196.491(3)(a)3.b.
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.
196.491(3)(b)
(b) The commission shall hold a public hearing on 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.
196.491(3)(d)
(d) Except as provided under
par. (e) and
s. 196.493, the commission shall approve an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity only if the commission determines all of the following:
196.491(3)(d)2.
2. The proposed facility satisfies the reasonable needs of the public for an adequate supply of electric energy. This subdivision does not apply to a wholesale merchant plant.
196.491(3)(d)3.
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.
196.491(3)(d)3m.
3m. For a high-voltage transmission line, as defined in
s. 30.40 (3r), that is to be located in the lower Wisconsin state riverway, as defined in
s. 30.40 (15), the high-voltage transmission line will not impair, to the extent practicable, the scenic beauty or the natural value of the riverway. The commission may not require that a high-voltage transmission line, as defined in
s. 30.40 (3r), be placed underground in order for it to approve an application.
196.491(3)(d)4.
4. The proposed facility will not have undue adverse impact on other environmental values such as, but not limited to, ecological balance, public health and welfare, historic sites, geological formations, the aesthetics of land and water and recreational use. In its consideration of the impact on other environmental values, the commission may not determine that the proposed facility will have an undue adverse impact on these values because of the impact of air pollution if the proposed facility will meet the requirements of
ch. 285.
196.491(3)(d)6.
6. The proposed facility will not unreasonably interfere with the orderly land use and development plans for the area involved.
196.491(3)(d)7.
7. The proposed facility will not have a material adverse impact on competition in the relevant wholesale electric service market.
196.491(3)(dm)
(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).
196.491(3)(e)
(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 identified in the listing specified in
par. (a) 3. a. that are required prior to construction.
196.491(3)(g)1.1. The commission shall take final action on an application within 180 days after the application 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.
196.491(3)(g)1m.
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.
196.491(3)(h)
(h) The commission may waive compliance with any requirement of this section to the extent necessary to restore service which has been substantially interrupted by a natural catastrophe, accident, sabotage or act of God.
196.491(3)(i)
(i) If installation or utilization of a facility for which a certificate of convenience and necessity has been granted is precluded or inhibited by a local ordinance, the installation and utilization of the facility may nevertheless proceed.
196.491(3)(j)
(j) Any person whose substantial rights may be adversely affected or any county, municipality or town having jurisdiction over land affected by a certificate of public convenience and necessity may petition for judicial review, under
ch. 227, of any decision of the commission regarding the certificate.
196.491(3)(k)
(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 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 high-voltage transmission line by the commission.
196.491(3m)(a)(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:
196.491(3m)(a)1.
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).
196.491(3m)(a)2.
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.
196.491(3m)(b)1.1. 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:
196.491(3m)(b)1.a.
a. Describe the showing that an applicant is required to make for the commission to grant an approval under
par. (a).
196.491(3m)(b)1.am.
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%.
196.491(3m)(b)1.b.
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.
196.491(3m)(b)2.
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.
196.491(3m)(b)3.
3. The commission shall use the following factors in determining whether to make a finding under
par. (a) 2.:
196.491(3m)(b)3.a.
a. The degree of market concentration resulting from the affiliated interest's proposed ownership, operation or control.
196.491(3m)(b)3.b.
b. The extent of control that the affiliated interest proposes to exercise over the wholesale merchant plant.
196.491(3m)(b)3.d.
d. Any other factor that the commission determines is necessary to determine whether to make a finding under
par. (a) 2.
196.491(3m)(c)1.a.
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.
196.491(3m)(c)1.b.
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.
196.491(3m)(c)2.
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:
196.491(3m)(c)2.a.
a. Disallow the public utility's costs related to the sale in a rate-setting proceeding.
196.491(3m)(c)2.b.
b. Order the public utility to provide a refund, in an amount determined by the commission, to its customers.
196.491(3m)(c)2.c.
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.
196.491(3m)(c)3.
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:
196.491(3m)(c)3.b.
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.
196.491(3m)(d)
(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.
196.491(3m)(e)
(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.
196.491(4)(b)(b) Subsection (3) does not apply to a person that constructs electric generating equipment and associated facilities if the person satisfies each of the following:
196.491(4)(b)1.
1. The person is not a public utility or a cooperative association organized under
ch. 185 for the purpose of generating, distributing or furnishing electric energy at retail or wholesale to its members only.
196.491(4)(b)2.
