Current Status Bill Number:4467 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:House Introduced Date:19960118 Primary Sponsor:Allison All Sponsors:Allison, Vaughn, Cain, McCraw, Wilder, Kinon, S. Whipper, Littlejohn, Fleming, Wells, Kirsh, Jennings, Moody-Lawrence, Bailey, Cooper, Phillips, Lanford and Stille Drafted Document Number:PT\2148DW.96 Companion Bill Number:1054 Residing Body:House Current Committee:Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee 26 HLCI Subject:Joint agency petition, PSC
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
______ ________ _______________________________________ _______ ____________
House 19960118 Introduced, read first time, 26 HLCI
referred to Committee
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TO AMEND SECTION 6-23-60, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE FILING OF A PETITION PRIOR TO THE ACQUISITION OF A PROJECT BY A JOINT AGENCY, SO AS TO FURTHER ALLOW THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION TO APPROVE CERTAIN TYPES OF PROJECTS WHICH CONSIST OF CERTAIN KINDS OF ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANTS AND PROVIDE THAT THE COMMISSION'S APPROVAL IS NOT NECESSARY FOR PROJECTS FOR TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, OR TRANSFORMATION OF ELECTRIC POWER AND ENERGY; TO AMEND SECTION 6-23-90, RELATING TO THE RIGHTS AND POWERS OF A JOINT AGENCY, SO AS TO DELETE A REFERENCE TO SECTION 6-23-120, DELETE THE PROVISION WHICH PROVIDES FOR JOINT AGENCIES TO ACQUIRE NOT LESS THAN TEN PERCENT OF RATED CAPACITY FROM AN ELECTRIC SUPPLIER, ADDING A PROVISION FOR JOINT AGENCIES TO NEGOTIATE AND ENTER CONTRACTS WITH ANY PERSON, FIRM, OR CORPORATION, WITHIN OR WITHOUT THE STATE, AUTHORIZING JOINT AGENCIES TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS MAKING THEM OBLIGATED TO MAKE PAYMENTS REQUIRED BY A CONTRACT WHERE THE FACILITIES FROM WHICH SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ARE COMPLETED, OPERABLE AND OPERATING, AND THAT THESE PAYMENTS ARE NOT SUBJECT TO REDUCTIONS AND ARE NOT CONDITIONED UPON THE PERFORMANCE OR NONPERFORMANCE OF ANY PARTY; TO AMEND SECTION 6-23-170, RELATING TO INVESTMENTS OF A JOINT AGENCY OF MONIES PENDING DISBURSEMENT, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OR PERSONS AUTHORIZED TO MAKE INVESTMENT DECISIONS ON BEHALF OF JOINT AGENCIES ARE CONSIDERED TO BE TRUSTEES AND SUBJECT TO THE PRUDENT INVESTOR STANDARD; AND TO REPEAL SECTION 6-23-120, RELATING TO THE SALE OF EXCESS POWER OR OUTPUT OF A PROJECT NOT THEN REQUIRED BY ANY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE JOINT AGENCY.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 6-23-60 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 6-23-60. (A) Prior to the proposed acquisition of a project for the generation or transmission of electric power and energy by a joint agency, a petition shall must be filed with the Public Service Commission setting forth such the material as deemed considered necessary to permit the Public Service Commission to make the determination required by this section. Notice of the filing of such the petition shall must be given by the Public Service Commission once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the State. A hearing on such the petition shall is to be conducted as provided by law.
(B) The Public Service Commission shall be is authorized to approve or disapprove the proposed acquisition by a joint agency of a project or projects which consists of an electric generating plant or plants and associated facilities designed for, or capable of, operation at a capacity of more than seventy-five megawatts, or which consist of electric transmission lines and associated facilities of a designed operating voltage of one hundred twenty-five kilovolts or more. There is no requirement for approval by the Public Service Commission for a project or projects for other transmission or generating facilities, or for facilities for distribution or transformation, or any of them, of electric power and energy. In determining whether or not it is mutually beneficial to the joint agency and an electric supplier serving the county or counties within which any member municipalities are located, the Public Service Commission shall take into consideration, but shall is not be limited to, the following:
(i)(1) the economies and efficiencies to be achieved in constructing on a large scale, facilities for the generation and transmission of electric power and energy;
(ii)(2) the municipalities' needs for reserve and peaking capacity and to meet obligations under pooling and reserve-sharing agreements reasonably related to its needs for power and energy to which it is or may become a party;
(iii)(3) the estimated useful life of such the project;
(iv)(4) the estimated time necessary for the planning, development, acquisition, or construction of such the project and the length of time required in advance to obtain, acquire, or construct additional power supplies;
(v)(5) the reliability and availability of existing or alternative power supply sources and the costs of such the existing or alternative power supply sources; and
(vi)(6) the load forecast of capacity of a project and the utilization of such the capacity by the joint agency for a reasonable period of time subsequent to the date of commercial operation of the project.
