1997 Wisconsin Act 204

196.491 (3) (a) 2. The commission shall determine whether an application filed under subd. 1. is complete and, no later than 30 days after the application is filed, notify the applicant about the determination. If the commission determines that the application is incomplete, the notice shall state the reason for the determination. An applicant may supplement and refile an application that the commission has determined to be incomplete. There is no limit on the number of times that an applicant may refile an application under this subdivision. If the commission fails to determine whether an application is complete within 30 days after the application is filed, the application shall be considered to be complete.

204,66 Section 66 . 196.491 (3) (a) 3. b. of the statutes is created to read:

196.491 (3) (a) 3. b. Within 20 days after the department provides a listing specified in subd. 3. a. to a person, the person shall apply for the permits and approvals identified in the listing. The department shall determine whether an application under this subd. 3. b. is complete and, no later than 30 days after the application is filed, notify the applicant about the determination. If the department determines that the application is incomplete, the notice shall state the reason for the determination. An applicant may supplement and refile an application that the department has determined to be incomplete. There is no limit on the number of times that an applicant may refile an application under this subd. 3. b. If the department fails to determine whether an application is complete within 30 days after the application is filed, the application shall be considered to be complete. The department shall complete action on an application under this subd. 3. b. for any permit or approval that is required prior to construction of a facility within 120 days after the date on which the application is determined or considered to be complete.

204,67 Section 67 . 196.491 (3) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

196.491 (3) (b) The commission shall hold a public hearing on the an application that is determined or considered to be complete in the area affected pursuant to s. 227.44. A class 1 notice, under ch. 985, shall be given at least 30 days prior to the hearing.

204,68 Section 68 . 196.491 (3) (d) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

196.491 (3) (d) (intro.) Except as provided under par. (e) and s. 196.493, the commission shall approve an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity shall be approved only if the commission determines that all of the following:

204,69 Section 69 . 196.491 (3) (d) 1. of the statutes is repealed.

204,70 Section 70 . 196.491 (3) (d) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

196.491 (3) (d) 2. The proposed facility is necessary to satisfy satisfies the reasonable needs of the public for an adequate supply of electric energy. This subdivision does not apply to a wholesale merchant plant.

204,71 Section 71 . 196.491 (3) (d) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:

196.491 (3) (d) 3. The design and location or route is in the public interest considering alternative sources of supply, alternative locations or routes, individual hardships, engineering, economic, safety, reliability and environmental factors, except that the commission may not consider alternative sources of supply or engineering or economic factors if the application is for a wholesale merchant plant. In its consideration of environmental factors, the commission may not determine that the design and location or route is not in the public interest because of the impact of air pollution if the proposed facility will meet the requirements of ch. 285.

204,72 Section 72 . 196.491 (3) (d) 7. of the statutes is created to read:

196.491 (3) (d) 7. The proposed facility will not have a material adverse impact on competition in the relevant wholesale electric service market.

204,72m Section 72m. 196.491 (3) (dm) of the statutes is created to read:

196.491 (3) (dm) In making a determination required under par. (d), the commission may not consider a factual conclusion in a strategic energy assessment unless the conclusion is independently corroborated in the hearing under par. (b).

204,73 Section 73 . 196.491 (3) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:

196.491 (3) (e) If the application does not meet the criteria under par. (d), the commission shall reject the application or approve the application with such modifications as are necessary for an affirmative finding under par. (d). The commission may not issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity until the department has issued all permits and approvals designated under sub. (2m) as necessary prior to the issuance of the certificate of public convenience and necessity identified in the listing specified in par. (a) 3. a. that are required prior to construction.

204,74 Section 74 . 196.491 (3) (f) and (ff) of the statutes are repealed.

204,75 Section 75 . 196.491 (3) (g) (intro.) and 1. of the statutes are consolidated, renumbered 196.491 (3) (g) 1. and amended to read:

196.491 (3) (g) 1. The commission shall take final action on the an application within : 1. 180 days after the application under this subsection for large electric generating facilities or high-voltage transmission lines is determined or considered to be complete under par. (a) 2. If the commission fails to take final action within the 180-day period, the commission is considered to have issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity with respect to the application, unless the commission, within the 180-day period, petitions the circuit court for Dane County for an extension of time for taking final action on the application and the court grants an extension. Upon a showing of good cause, the court may extend the 180-day period for no more than an additional 180 days . If the commission fails to take final action within the extended period, the commission is considered to have issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity with respect to the application.

204,76 Section 76 . 196.491 (3) (g) 1m. of the statutes is created to read:

196.491 (3) (g) 1m. Subdivision 1. does not apply to an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity if another state is also taking action on the same or a related application.

204,77 Section 77 . 196.491 (3) (g) 2. of the statutes is repealed.