2. The person shows to the satisfaction of the commission that the person reasonably anticipates, at the time that construction of the equipment or facilities commences, that on each day that the equipment and facilities are in operation the person will consume no less than 70% of the aggregate kilowatt hours output from the equipment and facilities in manufacturing processes at the site where the equipment and facilities are located.
196.491(4)(c)
(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.
196.491(5)
(5) Service standards for electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities. The commission shall promulgate rules that establish all of the following:
196.491(5)(a)
(a) Standards for inspecting, maintaining and repairing each of the following:
196.491(5)(a)1.
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.
196.491(5)(a)2.
2. Electric transmission or distribution facilities in this state that are owned by public utilities.
196.491(5)(b)
(b) Standards that the commission determines are necessary for the safe and reliable operation of each of the following:
196.491(5)(b)1.
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.
196.491(5)(b)2.
2. Electric transmission or distribution facilities in this state that are owned by public utilities.
196.493
196.493
Construction of nuclear power plants limited. 196.493(1)(1)
Definition. In this section, "nuclear power plant" means a nuclear-fired large electric generating facility as defined under
s. 196.491 (1) (g).
196.493(2)(a)
(a) A federally licensed facility, or a facility outside of the United States which the commission determines will satisfy the public welfare requirements of the people of this state, with adequate capacity to dispose of high-level nuclear waste from all nuclear power plants operating in this state will be available, as necessary, for disposal of the waste; and
196.493(2)(b)
(b) The proposed nuclear power plant, in comparison with feasible alternatives, is economically advantageous to ratepayers, based upon:
196.493(2)(b)1.
1. The existence of a reliable and adequate nuclear fuel supply;
196.493(2)(b)2.
2. The costs for construction, operation and decommissioning of nuclear power plants and for nuclear waste disposal; and
196.493(2)(b)3.
3. Any other factor having an impact on the economics of nuclear power plants, as determined by the commission.
196.493 History
History: 1983 a. 401;
1997 a. 204.
196.494
196.494
Regional transmission planning. 196.494(1)(a)
(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.
196.494(1)(b)
(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.
196.494(2)
(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).
196.494(3)
(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).
196.494(4)
(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).
196.494 History
History: 1997 a. 204.
196.495
196.495
Avoidance of duplication in electric facilities. 196.495(1)(a)1.
1. "Primary voltage extension" means an extension of 500 feet or more.
196.495(1)(a)2.
2. "Secondary voltage extension" means an extension that is less than 500 feet.
196.495(1)(b)
(b) The length of an extension shall be measured as the air line distance between an existing local service distribution line that normally operates at less than 35 kilovolts and the nearest point on the principal building or facility to be served by a primary voltage extension or a secondary voltage extension.
196.495(1m)
(1m) No public utility, and no cooperative association organized under
ch. 185 for the purpose of furnishing electric service to its members only, may:
196.495(1m)(a)
(a) Extend or render electric service directly or indirectly to the premises of any person already receiving electric service directly or indirectly from another public utility or another cooperative association.
196.495(1m)(b)
(b) Make a primary voltage extension to serve the premises of any person not receiving electric service and to which service is available from the facilities of another public utility or another such cooperative association through a secondary voltage extension, unless the other public utility or cooperative association consents to the primary voltage extension in writing or unless the commission, after notice to the interested parties and hearing, determines that the service rendered or to be rendered by the other public utility or cooperative association is inadequate and is not likely to be made adequate, or that the rates charged for service are unreasonable and are not likely to be made reasonable.
196.495(2)
(2) If a public utility is rendering electric service under an indeterminate permit to a city or village, no cooperative association may extend any new electric service to the premises of any person inside the corporate limits, existing on January 1, 1961, of the city or village without the written consent of the public utility. Within any area annexed to a city or village after January 1, 1961, in which annexed area a cooperative association or public utility, other than the public utility serving the city or village under an indeterminate permit, has electric distribution facilities at the time of the annexation, the cooperative association or other public utility may make a primary voltage extension or a secondary voltage extension in the annexed area, subject to
sub. (1m).
196.495(2m)
(2m) The distribution service facilities of a cooperative association or public utility rendering electric service in an annexed area under
sub. (2) shall be subject to acquisition under
ch. 197 by a city or village if the city or village operates or proposes to operate its own electric public utility.
196.495(3)
(3) Nothing in this section shall preclude any public utility or any cooperative association from extending electric service to its own property or facilities or to another cooperative association for resale.
