| (5) Scope of proceeding. The issues of whether distribution invested capital included in an application for a DCRF or DCRF adjustment complies with PURA, including §36.053 and §36.058, and is prudent, reasonable, and necessary shall not be addressed in a DCRF proceeding unless the presiding officer finds that good cause exists to address these issues. (6) Commission processing of application. (A) Sufficiency of application. A motion to find an application materially deficient shall be filed no later than 30 days after service of notice is completed. The motion shall be served on the electric utility by hand delivery, facsimile transmission, or overnight courier delivery, or by e-mail if agreed to by the electric utility or ordered by the presiding officer. The motion shall specify the nature of the deficiency and the relevant portions of the application, and cite the particular requirement with which the application is alleged not to comply. The electric utility's response to a motion to find an application materially deficient shall be filed no later than five working days after such motion is received. If within ten working days after the deadline for filing a motion to find an application materially deficient, the presiding officer has not issued a written order concluding that material deficiencies exist in the application, the application is deemed sufficient. (B) Discovery. Each party, other than commission staff, may serve no more than 20 requests for information and requests for admissions of fact pursuant to §22.144 of this title (relating to Requests for Information and Requests for Admission of Facts), except where the presiding officer finds good cause for a party to serve additional requests. Except for a request by commission staff, a request shall not include subparts or multiple questions, and requests shall be sequentially numbered, regardless of whether the requests are served at the same time or on different parties. A response to a request shall be served no later than ten working days after receipt of the discovery request. An objection to a request shall be filed no later than five working days from receipt of the request. A request for which an objection is filed does not count towards a party's request limit. A party may request a technical conference by the intervention deadline, and shall identify the topics that it wants to discuss. An electric utility shall hold the technical conference in Austin, Texas five working days after the intervention deadline, unless the electric utility and the parties who requested the technical conference agree to a different date. The technical conference shall be held at the location designated by the electric utility, unless the commission staff designates a location. The electric utility shall have appropriate persons attend the technical conference to answer questions. A party may take a deposition only if authorized by the presiding officer. (C) System-wide rates and effective date of DCRF. The presiding officer shall approve the DCRF for an electric utility on a system-wide basis and set the effective date of the DCRF for a TDU as September 1 unless good cause exists for a later date. The presiding officer shall make a final decision on a DCRF application made by a TDU at least 46 days before the effective date of the approved rates, even if this requirement results in an effective date after September 1. For an electric utility that does not offer customer choice, the presiding officer shall set the effective date of the DCRF to be 145 days after the application was filed unless good cause exists for a later date. (D) Review of application. A DCRF proceeding is eligible for disposition pursuant to §22.35(b)(1) of this title (relating to Informal Disposition). (E) Notice of approved rates. Unless otherwise ordered, a TDU shall serve notice of the approved rates and the effective date of the approved rates by the working day after the presiding officer's final decision, to retail electric providers that are authorized by the registration agent to provide service in the TDU's distribution service area. Notice under this subparagraph of this paragraph may be served by email. (f) DCRF reconciliation. The commission shall reconcile investments recovered through a DCRF in the electric utility's next comprehensive base-rate proceeding to the extent such reconciliation did not already occur in a DCRF proceeding pursuant to subsection (e)(5) of this section. The reconciliation shall be limited to the issues of the extent to which the investments complied with PURA, including §36.053 and §36.058, and this section and were prudent, reasonable, and necessary. To the extent that the commission determines that the investments did not comply with PURA and this section or were not prudent, reasonable, and necessary, the electric utility shall refund all revenues related to the investments that it improperly recovered through rates, and shall also pay its customers carrying charges on these revenues. The carrying charges shall be determined as follows: For the time period beginning with the date on which over-recovery is determined to have begun to the effective date of the new base rates, carrying costs shall be calculated using the same rate of return that was applied to the investments in the DCRF proceedings that resulted in the over-recovery. For the time period beginning with the effective date of the new base rates, carrying costs shall be calculated using the electric utility's rate of return authorized in the comprehensive base-rate proceeding. (g) DCRF's effect on electric utility's financial risk and rate of return. In setting the rate of return for an electric utility with a DCRF, the commission may expressly consider the effect of the DCRF on the electric utility's financial risk and rate of return. (h) Reports. An electric utility with a DCRF shall file reports that will permit the commission to monitor its DCRF revenues, in accordance with any filing requirements and schedules prescribed by the commission pursuant to §25.73 of this title or this section. (i) Expiration. This section expires upon the expiration of PURA §36.210. Any DCRF in effect at that time shall remain in effect until the electric utility's next comprehensive base-rate proceeding. |
