Amend the bill, as and if amended, Part IB, Section 73, OFFICE OF REGULATORY STAFF, page 420, after line 24, by adding an appropriately numbered new proviso to read:
/73.__ (ORS: Natural Gas Rate Stabilization Act Study) From the funds appropriated and authorized in the current fiscal year, the Office of Regulatory Staff shall study the Natural Gas Rate Stabilization Act of 2005 and make recommendations to the General Assembly by December 31, 2018. The study shall include, but is not limited to, determining whether issues raised in the Office of Regulatory Staff's 2017 audit of the Natural Gas Weather Normalization Adjustment (WNA) have been properly addressed; determining the feasibility of making the rate stabilization optional for ratepayers; requiring unadjusted rate disclosures to ratepayers; revising reporting requirements; and determining if the provisions of the Act are in the best interests of the ratepayers and public utilities. Further, the study will compare all states that use a weather normalization adjustment or similar mechanism related to natural gas billings. Such comparison shall include, but is not limited to, how the adjustment is applied, whether the adjustment is voluntary, and what the approved rate of return is that the state allows the natural gas utility to earn. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend sections, totals and title to conform.