2019 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 16 - Public Service Companies
Chapter 277 - Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. Office of Consumer Counsel. Miscellaneous Provisions
Section 16-49 - Expenses of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's Bureau of Energy, the Office of Consumer Counsel and the operations of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. Assessment of regulated companies.

(a) As used in this section:

(1) “Company” means (A) any public service company other than a telephone company, that had more than one hundred thousand dollars of gross revenues in the state in the calendar year preceding the assessment year under this section, except any such company not providing service to retail customers in the state, (B) any telephone company that had more than one hundred thousand dollars of gross revenues in the state from telecommunications services in the calendar year preceding the assessment year under this section, except any such company not providing service to retail customers in the state, (C) any certified telecommunications provider that had more than one hundred thousand dollars of gross revenues in the state from telecommunications services in the calendar year preceding the assessment year under this section, except any such certified telecommunications provider not providing service to retail customers in the state, (D) any electric supplier that had more than one hundred thousand dollars of gross revenues in the state in the calendar year preceding the assessment year under this section, except any such supplier not providing electric generation services to retail customers in the state, or (E) any certified competitive video service provider issued a certificate of video franchise authority by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority in accordance with section 16-331e that had more than one hundred thousand dollars of gross revenues in the state in the calendar year preceding the assessment year under this section, except any such certified competitive video service provider not providing service to retail customers in the state;

(2) “Telecommunications services” means (A) in the case of telecommunications services provided by a telephone company, any service provided pursuant to a tariff approved by the authority other than wholesale services and resold access and interconnections services, and (B) in the case of telecommunications services provided by a certified telecommunications provider other than a telephone company, any service provided pursuant to a tariff approved by the authority and pursuant to a certificate of public convenience and necessity; and

(3) “Fiscal year” means the period beginning July first and ending June thirtieth.

(b) On or before July 15, 1999, and on or before May first, annually thereafter, each company shall report its intrastate gross revenues of the preceding calendar year to the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, which amount shall be subject to audit by the authority. For each fiscal year, each company shall pay the authority the company's share of all expenses of the department's Bureau of Energy, the Office of Consumer Counsel, and the operations of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority for such fiscal year. On or before September first, annually, the authority shall give to each company a statement which shall include: (1) The amount appropriated to the department's Bureau of Energy, the Office of Consumer Counsel and the operations of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority for the fiscal year beginning July first of the same year; (2) the total gross revenues of all companies; and (3) the proposed assessment against the company for the fiscal year beginning on July first of the same year, adjusted to reflect the estimated payment required under subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section. Such proposed assessment shall be calculated by multiplying the company's percentage share of the total gross revenues as specified in subdivision (2) of this subsection by the total revenue appropriated to the department's Bureau of Energy, the Office of Consumer Counsel and the operations of the Public Utility Regulatory Authority, as specified in subdivision (1) of this subsection.

(c) Each company shall pay the authority: (1) On or before June thirtieth, annually, an estimated payment for the expenses of the following year equal to twenty-five per cent of its assessment for the fiscal year ending on such June thirtieth, (2) on or before September thirtieth, annually, twenty-five per cent of its proposed assessment, adjusted to reflect any credit or amount due under the recalculated assessment for the preceding fiscal year, as determined by the authority under subsection (d) of this section, provided if the company files an objection in accordance with subsection (e) of this section, it may withhold the amount stated in its objection, and (3) on or before the following December thirty-first and March thirty-first, annually, the remaining fifty per cent of its proposed assessment in two equal installments.

(d) Immediately following the close of each fiscal year, the authority shall recalculate the proposed assessment of each company, based on the expenses, as determined by the Comptroller, of the department's Bureau of Energy, the Office of Consumer Counsel and the operations of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority for such fiscal year. On or before September first, annually, the authority shall give to each company a statement showing the difference between its recalculated assessment and the amount previously paid by the company.

