§ 7-512.1. Electric universal service programs
West's Annotated Code of MarylandPublic UtilitiesEffective: January 1, 2024
West's Annotated Code of Maryland
Public Utilities (Refs & Annos)
Division I. Public Services and Utilities [Titles 1-15] (Refs & Annos)
Title 7. Gas, Electric, and Water Companies (Refs & Annos)
Subtitle 5. Electric Industry Restructuring (Refs & Annos)
Part II. Electric Industry Restructuring Enabled (Refs & Annos)
Effective: January 1, 2024
MD Code, Public Utilities, § 7-512.1
Formerly cited as MD PUBLIC UTIL COMP § 7-512.1
§ 7-512.1. Electric universal service programs
(a)(1) The Commission shall establish an electric universal service program to assist electric customers with annual incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
(7) In a specific case, the electric universal service program may waive the income eligibility limitation under paragraph (1) of this subsection in order to provide assistance to an electric customer who would qualify for a similar waiver under the Maryland Energy Assistance Program established under Title 5, Subtitle 5A of the Human Services Article.
(b)(1) All customers shall contribute to the funding of the electric universal service program through a charge collected by each electric company.
(3) Except as provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection, in accordance with subsection (f)(6) of this section, any unexpended bill assistance and arrearage retirement funds returned to customers under subsection (f) of this section shall be returned to each customer class as a credit in the same proportion that the customer class contributed charges to the fund.
(c)(1) On or before January 1 of each year, the Commission shall report, subject to § 2-1257 of the State Government Article, to the General Assembly on the electric universal service program, including:
(d)(1) On or before January 1 of each year, the Department of Housing and Community Development shall report, in accordance with § 2-1257 of the State Government Article, to the General Assembly on the low-income residential weatherization component of the electric universal service program, including:
(2) The Department of Housing and Community Development may satisfy the reporting requirement under paragraph (1) of this subsection by requesting the Commission to include the information in the Commission's report required under subsection (c) of this section and providing the information to the Commission by the date specified by the Commission.
(e) The total amount of funds to be collected for the electric universal service program each year shall be $37 million, allocated in the following manner:
(f)(1) In this subsection, “fund” means the electric universal service program fund.
(iii) 1. Any bill assistance and arrearage retirement funds collected for a given fiscal year that are retained under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph and that remain unexpended at the end of the period allowed under subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this paragraph shall be returned to each customer class in the proportion that the customer class contributed charges to the fund for the given fiscal year in the form of a credit toward the charge assessed in the following fiscal year.
(g)(1) If a party to a merger or acquisition of an electric company or an affiliate of an electric company is required to distribute a credit to the customers in the electric company's service territory under an agreement with the Commission in connection with the merger or acquisition, the Commission shall consider the adequacy of the current funding of the electric universal service program in providing assistance to customers who qualify under this section.
(2) Any funds deposited into the electric universal service program fund as a result of an agreement with the Commission in connection with a merger or acquisition of an electric company or an affiliate of an electric company are in addition to, and may not substitute for, funds collected under subsection (e) of this section.
(h)(1) An arrearage prevention program under subsection (b)(4)(iv) of this section is intended to prevent or reduce arrearages for low-income customers who have participated in a low-income residential weatherization program.
Credits
Added by Acts 1999, c. 3, § 1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 1999, c. 4, § 1, eff. July 1, 1999. Amended by Acts 2001, c. 433, § 1, eff. June 1, 2001; Acts 2002, c. 263, § 1, eff. June 30, 2002; Acts 2003, c. 95, §§ 1, 2, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2005, c. 468, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2005; Acts 2006, 1st Sp. Sess., c. 5, § 1, eff. June 23, 2006; Acts 2007, c. 8, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2007; Acts 2008, c. 116, § 7, eff. April 8, 2008; Acts 2009, c. 305, § 1, eff. May 7, 2009; Acts 2009, c. 306, § 1, eff. May 7, 2009; Acts 2009, c. 487, § 1, eff. June 1, 2009; Acts 2012, c. 679, § 1, eff. June 1, 2012; Acts 2016, c. 49, § 1, eff. July 1, 2016; Acts 2017, c. 777, § 1, eff. July 1, 2017; Acts 2018, c. 696, § 1, eff. July 1, 2018; Acts 2018, c. 697, § 1, eff. July 1, 2018; Acts 2019, c. 8, § 5; Acts 2021, c. 616, § 1, eff. June 1, 2021; Acts 2021, c. 617, § 1, eff. June 1, 2021 Acts 2021, c. 638, § 1, eff. May 30, 2021; Acts 2021, c. 639, § 1, eff. May 30, 2021; Acts 2023, c. 207, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2024.
MD Code, Public Utilities, § 7-512.1, MD PUBLIC UTIL § 7-512.1
Current through legislation effective through April 9, 2023, from the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
End of Document |