2011 WISCONSIN ACT 155
An Act to renumber 196.395 and 196.491 (3m) (e); to renumber and amend 15.79, 134.40 (title), 134.40 (1), 134.40 (2) and 196.81 (3); to amend 196.02 (7), 196.378 (1) (fm), 196.378 (3) (a) 1., 196.378 (3) (a) 1m., 196.378 (3) (a) 2., 196.395 (title), 196.40, 196.491 (3m) (a) (intro.), 196.491 (3m) (c) 3. (intro.), 196.50 (2) (i), 196.52 (3) (b) 1., 196.795 (6m) (c), 227.48 (1) and 230.08 (2) (mL); to repeal and recreate 196.491 (3m) (e) (title); and to create 15.79 (2), 196.378 (2) (bm), 196.395 (2), 196.49 (5g), 196.49 (5r), 196.491 (3m) (e) 2., 196.52 (3) (b) 1m., 196.52 (3) (d), 196.81 (3) (b), 941.40 (2), 941.40 (3) and 941.40 (4) (b) of the statutes; relating to: commissioners of the Public Service Commission; notices, orders, and determinations of the commission; certificates of authority issued by the commission; approval of contracts by the commission; electricity sales from certain wholesale merchant plants; public utility removal of certain electric service lines; renewable resource credits; tampering or interfering with utility equipment; granting rule-making authority; and providing penalties.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
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1. 15.79 of the statutes is renumbered 15.79 (1) and amended to read:
15.79 (1) There is created a public service commission. No member of the commission may have a financial interest in a railroad, water carrier, or public utility. If any member voluntarily becomes so interested, the member's office shall become vacant. If the member involuntarily becomes so interested, the member's office shall become vacant unless the member divests himself or herself of the interest within a reasonable time. No commissioner may serve on or under any committee of a political party. Each commissioner shall hold office until a successor is appointed and qualified.
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2. 15.79 (2) of the statutes is created to read:
15.79 (2) A commissioner of the public service commission may not do any of the following:
(a) Be a candidate for public office in any election.
(b) Directly or indirectly solicit or receive any contribution, as defined in s. 11.01 (6), for any political purpose, as defined in s. 11.01 (16), from any person within or outside of the state.
(c) Act as an officer or manager for any candidate, political party, or committee organized to promote the candidacy of any person for any public office.
(d) Serve on or under any committee of a political party.
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3. 134.40 (title) of the statutes is renumbered 941.40 (title) and amended to read:
941.40 (title) Injury to wires by removal of building, etc.; tampering with telecommunication or electric wires.
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4. 134.40 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 941.40 (1) and amended to read:
941.40 (1) Except as provided under sub. (2) (4), any person having the right so to do who shall willfully remove or change intentionally removes or changes any building or other structure or any timber, standing or fallen, to which any telegraph, telecommunications, electric light, or electric power lines or wires are in any manner attached, or cause causes the same to be done, which shall destroy, disturb or injure and consequently destroys, disturbs, or injures the wires, poles, or other property of any telegraph, telecommunications, electric light, or electric power company, including a cooperative association organized under ch. 185, transacting business in this state, without first giving to such the company, at its office nearest to such the place of injury, at least 24 hours' previous notice thereof, shall be imprisoned not more than 30 days or fined not more than $50. And any person who shall unlawfully break down, interrupt or remove any telegraph, telecommunications, electric light or electric power line or wire or destroy, disturb, interfere with or injure the wires, poles or other property of any telegraph, telecommunications, electric light or electric power company in this state shall be imprisoned not more than 3 months or fined not more than $100 is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
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5. 134.40 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 941.40 (4) (a) and amended to read:
941.40 (4) (a) This section does
Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to any person who is lawfully using a land survey marker for land surveying purposes no more than 30 inches below ground level.
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6. 196.02 (7) of the statutes is amended to read:
196.02 (7) Commission initiative. In any matter within its jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, chs. 197 and 201 and this chapter, the commission may initiate, investigate, and order a hearing at its discretion upon such notice as it deems proper. The commission may use personal delivery, mail, electronic mail, or any other reasonable method to provide notice, including notice for a contested case hearing, notwithstanding s. 227.44 (1).
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7. 196.378 (1) (fm) of the statutes is amended to read:
196.378 (1) (fm) "Renewable energy percentage" means, with respect to an electric provider for a particular year, the percentage that results from dividing the sum of the megawatt hours represented by the following by the total amount of electricity that the electric provider sold to retail customers or members in that year:
1. The renewable resource credits created from the electric provider's total renewable energy in that year.
2. The Any renewable resource credits created or purchased by the electric provider, if any, in addition to the renewable resource credits specified in subd. 1. that the electric provider elects to use in that year.
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8. 196.378 (2) (bm) of the statutes is created to read:
196.378 (2) (bm) Each electric provider shall annually retire renewable resource credits sufficient to satisfy the electric provider's renewable energy percentage required under par. (a) 2.
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9. 196.378 (3) (a) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
196.378 (3) (a) 1. Each megawatt hour of an electric provider's total renewable energy creates one renewable resource credit for the electric provider. Subject to subd. 2., an electric provider that provides total renewable energy to its retail electric customers or members in excess of the percentages specified in exceeds its renewable energy percentage required under sub. (2) (a) 2., or that satisfies the requirements specified in rules promulgated under subd. 1m., may, in the applicable year, create a bank any excess renewable resource credit and credits or any portion of any excess renewable resource credit for use in a subsequent year or sell any excess renewable resource credits or any portion of any excess renewable resource credit to any other electric provider the renewable resource credit or a portion of the renewable resource credit at any negotiated price. An electric provider that creates or purchases a renewable resource credit or portion may use the credit or portion, as provided under par. (c), to establish compliance with sub. (2) (a) 2. The commission shall promulgate rules that establish requirements for the creation and use of a renewable resource credit created on or after January 1, 2004, including calculating the amount of a renewable resource credit, and for the tracking of renewable resource credits by a regional renewable resource credit tracking system. The rules shall specify the manner for aggregating or allocating credits under this subdivision or sub. (2) (b) 4. or 5.
