actuarial or...
• Texas Section 36.101 - Definition
  In this subchapter, "major change" means an increase in rates that would increase the aggregate revenues of the applicant more than the greater of $100,000...
• Texas Section 36.102 - Statement Of Intent To Change Rates
  (a) Except as provided by Section 33.024, an electric utility may not change its rates unless the utility files a statement of its intent with...
• Texas Section 36.103 - Notice Of Intent To Change Rates
  (a) The electric utility shall: (1) publish, in conspicuous form and place, notice to the public of the proposed change once each week for four...
• Texas Section 36.104 - Early Effective Date Of Rate Change
  (a) For good cause shown, the regulatory authority may allow a rate change, other than a major change, to take effect: (1) before the end...
• Texas Section 36.105 - Determination Of Propriety Of Rate Change; Hearing
  (a) If a tariff changing rates is filed with a regulatory authority, the regulatory authority shall, on complaint by an affected person, or may, on...
• Texas Section 36.106 - Regional Hearing
  The commission shall hold a regional hearing at an appropriate location in a case in which the commission determines it is in the public interest...
• Texas Section 36.107 - Preference To Hearing
  The regulatory authority shall: (1) give preference to a hearing under this subchapter and to deciding questions arising under this subchapter and Subchapter E over...
• Texas Section 36.108 - Rate Suspension; Deadline
  (a) Pending the hearing and a decision: (1) the local regulatory authority, after delivering to the electric utility a written statement of the regulatory authority's...
• Texas Section 36.109 - Temporary Rates
  (a) The regulatory authority may establish temporary rates to be in effect during the applicable suspension period under Section 36.108. (b) If the regulatory authority...
• Texas Section 36.110 - Bonded Rates
  (a) An electric utility may put a changed rate into effect throughout the area in which the utility sought to change its rates, including an...
• Texas Section 36.111 - Establishment Of Final Rates
  (a) If, after hearing, the regulatory authority finds the rates are unreasonable or in violation of law, the regulatory authority shall: (1) enter an order...

SUBCHAPTER D RATE CHANGES PROPOSED BY REGULATORY AUTHORITY

• Texas Section 36.112 - Cost Recovery And Rate Adjustment Standards And Procedures For Certain Non-ercot Utilities
  (a) This section applies only to an electric utility that operates solely outside of ERCOT. (b) In establishing the base rates of the electric utility...
• Texas Section 36.151 - Unreasonable Or Violative Existing Rates
  (a) If the regulatory authority, on its own motion or on complaint by an affected person, after reasonable notice and hearing, finds that the existing...
• Texas Section 36.152 - Investigating Costs Of Obtaining Service From Another Source
  If an electric utility does not produce or generate the service that it distributes, transmits, or furnishes to the public for compensation but obtains the...
• Texas Section 36.153 - Rate-filing Package
  (a) An electric utility shall file a rate-filing package with the regulatory authority not later than the 120th day after the date the authority notifies...
• Texas Section 36.154 - Deadline
  (a) The regulatory authority shall make a final determination not later than the 185th day after the date the electric utility files the rate-filing package...
• Texas Section 36.155 - Interim Order Establishing Temporary Rates
  (a) At any time after an initial complaint is filed under Section 36.151, the regulatory authority may issue an interim order establishing temporary rates for...