204,78 Section 78 . 196.491 (3) (hm) of the statutes is repealed:

204,79 Section 79 . 196.491 (3) (j) of the statutes is amended to read:

196.491 (3) (j) Any person whose substantial rights may be adversely affected or any county, municipality or town having jurisdiction over land affected by an advance plan or a certificate of public convenience and necessity may petition for judicial review, under ch. 227, of any decision of the commission regarding the advance plan or the certificate.

204,80 Section 80 . 196.491 (3) (k) of the statutes is amended to read:

196.491 (3) (k) No person may purchase, or acquire an option to purchase, any interest in real property knowing that such property is being purchased to be used for the construction of a high-voltage transmission line unless the person gives written notice to the prospective seller of the size, maximum voltage and structure type of any transmission line planned to be constructed thereon and the electric utility person by whom it will be operated. Contracts made in violation of this paragraph are subject to rescission by the seller at any time prior to the issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the facility high-voltage transmission line by the commission.

204,81 Section 81 . 196.491 (3m) of the statutes is created to read:

196.491 (3m) Wholesale merchant plants. (a) Commission approval required. Except as provided in par. (e), an affiliated interest of a public utility may not own, control or operate a wholesale merchant plant without the approval of the commission. The commission shall grant its approval only if each of the following is satisfied:

1. The public utility has transferred control over its transmission facilities, as defined in s. 196.485 (1) (h), to an independent system operator, as defined in s. 196.485 (1) (d), that is approved by the federal energy regulatory commission or the public utility has divested its interest in the transmission facilities to an independent transmission owner, as defined in s. 196.485 (1) (dm).

2. The commission finds that the ownership, control or operation will not have a substantial anticompetitive effect on electricity markets for any classes of customers.

(b) Duty to promulgate rules. 1. The commission shall promulgate rules that establish requirements and procedures for an affiliated interest to apply for an approval under par. (a). The rules shall do each of the following:

a. Describe the showing that an applicant is required to make for the commission to grant an approval under par. (a).

am. Establish screening tests and safe harbors for proposed wholesale merchant plant projects, including projects in which an affiliated interest is a passive investor and over which the affiliated interest is not able to exercise control or influence and projects in which an affiliated interest's ownership interest is less than 5%.

b. Describe the analytical process that the commission shall use in determining whether to make a finding under par. (a) 2. and describe the factors specified in subd. 3.

c. Allow an interested person to request a hearing on an application under s. 227.42.

2. The analytical process specified in subd. 1. b. shall, to the extent practicable, be consistent with the analytical process described in the enforcement policy of the federal department of justice and the federal trade commission regarding horizontal acquisitions and mergers that are subject to 15 USC 1, 18 or 45.

3. The commission shall use the following factors in determining whether to make a finding under par. (a) 2.:

a. The degree of market concentration resulting from the affiliated interest's proposed ownership, operation or control.

b. The extent of control that the affiliated interest proposes to exercise over the wholesale merchant plant.

d. Any other factor that the commission determines is necessary to determine whether to make a finding under par. (a) 2.

(c) Sales by affiliated interests. 1. In this paragraph:

a. “Electric sale" means a sale of electricity that is generated at a wholesale merchant plant that is owned, operated or controlled by an affiliated interest.

b. “Firm sale" means an electric sale in which electricity is intended to be available to a purchaser at all times during a specified period on an uninterruptible basis.

2. The commission shall review any electric sale by an affiliated interest to a public utility with which the affiliated interest is affiliated. If the commission finds that an electric sale is not in the public interest, the commission shall do any of the following:

a. Disallow the public utility's costs related to the sale in a rate-setting proceeding.

b. Order the public utility to provide a refund, in an amount determined by the commission, to its customers.

c. Order the public utility or affiliated interest to take any action that the commission determines is in the public interest, except that the commission may not order the public utility or affiliated interest to void the sale.

3. An affiliated interest may not make any firm sale to a public utility with which the affiliated interest is affiliated if the firm sale satisfies any of the following:

a. The period of the firm sale is 3 years or more.

b. The period of the firm sale is less than 3 years and either the public utility or the affiliated interest has an option to extend the period to 3 years or more.

(d) Retail sales outside this state. The commission may not promulgate rules or issue orders that prohibit owners or operators of wholesale merchant plants from providing electric service to retail customers in another state.

(e) Exemption. An approval under par. (a) is not required for an affiliated interest to own, operate or control a wholesale merchant plant in Grant County if the affiliated interest owned, operated or controlled the wholesale merchant plant before January 1, 1998.

204,82 Section 82 . 196.491 (4) (a) (intro.) of the statutes, as created by 1997 Wisconsin Act 27, is repealed.

204,83 Section 83 . 196.491 (4) (a) 1. and 2. of the statutes, as created by 1997 Wisconsin Act 27, are renumbered 196.491 (4) (b) 1. and 2.

204,84 Section 84 . 196.491 (4) (a) 3. of the statutes, as created by 1997 Wisconsin Act 27, is repealed.

