A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE "SOUTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATION ACT" BY ADDING CHAPTER 45 TO TITLE 58 SO AS TO PROVIDE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ESTABLISHING A COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATION; TO PROVIDE FOR THE RELATED DUTIES OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION AND THE OFFICE OF REGULATORY STAFF; TO PROVIDE FOR THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ELECTRICAL UTILITIES; TO PROVIDE THAT PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATIONS ARE VOLUNTARY AND REQUIRE NOTICE AND OPT OUT PROVISIONS; TO ESTABLISH STANDARDS FOR COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATION RATES; TO PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATIONS RELATED TO ITS RESOURCES, PLANNING, MARKETING, BILLING, ANNUAL REPORTS AND FINANCIAL SECURITY; TO REQUIRE THE OFFICE OF REGULATORY STAFF TO ESTABLISH A COMPLAINT AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESS FOR CUSTOMERS; TO PROHIBIT CUSTOMER DATA BEING USED FOR PURPOSES OTHER THAN PROVIDING SERVICES AND TO SAFEGUARD CUSTOMER DATA; TO PERMIT TERMINATION OF SERVICE PURSUANT TO TERMS APPROVED BY THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION; TO PERMIT THE OFFICE OF REGULATORY STAFF TO AUDIT COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATIONS AND THEIR VENDORS; TO PERMIT AN ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE OR MUNICIPAL UTILITY TO EITHER OFFER OR PARTICIPATE IN A COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATION; AND TO REQUIRE THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS.

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

 

SECTION 1.  This act may be cited as the "South Carolina Community Choice Aggregation Act."

 

SECTION 2.  The General Assembly finds that:

       (1) Enabling local governments to aggregate electric load can provide retail customers with access to competitive electric supply, renewable energy options, and energy efficiency at potentially lower costs.

       (2) Community choice aggregation can be implemented while maintaining system reliability, universal service, and consumer protections.

       (3) Coordination among community choice aggregations, electrical utilities, the Public Service Commission, and the Office of Regulatory Staff is necessary to ensure transparent markets and just and reasonable rates.

 

SECTION 3.  Title 58 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

CHAPTER 45

 

Community Choice Aggregation

 

    Section 58-45-10.  For purposes of this chapter:

    (1) "Aggregation" or "community choice aggregation" means the combining of retail electric customers within a jurisdiction for the purpose of procuring electric generation and related services on their behalf.

    (2) "Commission" means the South Carolina Public Service Commission.

    (3) "Default service" means electric generation service provided by the incumbent electric utility to customers who do not take service from a community choice aggregation or another competitive supplier.

    (4) "Electric utility" means an investor-owned utility, electric cooperative, or municipal electric utility providing distribution service within South Carolina.

    (5) "Eligible customer" means any retail electric customer within the geographic boundaries of a participating jurisdiction, excluding customers taking service under special contracts or tariffs expressly exempted by the commission.

    (6) "Governing body" means the legislative body of a county or municipality. "Governing body" also means a joint powers entity formed pursuant to Section 58-45-20(B).

    (7) "Load serving entity" means an entity responsible for supplying electric energy and capacity to retail customers.

    (8) "ORS" means the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff.

    (9) "Opt out" means a customer's right to decline participation in a community choice aggregation and remain on default service.

 

    Section 58-45-20.  (A) A county or municipality, by ordinance or resolution after notice and public hearing, may establish a community choice aggregation to procure electric supply and related services for eligible customers within its jurisdiction.

    (B) Two or more municipalities, counties, or a combination of municipalities and counties, may form a joint powers entity to operate a multi-jurisdictional community choice aggregation. A joint powers entity may be established by an intergovernmental agreement that is approved by each participating governing body.

    (C) A governing body may contract with a third-party administrator or load serving entity for procurement, scheduling, and related services for its community choice aggregation.

 

    Section 58-45-30.  (A) A community choice aggregation must register with the commission and the ORS and shall obtain a certificate of authority before commencing service.

    (B) The ORS shall monitor community choice aggregation compliance, investigate complaints, and make recommendations to the commission.

 

    Section 58-45-40.  (A)(1) The incumbent electric utility shall continue to own, operate, and maintain distribution facilities, provide delivery service, metering, and customer service related to wires side reliability and safety. The electric utility shall also continue to provide billing services, if applicable.

       (2) The incumbent electric utility shall provide the community choice aggregation with customer data necessary for implementation including, but not limited to, customer names, electricity services addresses, rate classes, and electric usage history; however, all data provided pursuant to this item shall be subject to data privacy rules, customer consent requirements, and commission regulations.

    (B)(1) The electric utility shall implement a community choice aggregation specific tariff for:

           (a) load shaping and scheduling services;

           (b) nonbypassable charges for legacy costs and public policy programs that are approved by the commission; and

           (c) cost-based charges for billing, data exchange, and customer care related to community choice aggregation.

       (2) If requested by the community choice aggregation, the incumbent electric utility shall provide consolidated billing, subject to commission approved standards and cost recovery.

 

    Section 58-45-50.  (A) Participation in a community choice aggregation shall be on a voluntary basis. Prior to enrolling a customer in a community choice aggregation, community choice aggregation must provide at least two written notices to eligible customers. Each notice must, at a minimum, describe the community choice aggregation's rates, products, environmental attributes, terms, fees, how to opt out, and consumer protections.

    (B) Community choice aggregation customers shall have no less than thirty days after the second notice to opt out without penalty. Customers may opt out at any time thereafter, subject to reasonable switching rules and any commission approved termination fees necessary to prevent cost shifts. However, low-income customers and customers on medical baseline or similar programs shall not be charged termination fees to opt out of a community choice aggregation after enrollment.

    (C) A community choice aggregation shall not require deposits from residential customers and shall offer bill assistance programs at least equivalent to those available under utility default service.

 

    Section 58-45-60.  (A) Community choice aggregation generation rates shall be just and reasonable. Generation rates may include differentiated product options.

    (B) The commission shall ensure that utility default service rates and community choice aggregation rates are presented transparently on its customers' bills.

    (C) The commission may approve nonbypassable charges to ensure recovery of utility costs prudently incurred for legacy generation, public policy programs, and stranded costs, to prevent cost shifts among customers.

    (D) Electric utility administrative costs reasonably incurred to support community choice aggregation implementation shall be recovered through charges as approved by the commission.

 

    Section 58-45-70.  (A) A community choice aggregation, either directly or through its load serving entity or administrator, shall meet all applicable resource adequacy, capacity, and reliability requirements established by the commission or as otherwise required by state or federal laws, rules, or regulations. Each community choice aggregation must submit annual procurement plans to the commission and the ORS demonstrating compliance with reliability requirements.

    (B) Subject to commission rules, a community choice aggregation may procure energy efficiency, demand response, distributed energy resources, and renewable energy credits to meet customer preferences.

 

    Section 58-45-80.  (A) Each community choice aggregation shall file an annual report with the commission and the ORS regarding its annual emissions and renewable energy usage. These reports must be publicly available and shall be posted on the commission's and the ORS' websites.

    (B) A community choice aggregation may offer voluntary renewable portfolios. If a community choice aggregation offers voluntary renewable portfolios, it must accurately disclose the renewable resources for each portfolio.

 

    Section 58-45-90.  (A) All community choice aggregations and vendor marketing materials shall be clear, accurate, and not misleading, and its terms and conditions shall be conspicuously printed on the materials.

    (B) The commission shall establish requirements for community choice aggregation billing to ensure transparency in customer bills, including: price disclosure, contract terms, contact information to initiate a complaint and the process for a complaint resolution, privacy protections, and language access.

    (C) The ORS shall establish a complaint and dispute resolution process for community choice aggregation customers.

 

    Section 58-45-100. Customer data obtained by community choice aggregations shall be used solely for providing service and may not be sold or shared except as necessary for operations under confidentiality obligations. Community choice aggregations shall implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect customer information and shall notify affected customers and ORS of any data breach consistent with state law.

 

    Section 58-45-110. Each community choice aggregation shall maintain financial security, including a performance bond or letter of credit, in amounts set by the commission to ensure continuity of service and cover procurement obligations. In addition, the commission may require reserve margins or working capital standards suitable for the community choice aggregation's load.

 

    Section 58-45-120. (A) A community choice aggregation may terminate service only upon commission approval of a transition plan that ensures uninterrupted default service by the electric utility and protects customers from undue costs.

    (B) Upon termination, funds held by the community choice aggregation shall be used to satisfy outstanding obligations. If any funds remain after satisfying these obligations, the surplus funds must be returned to customers or used for customer programs as approved by the commission.

 

    Section 58-45-130. Each community choice aggregation shall file an annual report with the commission and the ORS for the prior year. The report shall include: electric load served, rates, electricity resource mix, program outcomes, customer counts, complaints, and financial statements.

   

    Section 58-45-140. The ORS may audit community choice aggregations and its vendors to the extent utilized for the community choice aggregation to ensure compliance with the provisions of this chapter and commission regulations. All community choice aggregations shall cooperate with the ORS and provide requested records.

 

    Section 58-45-150. (A) An electric cooperative or municipal utility may elect to offer or participate in community choice aggregation like aggregation programs within or across their service territories, subject to governance requirements established by their respective boards and consistent with this chapter's consumer protection standards. Nothing in this chapter prohibits an electric cooperative or municipal utility from offering retail choice within its territories if otherwise permitted by law.

 

    Section 58-45-160. The commission shall promulgate regulations concerning the provisions of this chapter including, but not limited to, community choice aggregation:

    (1) registration standards;

    (2) reporting requirements;

    (3) financial security requirements;

    (4) resource adequacy;

    (5) market conduct standards;

    (6) billing standards;

    (7) consumer protections;

    (8) reliability requirements;

    (9) cost recovery mechanisms;

    (10) electric utility tariffs; and

    (11) data exchange protocols.

 

SECTION 4.  The Public Service Commission shall adopt its initial regulations no later than twelve months after the effective date of this act.

 

SECTION 5.  If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.

 

SECTION 6.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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