SUBCHAPTER E COST RECOVERY AND RATE ADJUSTMENT

• Texas Section 36.156 - Automatic Temporary Rates
  (a) The rates charged by the electric utility on the 185th day after the date the utility files the rate-filing package required by Section 36.153...
• Texas Section 36.201 - Automatic Adjustment For Changes In Costs
  Except as permitted by Section 36.204, the commission may not establish a rate or tariff that authorizes an electric utility to automatically adjust and pass...
• Texas Section 36.202 - Adjustment For Change In Tax Liability
  (a) The commission, on its own motion or on the petition of an electric utility, shall provide for the adjustment of the utility's billing to...
• Texas Section 36.203 - Fuel Cost Recovery; Adjustment Of Fuel Factor
  (a) Section 36.201 does not prohibit the commission from reviewing and providing for adjustments of a utility's fuel factor. (b) The commission by rule shall...
• Texas Section 36.204 - Cost Recovery And Incentives
  In establishing rates for an electric utility, the commission may: (1) allow timely recovery of the reasonable costs of conservation, load management, and purchased power,...
• Texas Section 36.205 - Purchased Power Cost Recovery
  (a) This section applies only to an increase or decrease in the cost of purchased electricity that has been: (1) accepted by a federal regulatory...
• Texas Section 36.206 - Mark-ups
  (a) A cost recovery factor established for the recovery of purchased power costs may include: (1) the cost the electric utility incurs in purchasing capacity...
• Texas Section 36.207 - Use Of Mark-ups
  Any mark-ups approved under Section 36.206 are an exceptional form of rate relief that the electric utility may recover from ratepayers only on a finding...
• Texas Section 36.208 - Payment To Qualifying Facility
  In establishing an electric utility's rates, the regulatory authority shall: (1) consider a payment made to a qualifying facility under an agreement certified under Subchapter...
• Texas Section 36.209 - Recovery By Certain Non-ercot Utilities Of Certain Transmission Costs
  (a) This section applies only to an electric utility that operates solely outside of ERCOT in areas of this state included in the Southeastern Electric...
• Texas Section 36.210 - Periodic Rate Adjustments
  (a) The commission or a regulatory authority, on the petition of an electric utility, may approve a tariff or rate schedule in which a nonfuel...
• Texas Section 36.211 - Relation Back Of Rates For Certain Non-ercot Utilities
  (a) This section applies only to an electric utility that operates solely outside of ERCOT. (b) In a rate proceeding under Subchapter D, or if...

SUBCHAPTER H RATES FOR GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES

• Texas Section 36.212 - Rate Case Requirement For Certain Non-ercot Utilities
  (a) This section applies only to an electric utility that operates solely outside of ERCOT. (b) The commission shall require an electric utility to make...
• Texas Section 36.351 - Discounted Rates For Certain Institutions Of Higher Education
  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, each electric utility and municipally owned utility shall discount charges for electric service provided to a facility...
• Texas Section 36.352 - Special Rate Class
  Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, if the commission, on or before September 1, 1995, approved the establishment of a separate rate class for...
• Texas Section 36.353 - Payment In Lieu Of Tax
  (a) A payment made in lieu of a tax by a municipally owned utility to the municipality by which the utility is owned may not...

SUBCHAPTER I SECURITIZATION FOR RECOVERY OF SYSTEM

• Texas Section 36.354 - Discounted Rates For Military Bases
  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, each municipally owned utility, electric cooperative, or electric utility in an area where customer choice is not...
• Texas Section 36.401 - Securitization For Recovery Of System Restoration Costs; Purpose
  (a) The purpose of this subchapter is to enable an electric utility to obtain timely recovery of system restoration costs and to use securitization financing...
• Texas Section 36.402 - System Restoration Costs; Standards And Definitions
  (a) In this subchapter, "system restoration costs" means reasonable and necessary costs, including costs expensed, charged to self-insurance reserves, deferred, capitalized, or otherwise financed, that...
• Texas Section 36.403 - Standards And Procedures Governing Securitization And Recovery Of System Restoration Costs
  (a) The procedures and standards of this subchapter and the provisions of Subchapter G, Chapter 39, govern an electric utility's application for, and the commission's...
• Texas Section 36.404 - Nonbypassable Charges
  The commission shall include terms in the financing order to ensure that the imposition and collection of transition charges associated with the recovery of system...
• Texas Section 36.405 - Determination Of System Restoration Costs
  (a) An electric utility is entitled to recover system restoration costs consistent with the provisions of this subchapter and is entitled to seek recovery of...
• Texas Section 36.406 - Severability
  Effective on the date the first utility transition bonds associated with system restoration costs are issued under this subchapter, if any provision in this title...

Last modified: September 28, 2016