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10. 196.378 (3) (a) 1m. of the statutes is amended to read:
196.378 (3) (a) 1m. The commission shall promulgate rules that allow an electric provider or customer or member of an electric provider to create a renewable resource credit based on use in a year by the electric provider, or a customer, or member
of the electric provider, of solar energy, including solar water heating and direct solar applications such as solar light pipe technology; wind energy; hydroelectric energy; geothermal energy; biomass; biogas; synthetic gas created by the plasma gasification of waste; densified fuel pellets described in sub. (1) (h) 1. i.; or fuel described in sub. (1) (h) 1. j.; but only if the use displaces the electric provider's, customer's, or member's use of electricity that is derived from conventional resources, and only if the displacement is verifiable and measurable, as determined by the commission. The rules shall allow an electric provider, customer, or member to create a renewable resource credit based on 100 percent of the amount of the displacement. The rules may not allow an electric provider to create renewable resource credits under this subdivision based on renewable energy upon which renewable resource credits are created under subd. 1. The rules may also not allow an electric provider to create renewable resource credits under this subdivision based on hydroelectric energy that is not eligible for creating renewable resource credits under subd. 1.
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11. 196.378 (3) (a) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
196.378 (3) (a) 2. The commission shall promulgate rules for calculating the amount of a renewable resource credit that is created bankable from a renewable facility placed into service before January 1, 2004. The rules shall provide that the amount of a bankable renewable resource credit created on or after January 1, 2004, from such a renewable facility, except a renewable facility owned by a retail customer of an electric provider, is limited to the incremental increase in output from the renewable facility that is due to capacity improvements made on or after January 1, 2004.
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12. 196.395 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
196.395 (title) Test, conditional, emergency and supplemental orders; waiver of conditions in orders order conditions.
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13. 196.395 of the statutes is renumbered 196.395 (1).
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14. 196.395 (2) of the statutes is created to read:
196.395 (2) As a condition of any order, the commission may not require a public utility to lobby on a legislative issue or to take a specific position on a legislative issue.
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15. 196.40 of the statutes is amended to read:
196.40 Orders and determinations; time of taking effect. Every order or determination of the commission shall take effect 20 days the day after the order or determination has been filed and served by personal delivery or, mail, electronic mail, or any other method that the commission determines is likely to reach the parties or their attorneys, to all parties to the proceeding in which the order or determination was made or to their attorneys, unless the commission specifies a different date upon which the order or determination shall be effective. After the effective date every order or determination shall be on its face lawful and reasonable unless a court determines otherwise under s. 227.57.
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16. 196.49 (5g) of the statutes is created to read:
196.49 (5g) (a) A public utility is exempt from the requirement to obtain a certification or approval of the commission under this section before beginning a proposed project if the estimated gross cost of the proposed project is not more than one of the following cost thresholds:
1. For an electric public utility whose electric operating revenues in the prior year were less than $5,000,000, the cost threshold is $250,000.
2. For an electric public utility whose electric operating revenues in the prior year were $5,000,000 or more and less than $250,000,000, the cost threshold is 4 percent of those operating revenues.
3. For an electric public utility whose electric operating revenues in the prior year were $250,000,000 or more, the cost threshold is $10,000,000.
4. For a natural gas public utility, the cost threshold is $2,500,000 or 4 percent of the public utility's natural gas operating revenues in the prior year, whichever is less.
5. For a water public utility or combined water and sewer public utility, the cost threshold is $250,000 or 25 percent of the utility's operating revenues in the prior year, whichever is less.
(b) Beginning on May 1, 2014, and on May 1 of each successive even-numbered year thereafter, the commission shall adjust the cost thresholds specified in par. (a) to reflect changes to the cost of utility construction based on the applicable industry cost index numbers published in the Handy-Whitman Index of Public Utility Construction Costs, or an equivalent successor index, and publicize the adjusted cost thresholds on the commission's Web site.
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17. 196.49 (5r) of the statutes is created to read:
196.49 (5r) (a) If a hearing is held on an application filed under sub. (1), (2), (3), or (5), the commission shall take final action on the application within 180 days after the commission issues a notice of hearing on the application. The chairperson of the commission may extend the time period for an additional 180 days for good cause. If the commission fails to take final action within the initial 180-day period, or the extended 180-day time period, the commission is considered to have issued a certificate of authority with respect to the application.
(b) If a hearing is not held on an application filed under sub. (1), (2), (3), or (5), the commission shall take final action on the application within 90 days after the commission issues a notice opening a docket on the application. The chairperson of the commission may extend the time period for an additional 90 days for good cause. If the commission fails to take final action within the initial 90-day period, or the extended 90-day time period, the commission is considered to have issued a certificate of authority with respect to the application.
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18. 196.491 (3m) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
196.491 (3m) (a) Commission approval required. (intro.) Except as provided in par. (e) 1., 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:
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19. 196.491 (3m) (c) 3. (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
196.491 (3m) (c) 3. (intro.) An Except as provided in par. (e) 2., 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:
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20. 196.491 (3m) (e) (title) of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:
196.491 (3m) (e) (title) Exemptions.
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21. 196.491 (3m) (e) of the statutes is renumbered 196.491 (3m) (e) 1.
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22. 196.491 (3m) (e) 2. of the statutes is created to read:
