An Act To Allow Transmission and Distribution Utilities To Generate and Sell Power

Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §3202, sub-§5,  as enacted by PL 1999, c. 398, Pt. B, §1, is amended to read:

Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §3204,  as amended by PL 2003, c. 344, Pt. D, §24, is repealed.

Sec. 3. 35-A MRSA §3205,  as amended by PL 1999, c. 237, §2 and c. 398, Pt. G, §§1 to 3, is repealed.

Sec. 4. 35-A MRSA §3206,  as enacted by PL 1997, c. 316, §3, is repealed.

Sec. 5. 35-A MRSA §3206-A,  as amended by PL 2003, c. 505, §30, is repealed.

Sec. 6. 35-A MRSA §3206-B  is enacted to read:

§ 3206-B.  Generation and sale of electric energy; rules

Subject to rules adopted by the commission, an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility may have a financial interest in or otherwise control generation or generation-related assets, may generate electricity and may sell electric energy to retail consumers. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

summary

This bill removes the provisions in current law that prohibit investor-owned transmission and distribution utilities from owning and operating electric generation facilities and from selling electric energy to consumers at retail, including those provisions that require such utilities to divest generation assets and generation-related business activity. The bill requires the Public Utilities Commission to adopt rules to govern the ownership of generation assets, generation of electricity and retail sale of electricity by investor-owned transmission and distribution utilities.