SB 4 - The act modifies and creates new provisions relating to utilities.TAX ASSESSMENT OF STATIONARY PROPERTY (Section 137.122)
Beginning January 1, 2026, provisions relating to depreciable tangible personal property shall apply to all real property that is stationary and used for transportation or storage of liquid and gaseous products, including water, sewage, and certain natural gas.
To estimate the value of the real property under the act, each assessor shall value such property by applying a 20-year recovery period to the original cost of the property according to the 20-year depreciation schedule. The presumption as to the proper method of determining the assessed value of such property shall apply regardless of when such property was placed in service.
Each taxpayer owning property under the act shall provide to an assessor, no later than May 1st of the applicable tax year, the original cost and year placed in service of such property, as described in the act.
These provisions are substantially similar to a provision in SB 896 (2024) and HB 2110 (2024).
NATURAL GAS SAFETY STANDARDS (Section 386.572)
The act repeals certain provisions relating to maximum penalties for violations of federally mandated natural gas safety standards and provides that the maximum penalties shall not exceed an amount as determined by the Secretary of Transportation of the United States.
This provision has an emergency clause.
This provision is substantially similar to SB 1470 (2024), a provision in SCS/HCS/HB 1746 (2024), HB 2660 (2024), SB 450 (2023), SB 953 (2022), SB 172 (2021) and HB 1054 (2021), SB 827 (2020), SB 169 (2019), HB 589 (2019), SB 815 (2018).
TEST YEAR FOR RATE PROCEEDINGS FOR CERTAIN UTILITIES (Section 393.150)
Under the act, beginning July 1, 2026, the test year for rate proceedings, if requested by certain utilities, shall be a future year consisting of the first 12 full calendar months after the operation of law date for schedules stating new base rates filed by the utilities, unless the Public Service Commission makes a determination that using a future test year is detrimental to the public interest. The projected total rate base at the end of the future test year shall be used to establish new base rates. New base rates shall not go into effect before the 1st day of the future test year.
Certain public utilities that elect to utilize a future test year within 45 days of the end of the future test year shall update their base rates as described in the act. The total ending rate base and expense items in the update shall not be greater than the total ending rate base and expense items approved by the Commission in its report and order establishing base rates. The Commission and parties to the case shall have 60 days to review the accuracy of the updated information provided by the utility. The Commission shall order the utility to file new tariff sheets reflecting the update, as described in the act.
Certain utilities that request a test year shall not recover the costs of any plant investments made during the test year period under certain mechanisms described in current law.
For utilities that elected to use a future test year, a reconciliation of the rate base at the end of the future test year shall be provided to the Commission within 45 days of the end of the future test year. If the actual rate base is less than the rate base used to set base rates in the prior general rate proceeding, the portion of the annual revenue requirement reflecting the rate base difference shall be returned to customers. The revenue requirement calculations are described in the act. The difference in revenue requirement shall be placed into a regulatory liability to be returned to customers in the next general rate proceeding with such regulatory liability to accrue carrying costs at the utility's weighted average cost of capital.
The Commission may consider any change in business risk to the utility resulting from implementation of the adjustment mechanism in setting the utility's allowed return in any rate proceeding, in addition to any other changes in business risk experienced by the utility.
For a utility that elected to use a future test year, a reconciliation of payroll expense, certain employee benefits, and rate case expense at the end of the future test year shall be provided to the Commission within 45 days of the end of the future test year. If the actual amounts are less than the amounts used to calculate the revenue requirement in the prior general rate proceeding, the difference shall be returned to customers. The difference in revenue requirement shall be placed into a regulatory liability to be returned to customers in the next general rate case with such regulatory liability to accrue carrying costs at the utility's weighted average cost of capital.
The act creates definitions for "base rates" and "revenue requirement".
These provisions are similar to SCS/SB 1280 (2024), a provision in SCS/HCS/HB 1746 (2024), and a provision in HB 2167 (2024).
DISCOUNTS BY GAS CORPORATIONS (Section 393.1645)
Under the act, subject to certain limitations, a new or an existing gas corporation account meeting the criteria under the act shall qualify for one of the following discounts:
(1) When the customer is a new customer and the new load is reasonably projected to be at least 270,000 CCF annually, the discount shall equal 25% and shall apply for four years; or
(2) When the customer is an existing customer and the new load is reasonably projected to be at least 135,000 CCF annually, the discount shall equal 25% and shall apply for four years.
To obtain one of the discounts, the customer’s load shall be incremental, net of any offsetting load reductions due to the termination of other accounts of the customer or an affiliate of the customer within twelve months prior to the commencement of service to the new load. The customer shall receive an economic development incentive from a governmental entity, as described in the act, in conjunction with the incremental load. The customer shall meet the criteria set forth in the gas corporation’s economic development rider tariff sheet, as approved by the Public Service Commission, that are not inconsistent with the act.
Unless otherwise provided by the gas corporation's tariff, the applicable discount shall be a percentage applied to all variable base-rate components of the bill. The discount shall be applied to such incremental load from the date when the meter has been permanently set until the date that such incremental load no longer meets the criteria required to qualify for the discount as determined under the act, or a maximum of four years. The gas corporation may include in its tariff additional or alternative terms and conditions relating to the discount, subject to approval of such terms and conditions by the Commission.
The customer, on forms supplied by the gas corporation, shall apply for the applicable discount as described in the act. If the incremental usage is not separately metered, the gas corporation’s determination of the incremental usage shall control. The gas corporation shall verify the customer's annual consumption to determine continued qualification for the discount as described in the act. If in a subsequent general rate proceeding the Commission determines that application of a discounted rate is not adequate to cover the gas corporation’s variable cost to serve the accounts in question and provide a positive contribution to fixed costs, then the Commission shall reduce the discount for those accounts as necessary.
In each general rate proceeding concluded after August 28, 2025, the difference in revenues with the discounts and the revenues without such discounts shall not be imputed into the gas corporation's revenue requirement. Instead, such revenue requirement shall be set using the revenues by the discounted rates as described in the act. To qualify for discounted rates, customers shall meet the applicable criteria within 24 months of initially receiving discounts based on metering data for calendar months 13-24 and annually thereafter. If such data indicates that the customer did not meet the applicable criteria for any subsequent 12-month period, the customer shall no longer qualify for a discounted rate. Customer usage existing at the time the customer makes application for a discounted rate shall not constitute incremental usage. The discounted rates apply only for variable base-rate components, with charges or credits arising from any rate adjustment mechanism authorized by law to be applied to customers qualifying for discounted rates in the same manner as such rate adjustments would apply in the absence of these provisions.
The act creates a definition for "variable base-rate components".
These provisions are identical to SCS/HCS/HB 1746 (2024), substantially SB 896 (2024), HB 2045 (2024), similar to SB 638 (2023) and HB 1143 (2023).
JULIA SHEVELEVA