(C) Any party in interest may appeal the commission's action pursuant to Sections 58-27-2310 to 58-27-2340 of the 1976 Code."
SECTION 2. Section 6-23-90(j)(1) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(1) To acquire by negotiated purchase or lease from an electric supplier not less than ten percent of the rated capacity of one or more any portion of a project or projects under construction on the date of approval of this chapter, or on which construction will commence subsequent to the date of approval of this chapter, either individually or jointly with one or more municipalities in any other state, owning electric generation, transmission, or distribution facilities, or with any political subdivisions or agencies of any other state and to pay all or any part of the cost thereof of it from the proceeds of bonds of the joint agency or from any other funds available to the joint agency;"
SECTION 3. Section 6-23-90(o) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(o) To generate, produce, transmit, deliver, exchange, purchase, or sell for resale only, electric power or energy, and to enter into contracts for any or all such purposes, subject to the provisions of Section 6-23-120 hereof;"
SECTION 4. Section 6-23-90(p) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(p) To negotiate and enter into contracts for the purchase, exchange, interchange, wheeling, pooling, or transmission of electric power and energy with any municipality, any joint agency of any other state owning electric, transmission or distribution facilities, or with any political subdivision or agencies of any other state, any electric cooperative, any public or private electric utility, or any state, federal or municipal agency which owns electric generation, transmission or distribution facilities in this State or any other state marketing, sale, or use, for resale only, of electric power and energy with any person, firm, or corporation, public or private, whether situate within or without the State;"
SECTION 5. Section 6-23-90(q) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(q) To negotiate and enter into contracts for the sale, or use of electric power and energy with any joint agency, electric cooperative, municipality, or any political subdivisions or agencies or any public or private electric utility of any other state, and any joint agency, electric cooperative, municipality, public or private electric utility, or any state or federal agency or political subdivision thereof located within the area generally served by the electric supplier from whom the joint agency has purchased the Project, and any electric supplier owning and operating nuclear electric generating facilities, subject to the provisions of Section 6-23-120 purchase, exchange, interchange, wheeling, pooling, transmission, marketing, sale, or use, for resale only, of electric power and energy, with any person, firm, or corporation, public or private, whether situate within or without this State, and the contract may provide that the joint agency is to be obligated to make the payments required by the contract whether the facilities from which the contracted services are provided, are completed, operable or operating, notwithstanding the suspension, interruption, interference, reduction or curtailment of the output of the facilities, or the power and energy contracted for, and that the payments under the contract must not be subject to any reductions, whether by offset or otherwise, and are not conditioned upon the performance or nonperformance of any party to the contract;"
SECTION 6. Section 6-23-170 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 6-23-170. The resolution authorizing the bonds of any issue or the trust agreement securing such bonds may provide that any of such moneys may be temporarily invested and reinvested pending disbursements thereof and such securities and other investments as shall be provided in such resolution or trust agreement, and shall provide that any bank or trust company with which such moneys shall be deposited shall act as trustee of such moneys and shall hold and apply the same for the purposes hereof, subject to such regulation as this chapter and such resolution or trust agreement may provide. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the board of directors of joint agencies or persons authorized to make investment decisions on behalf of joint agencies investing public funds are considered to be trustees and subject to the prudent investor standard. When investing, reinvesting, purchasing, acquiring, exchanging, selling, and managing public funds, a trustee shall act with care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing, that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiarity with those matters would use in the conduct of funds of a like character. When investing, reinvesting, purchasing, acquiring, exchanging, selling, and managing funds of a joint agency, the primary objective of a trustee is to safeguard the principal of the funds under its control. The secondary objective is to meet the liquidity needs of the joint agency. The third objective is to achieve a return on the funds under its control. Monies of joint agencies not required for the immediate necessities of the joint agency may be invested and reinvested in securities and other investments as the board of directors of joint agencies shall determine in accordance with the objectives enumerated above. The securities and other investments which may be used by the trustee is to be listed in a formal, written investment policy approved by the board of directors of joint agencies."
SECTION 7. Section 6-23-120 of the 1976 Code is repealed.
SECTION 8. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.