126.03.23-5. Plan Filing Requirements
AR ADC 126.03.23-5Arkansas Administrative CodeEffective: April 20, 2018
Effective: April 20, 2018
Ark. Admin. Code 126.03.23-5
126.03.23-5. Plan Filing Requirements
Administrators shall propose general program designs, specific programs, and specific measures. Administrators may propose programs and/or measures in any combination. All programs should include the following general elements:
• A showing of high probability of providing aggregate ratepayer benefits to the majority of ratepayers.
• The identification of the specific objectives of the program.
• The identification of the specific EM&V procedures that will be used to determine whether the program has achieved its stated objectives.
Each plan filing shall address the following:
• demonstration that the scope of programs serves all customer classes;
• plan benefit/cost analysis listing total costs and benefits, including expected savings goals for the portfolio of programs;
• cost recovery proposal; and
• any additional supporting information the administrator may propose.
Each program filing shall address the following:
• services to be provided;
• target population;
• all barriers being addressed and how they are being addressed;
• proposed customer incentives (if any);
• an evaluation, measurement and verification plan using an industry accepted protocol approved by the Commission;
• timeframe if the program term is limited;
• a plan for addressing over-subscription to the program;
• an analysis demonstrating that the program or measure is beneficial including the prescribed cost / benefit analyses;
• estimated energy and peak demand savings and the basis for these savings estimates, which may include Deemed Savings as approved by the Commission; and
• any additional analyses the administrator may propose.
Programs addressing both electric and gas customers shall be coordinated to the extent reasonable.
Fuel switching and load building programs not otherwise authorized under the Commission Rules and Regulations Governing Promotional Practices of Electric and Gas Utilities shall not be included as energy efficiency programs.
Programs may include incentives to encourage customers to make energy efficient investments if the incentives are cost justified and are a component of a program that has a high probability of providing aggregate ratepayer benefits to the majority of utility customers.
Incentives may include information, technical assistance, leasing programs, product giveaways and direct financial inducements. Financial inducements may include but are not limited to rebates, discounted products and services, and low rate financing.
All customer incentives shall be considered in the benefit/cost testing of programs. Costs of customer incentives shall be considered a direct program cost.
Incentives should not be any higher than necessary to overcome the customers' barriers to invest in the measure and should be reduced or eliminated as the measure becomes more of a standard practice.
The Commission, after notice and hearing, may direct utilities to offer uniform statewide energy efficiency and conservation programs if it determines such standardization to be the most cost-effective result and in the public interest. Utilities may request approval to offer statewide or region-wide programs for which public messages, commercial terms and conditions, and customer reception are best served by such an approach.
The Commission may approve pilot energy efficiency programs. A pilot program design is distinct from Quick Start and other program designs in that it shall include explicit questions that the pilot will address; explicit EM&V designed to address pilot questions; estimates of program costs and savings; a provisional benefit/cost evaluation; and shall be of limited duration until reassessment after a pre-determined period. Pilot programs shall have characteristics from among the following:
• Addressing a new end use;
• Applying a new technology or a new delivery method;
Quick Start programs are programs that are limited in nature and that in other jurisdictions have been shown to have a high probability of providing aggregate ratepayer benefits to the majority of utility customers. Although estimates of program costs must be included in proposals to implement all Initial Plan Quick Start programs, Quick Start programs are exempt from the requirement to provide cost-effectiveness showings under the benefit-cost tests of Section 6. Estimated energy and demand savings and an explicit EM&V program must be included for all Quick Start programs except the statewide Education program.
Programs that are neither Pilots nor Quick Start programs must comply with all of the plan filing requirements of this section.
All costs for Pilot, Quick Start, and other programs shall be considered eligible for cost recovery.
A program filed under these rules shall not be implemented until a Commission order is issued expressly approving the program.
The period from the filing date to the date of the Commission order shall be no more than one hundred and eighty days which will permit investigation, analysis, and adjudication of the program.
The Commission shall establish a procedural schedule for the review of each program filing.
Credits
Amended July 3, 2011; June 22, 2014; April 20, 2018.
Current with amendments received through February 15, 2024. Some sections may be more current, see credit for details.
Ark. Admin. Code 126.03.23-5, AR ADC 126.03.23-5
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