204,85 Section 85 . 196.491 (4) (b) of the statutes, as created by 1997 Wisconsin Act 27, is renumbered 196.491 (4) (b) (intro.) and amended to read:

196.491 (4) (b) (intro.) Subsection (3) does not apply to a person that constructs electric generating equipment and associated facilities if the person satisfies the requirements specified in par. (a) 1. and 2. each of the following:

204,86 Section 86 . 196.491 (4) (c) of the statutes is created to read:

196.491 (4) (c) A certificate under sub. (3) is not required for a person to construct a high-voltage transmission line designed for operation at a nominal voltage of less than 230 kilovolts if all related construction activity takes place entirely within the area of an existing electric transmission line right-of-way.

204,87 Section 87 . 196.491 (5) of the statutes is created to read:

196.491 (5) Service standards for electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities. The commission shall promulgate rules that establish all of the following:

(a) Standards for inspecting, maintaining and repairing each of the following:

1. Electric generation facilities in this state that are owned by public utilities or provide service to public utilities under contracts with terms of 5 years or more.

2. Electric transmission or distribution facilities in this state that are owned by public utilities.

(b) Standards that the commission determines are necessary for the safe and reliable operation of each of the following:

1. Electric generation facilities in this state that are owned by public utilities or provide service to public utilities under contracts with terms of 5 years or more.

2. Electric transmission or distribution facilities in this state that are owned by public utilities.

204,88 Section 88 . 196.492 of the statutes is repealed.

204,89 Section 89 . 196.493 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

196.493 (1) Definition. In this section, “nuclear power plant" means a nuclear-fired large electric generating facility as defined under s. 196.491 (1) (g) or a nuclear-fired bulk electric generating facility as defined under s. 196.491 (1) (a).

204,90 Section 90 . 196.493 (2) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

196.493 (2) Limits on certification. (intro.) The commission may not certify under s. 196.49 (3) (b) or 196.491 (3) any nuclear power plant and may not approve under s. 196.491 (2) any plan which includes a nuclear power plant unless the commission finds that:

204,91 Section 91 . 196.494 of the statutes is created to read:

196.494 Regional transmission planning. (1) In this section:

(a) “Electric utility" means a public utility, other than a municipal utility, as defined in s. 196.377 (2) (a) 3., that provides retail electric service to customers in this state.

(b) “Transmission facility" means any pipe, pipeline, duct, wire, line, conduit, pole, tower, equipment or other structure used for the transmission of electric power as determined by the commission.

(2) The commission shall conduct a study on identifying and relieving any constraint on an intrastate or interstate electric transmission system that adversely affects the reliability of transmission service provided to electric customers in this state and shall, no later than September 1, 1998, submit a report on the results of the study to the legislature in the manner provided under s. 13.172 (2).

(3) No later than December 31, 2004, the commission may, under this subsection, issue an order requiring an electric utility to construct or procure, on a competitive basis, the construction of transmission facilities specified by the commission in its order if the commission determines that, based on the results of the study under sub. (2), such construction is necessary to relieve a constraint on a transmission system and the construction will materially benefit the customers of the electric utility or other electric utilities or of an independent system operator, as defined in s. 196.485 (1) (d), or independent transmission owner, as defined in s. 196.485 (1) (dm).

(4) The commission shall allow an electric utility to recover in its retail electric rates any costs that are prudently incurred by the utility in complying with an order under sub. (3).

204,92 Section 92 . 196.53 of the statutes is amended to read:

196.53 Franchise, foreign corporation not to have. No license, permit or franchise to own, operate, manage or control any plant or equipment for the production, transmission, delivery or furnishing of heat, light, water or power may be granted or transferred to a foreign corporation. This section does not apply to an independent system operator, as defined in s. 196.485 (1) (d), or an independent transmission owner, as defined in s. 196.485 (1) (dm), that is approved by the applicable federal agency, as defined in s. 196.485 (1) (c), and that controls transmission facilities, as defined in s. 196.485 (1) (h), in this and another state.

204,93 Section 93 . 196.795 (5) (pm) of the statutes is created to read:

196.795 (5) (pm) 1. In this paragraph:

a. “Foreign affiliate" means a person that is engaged in the production, transmission, delivery or furnishing of heat, light, power or natural gas either directly or indirectly to or for use of the public in another state, that is incorporated under the laws of another state, that is an affiliated interest, as defined in s. 196.52 (1), of a public utility and that is operated on an integrated system basis, as determined by the commission, with the public utility.

b. “Reliability council area" means the geographic area that, on December 31, 1997, was served by the Mid-America Interconnected Network, Inc., Mid-Continent Area Power Pool, East Central Area Reliability Coordination Agreement or Southwest Power Pool reliability council of the North American Electric Reliability Council.

c. “Wholesale merchant plant" means a wholesale merchant plant, as defined in s. 196.491 (1) (w), except that its location is not limited to this state, that is located in the reliability council area and that is owned, operated or controlled by an affiliated interest of a public utility.