Bill > S1478

This bill mandates that utilities must return all advanced cost recovery fees collected for nuclear and integrated gasification combined cycle power plants to their customers, referred to as "ratepayers," by June 30, 2017, and prohibits utilities from imposing new or increased fees or rates to offset these refunds. Advanced cost recovery, a mechanism allowing utilities to collect costs for projects before they are completed, will expire for these types of power plants on July 1, 2016, with the entire provision being repealed on July 1, 2017. Additionally, the bill clarifies that "nuclear asset-recovery costs," which are pretax costs associated with the early retirement or abandonment of a nuclear generating asset, can be financed under certain conditions, but costs already recovered or eligible for recovery under the now-expiring advanced cost recovery section (section 366.93) are not eligible for this financing unless they were already included in base rates before the retirement or abandonment. Finally, the bill removes a provision that previously protected utilities from challenges regarding the prudence of costs incurred before commercial operation for these types of power plants, meaning such costs can now be challenged if found to be imprudently incurred.