(e) Any company may object to a proposed or recalculated assessment by filing with the authority, not later than September fifteenth of the year of said assessment, a petition stating the amount of the proposed or recalculated assessment to which it objects and the grounds upon which it claims such assessment is excessive, erroneous, unlawful or invalid. After a company has filed a petition, the authority shall hold a hearing. After reviewing the company's petition and testimony, if any, the authority shall issue an order in accordance with its findings. The company shall pay the authority the amount indicated in the order not later than thirty days after the date of the order.

(f) The authority shall remit all payments received under this section to the State Treasurer for deposit in the Consumer Counsel and Public Utility Control Fund established under section 16-48a. Such funds shall be accounted for as expenses recovered from public service companies and certified telecommunications providers. All payments made under this section shall be in addition to any taxes payable to the state under chapters 211, 212, 212a and 219.

(g) Any assessment unpaid on the due date or any portion of an assessment withheld after the due date under subsection (c) of this section shall be subject to interest at the rate of one and one-fourth per cent per month or fraction thereof, or fifty dollars, whichever is greater.

(h) Any company that fails to report in accordance with this section shall be subject to civil penalties in accordance with section 16-41.

(1953, S. 2610d; 1959, P.A. 48, S. 1; 354, S. 1; 1969, P.A. 611, S. 1; 1972, P.A. 138, S. 2; P.A. 74-179, S. 1, 2; P.A. 75-486, S. 4, 69; P.A. 76-335, S. 1; P.A. 77-614, S. 162, 164, 610; P.A. 80-482, S. 82, 348; Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 81-8, S. 1, 4; P.A. 83-55, S. 1, 3; 83-587, S. 31, 96; P.A. 84-296, S. 1, 2; P.A. 85-246, S. 10; 85-552, S. 1, 8; P.A. 88-17; 88-22, S. 4; P.A. 90-148, S. 24, 34; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-14, S. 16, 30; P.A. 94-74, S. 5, 11; P.A. 98-28, S. 36, 117; P.A. 99-105, S. 2, 4; P.A. 11-80, S. 30; P.A. 13-119, S. 6.)

