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Texas Court Allows CenterPoint Utility to Collect Additional Charges from REPs A Texas court of appeals has ruled that CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric is entitled to collect a performance bonus on certain expenditures made on energy efficiency measures, reversing a ruling from the Public Utility Commission of Texas. The charges shall be collected from retail electric providers.
The case involves $10 million of the funds used by CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric to fund energy efficiency measures in 2008, during which time CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric exceeded its energy efficiency goals.
The PUC ruled that as the $10 million in question was the result of a prior rate settlement, and was required under the settlement to be directed toward energy efficiency, such funds did not qualify for the bonus available to utilities under PURA 39.905 and PUC rule 25.181 for exceeding energy efficiency goals.
The PUC found that only funds for energy efficiency measures "implemented under" PUC rule 25.181 qualified for the bonus, but that as the disputed $10 million in energy efficiency expenditures was required by the prior rate settlement, they therefore were not "implemented under" PUC rule 25.181.
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric argued that the source of the funds was irrelevant, and that since the programs funded by the disputed $10 million were those called for in PUC rule 25.181, it was entitled to the bonus on the $10 million.
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric was seeking a total bonus of $4.85 million, while parties arguing against inclusion of the $10 million in the bonus calculation argued that the appropriate bonus was $2.85 million.
The Texas Court Of Appeals, Third District, ruled in favor of CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, finding that the PUC's position, "unnecessarily complicates what is fairly standard statutory and regulatory language."
"'Implement' simply means 'carry out,'" the Court said.
"Thus, under a plain-meaning review of rule 25.181, a program is implemented or carried out under the rule if it is a 'market-based standard offer program or a limited, targeted, market-transformation program' that is provided or administered by a utility to achieve the energy efficiency goals of the rule," the Court said.
"Here, it is undisputed that all of the 2008 energy-efficiency programs, including the ones funded with the $10 million from the 2006 settlement agreement, were administered by CenterPoint, were market-based standard offer programs or targeted market-transformation programs that were provided to achieve, and did achieve according to PUC's order, cost-effective energy efficiency for CenterPoint's customers. Accordingly, these programs were 'programs implemented under [rule 25.181]' and, as such, the savings from these programs should be included in the calculation of the performance bonus that CenterPoint is entitled to for exceeding its energy-efficiency goals," the Court said.
The Court remanded the matter to the PUC to calculate the appropriate bonus, with carrying charges.
NO. 03-11-00065-CV
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August 19, 2013
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Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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