JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Public Service Commission is looking to update the definitions concerning demand side programs with three newly proposed rules and amendments.
The proposed rules, filed on December 27 with the Secretary of State’s Office, are now posted on the Small Business Regulatory Fairness Board’s website, along with statements on how they will affect small business owners.
The proposals concern a few revisions and updates to the Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment Act (MEEIA), and would affect investor-owned electric utilities (IOUs), businesses that participate in energy efficiency and demand-side programs offered by the IOUs pursuant to MEEIA, and industrial consumers.
DSIMs use activities and programs to promote energy efficiency or conservation within their consumer base. The programs are a mechanism approved by the PSC that may include cost recovery of program costs, accelerated depreciation, recovery or lost revenues, or be utility incentive based on achieved performance of demand-side programs.
The proposed items were unanimously approved by the commission during the June 8, 2016 meeting, and sent to the Department of Economic Development for review.
The proposed changes for 4 CSR 240-20.092 line out the definitions used for demand-side programs and demand-side investment mechanisms (DSIM), and since it is just an updating of the definitions, it’s expected to have no effect.
The second proposal is an amendment to 4 CSR 240-20.093, which outlines a new sub-section under the rules for establishing or modifying a DSIM. It lists out all of the required paperwork, cost expectations, and notices required. It also specifies that a true-up of the DSIM should occur no more frequently than annually, instead of the previously stated six months. Furthermore, it lays out an exact process for the discontinuation process for a DSIM, including how the recovery amount is to be handled and an explanation on why the DSIM is no longer required. To read the amendment in its entirety, click here.
The changes specified in 4 CSR 240-20.094 focus on the language of the text, lining out the specified yearly guidelines for the DSIM’s goals and providing information on the utility market potential studies.
The PSC says that under these two proposals, small business customers that do not “opt-out” will pay the DSIM.
The rule will be published in the Missouri Register on February 1st, and any comments on the proposed rules must be submitted by April 27.
A public hearing on the proposed rules will be held on May 4th at 10 a.m. at the Governor Office Building in Room 310.
Benjamin Peters was a reporter for The Missouri Times and Missouri Times Magazine and also produced the #MoLeg Podcast. He joined The Missouri Times in 2016 after working as a sports editor and TV news producer in mid-Missouri. Benjamin is a graduate of Missouri State University in Springfield.