History: 1959 acts increased the assessment under Subsec. (a) from 45% to 50%, provided for certification of assessments under Subsec. (b) to be on or before first day of September rather than first day of August and deleted provision that deposit of assessments in general fund be accounted for as expenses recovered from public service companies; 1969 act increased limit on amount of assessment from $250,000 to $450,000; 1972 act increased percentage of expenses assessed to 56% and limit on assessment amount to $600,000; P.A. 74-179 deleted provision re limit on dollar amount of assessment and exempted companies with gross earnings not exceeding $100,000 rather than $300,000; P.A. 75-486 replaced public utilities commission with public utilities control authority, raised percentage of expenses assessed to 70% in Subsec. (a) and added exception re Subsec. (c) and replaced 6% interest with rate established by authority in Subsec. (b); P.A. 76-335 included expenses of office of consumer counsel under Subsec. (a); P.A. 77-614 replaced authority with division of public utility control within the department of business regulation and office of consumer counsel with division of consumer counsel within the same department, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-482 made division of public utility control an independent department, placed division of consumer counsel within it and deleted references to abolished department of business regulation; Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 81-8 redefined “public service company” to exempt any company not providing service at retail directly to consumers in the state, deleted most of Subsec. (a) and all of Subsecs. (b) and (c), and added new Subsecs. (b) to (h), providing for assessment on current basis of public service companies for all expenses of department of public utility control and division of consumer counsel for fiscal years beginning July 1, 1981, to July 1, 1983, and for 70% of such expenses for following fiscal years; P.A. 83-55 extended assessment of public service companies for all expenses of department and division through fiscal year beginning July 1, 1984; P.A. 83-587 made technical change in Subsec. (c); P.A. 84-296 extended assessment of public service companies for all expenses of department and division through fiscal year beginning July 1, 1986; P.A. 85-246 deleted reference to street railway companies in Subsec. (a); P.A. 85-552 repealed Subsec. (b) re assessments for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1981, and relettered the remaining Subsecs. accordingly, repealed provision assessing public service companies for 70%, instead of for all, expenses of department for fiscal years beginning on and after July 1, 1987, and added Subsec. (h) re report to general assembly; P.A. 88-17 defined the term “certified competitive telecommunications provider” and applied provisions to such providers; P.A. 88-22 substituted office of consumer counsel for the division of consumer counsel; P.A. 90-148 amended Subsec. (a) to distinguish between telephone companies with less than $100,000 of gross revenue and those with more than said amount for purposes of assessment under this section, amended Subsec. (b) to make the assessment thereunder for department expenses applicable with respect to state fiscal years ending prior to July 1, 1990, and inserted a new Subsec. (c), with appropriate changes in lettering for succeeding Subsecs., providing assessment procedures for department expenses virtually identical to those in Subsec. (b), except as described in Subdiv. (3), applicable in the case of state fiscal years ending after July 1, 1990, with such changes in procedure occurring in the reference to gross revenues of telecommunications providers because of the change in state taxes imposed on such providers commencing January 1, 1990, and in the provision for an estimated payment of expenses for the following year, first payable on or before June 30, 1990; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-14 amended Subsec. (f) to provide that on and after July 1, 1991, moneys deposited with state treasurer shall be credited to consumer counsel and public utility control fund, rather than general fund; P.A. 94-74 changed applicability from public service companies and certified competitive telecommunications providers to public service companies and persons, firms and corporations certified to provide intrastate telecommunications services, collectively referred to as “companies”, deleted references to chapter 210a and provisions re fiscal years ending prior to July 1, 1990, and calendar years ending on or before December 31, 1989, divided Subsec. (c) into Subsecs. (b) and (c), corrected reference in Subsec. (b) to source of estimated payment requirement and made technical corrections to Subsecs. (e), (f) and (g), effective July 1, 1994; (Revisor's note: In 1997 in Subsecs. (a) and (b) references to “subdivision (24)” and “subsection (24)” of Sec. 12-407 were changed editorially by the Revisors to “subdivision (26)” in all cases to conform section with Sec. 12-407 and customary statutory usage); P.A. 98-28 added Subsec. (a)(3) concerning certain electric suppliers and making technical changes, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 99-105 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting former Subdivs. (1) and (2), adding new Subdiv. (1) defining “company”, incorporating therein former Subdiv. (3) as Subpara. (D), and by adding new Subdivs. (2) and (3) defining “telecommunications services” and “fiscal year”, amended Subsec. (b) by inserting provision subjecting companies to audits, by deleting references to personnel fringe benefits and expenses for central state services and by referring to the defined term “company” in lieu of existing references to various entities, amended Subsec. (c) to require a hearing after a company has filed a petition in lieu of upon the request of the company filing a petition, added reference in Subsec. (g) to “fifty dollars, whichever is greater”, deleted former Subsec. (h) and inserted new Subsec. (h) re penalties, and made numerous technical changes, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 11-80 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by adding Subpara. (E) re certified competitive video service providers, amended Subsec. (a)(2) by replacing “department” with “authority”, amended Subsec. (b) by requiring companies to send revenues to Public Utilities Regulatory Authority rather than department, replacing “department” with “authority” and changing entities for which expenses are covered from Department of Public Utility Control and Office of Consumer Counsel to Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's Bureau of Energy, Office of Consumer Counsel and Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “department” with “authority”, amended Subsec. (d) by replacing “department” with “authority” and changing the entities for which expenses are covered from department and Office of Consumer Counsel to department's Bureau of Energy, Office of Consumer Counsel and Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, and amended Subsecs. (e) and (f) by replacing “department” with “authority”, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 13-119 amended Subsec. (a)(1)(E) to replace “Department of Energy and Environmental Protection” with “Public Utilities Regulatory Authority”, effective June 18, 2013.

See Sec. 28-31 for assessment of Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensees by the authority for the nuclear safety emergency preparedness program.

Cited. 214 C. 609.