PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:
Proposed Action:
The Commission is considering whether to extend NYSERDA's System Benefits Charge programs from their June 30, 2011 expiration date until December 31, 2011, including an additional six months of collecting program costs from electric ratepayers.
Statutory authority:
Public Service Law, sections 4(1), 5(2) and 66(1)
Subject:
NYSERDA administered SBC programs.
Purpose:
To promote energy conservation, research and development, and economic assistance to low income customers.
Substance of proposed rule:
The Commission is considering whether to extend certain existing System Benefits Charge (SBC) programs currently administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) for an additional period of six months, from the current expiration date of June 30, 2011 until December 31, 2011. The expiration date would be made to coincide with the current December 31, 2011 expiration date of most SBC Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (EEPS) programs.
The SBC program was initiated in 1998 to preserve the public benefits of programs previously provided to our society by regulated monopoly utilities. It provides programs to encourage energy efficiency, a cleaner environment and to reduce the financial burden of energy costs on low-income New Yorkers. In 2005, the SBC programs were renewed and extended through June 30, 2011. In 2008, the SBC programs were further enhanced with electric and gas energy efficiency programs constituting the Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (EEPS) which were generally authorized through December 31, 2011. This notice concerns the original SBC programs that were only authorized through June 30, 2011.
NYSERDA provides quarterly and annual reports to the Public Service Commission of the performance of the SBC program, which will be considered by the Commission. The most recent annual performance report is entitled "New York's System Benefits Charge Programs, Evaluation and Status Report, Year Ending December 31, 2009, Report to the Public Service Commission, Final Report, March 2010". The most recent quarterly performance report is entitled "New York's System Benefits Charge Programs, Evaluation and Status Report, Quarterly Report to the Public Service Commission, Quarter Ending March 31 2010, Final Report, May 2010". Parties wishing to address the performance of the SBC programs in comments or to raise other issues for the Commission's consideration should review the contents of the reports described above.
The programs would generally be administered in the same manner and at the same level of funding and collections currently authorized, with some minor exceptions. The level of projected interest earnings is reduced to reflect current lower market interest rates. The cost of administration is increased from 7% to 8% to reflect additional costs. The New York State Cost Recovery Fee is adjusted slightly to 1.69%. Program funds for residential energy efficiency programs are reduced somewhat to make up for the other adjustments. As to program administration, the Commission is also considering whether the energy efficiency programs that are similar to EEPS energy efficiency programs should be administered in the same manner as the EEPS programs during the six-month period.
The major program category budgets and the incremental SBC collection amounts by utility that are being considered are listed below.
Table 1
Comparison of Current 1st Half 2011 to Proposed 2nd Half of 2011
Current 1st Half 2011
Proposed 2nd Half 2011
Collections
$87,500,000
$87,500,000
Utility-Administered Programs
($262,878)
$0
Transfer Payments to NYSERDA
$87,237,122
$87,500,000
Projected Interest Income
$3,000,000
$1,500,000
NYSERDA Budget
$90,237,122
$89,000,000
Notes:
1. NYSEG's utility-administered program expires June 30, 2011. It funded the costs of long-term demand side management contracts that pre-dated the SBC program.
2. Does not include SBC II or III carryover, which does not affect incremental collections.
3. Statewide Evaluation Protocol Development, and DPS Evaluation Consultant are already funded out of additional interest earnings through the end of 2011.
4. Evaluation @ 2% (3% Enhanced M&V is already included in EEPS collections through the end of 2011).
5. Administration @ 7%; becomes 8% for 2nd Half of 2011.
6. NYS Cost Recovery Fee @ 1.83%; becomes 1.69% for 2nd Half of 2011.
Table 2
Proposed Budget July 1, 2011- December 31, 2011
Major Program Category
Incremental Budget
Energy Efficiency Business & Institutional
$27,673,356
Energy Efficiency Residential
$13,078,873
Energy Efficiency Outreach & Education
$1,500,000
Peak Load, Energy Efficiency, and Outreach & Education
$42,252,229
Research & Development
$17,326,671
Low Income
$19,017,000
Environmental Disclosure
$0
Evaluation
$1,780,000
Administration
$7,120,000
NYS Cost Recovery Fee
$1,504,100
Total Program Expenses
$10,404,100
Total NYSERDA Budget
$89,000,000
Table 3
Proposed Incremental Electric SBC Collections
July 1, 2011- December 31, 2011
SBC Utility
Percentage of Total
Collection Amount
Central Hudson
3.49%
$3,055,148
Con Edison
49.99%
$43,738,426
NYSEG
12.41%
$10,854,575
National Grid
25.75%
$22,528,834
O&R
2.99%
$2,611,995
RG&E
5.38%
$4,711,023
TOTALS
100.00%
$87,500,000
Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained by filing a Document Request Form (F-96) located on our website http://www.dps.state.ny.us/f96dir.htm. For questions, contact:
Leann Ayer, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350, (518) 486-2655, email: leann_ayer@dps.state.ny.us
Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
Jaclyn A. Brilling, Secretary, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350, (518) 474-6530, email: Secretary@dps.state.ny.us
Public comment will be received until:
45 days after publication of this notice.
Regulatory Impact Statement, Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, Rural Area Flexibility Analysis and Job Impact Statement
Statements and analyses are not submitted with this notice because the proposed rule is within the definition contained in section 102(2)(a)(ii) of the State Administrative Procedure Act.
