| (iii) The minimal level of retail water service requested
by the utility must not exceed 3,000 gallons per month per connection.
Additional gallons used must be billed at the utility's tariffed rates.
(iv) For purposes of the provision in this subparagraph,
a reduced rate authorized under this section does not:
(I) Make or grant an unreasonable preference or advantage
to any corporation or person;
(II) Subject a corporation or person to an unreasonable
prejudice or disadvantage; or
(III) Constitute an unreasonable difference as to retail
water rates between classes of service.
(C) If a utility has provided notice as required in
subparagraph (F) of this paragraph, the commission may approve a pass-through
provision as a minor tariff change, even if the utility has never
had an approved pass-through provision in its tariff. A pass-through
provision may not be approved for a charge already included in the
utility's cost of service used to calculate the rates approved by
the commission in the utility's most recently approved rate change
under TWC §§13.187, 13.1871, 13.18715, or 13.1872. A pass-through
provision may only include passing through of the actual costs charged
to the utility. Only the commission staff or the utility may request
a hearing on a proposed pass-through provision or a proposed revision
or change to a pass-through provision. A pass-through provision may
be approved as follows:
(i) A utility that purchases water or sewage treatment
and whose rates are under the original jurisdiction of the commission
may include a provision in its tariff to pass through to its customers
changes in such costs. The provision must specify how it is calculated.
(ii) A utility may pass through a temporary water rate
provision implemented in response to mandatory reductions in water
use imposed by a court, government agency, or other authority. The
provision must specify how the temporary water rate provision is calculated.
(iii) A utility may include the addition of a production
fee charged by a groundwater conservation district, including a production
fee charged in accordance with a groundwater reduction plan entered
in to by a utility in response to a groundwater conservation district
production order or rule, as a separate line item in the tariff.
(iv) A utility may pass through the costs of changing
its source of water if the source change is required by a governmental
entity. The pass-through provision may not be effective prior to the
date the conversion begins. The pass-through provision must be calculated
using an annual true-up provision.
(v) A utility subject to more than one pass-through
cost allowable in this section may request approval of an overall
combined pass-through provision that includes all allowed pass-through
costs to be recovered in one provision under subparagraph (D) of this
paragraph. The twelve calendar months (true-up period) for inclusion
in the true-up must remain constant, e.g., January through December.
(vi) A utility that has a combined pass-through provision
in its approved tariff may request to amend its tariff to replace
the combined pass-through provision with individual pass-through provisions
if all revenues and expenses have been properly trued up in a true-up
report and all overcollections have been credited back to the customers.
A utility that has replaced its previously approved combined pass-through
provision with individual provisions may not request another combined
pass-through until three years after the replacement has been approved
unless good cause is shown.
(D) A change in the combined pass-through provision
may be implemented only once per year. The utility must file a true-up
report within one month after the end of the true-up period. The report
must reconcile both expenses and revenues related to the combined
pass-through charge for the true-up period. If the true-up report
reflects an over-collection from customers, the utility must change
its combined pass-through rate using the confirmed rate changes to
charges being passed through and the over-collection from customers
reflected in the true-up report. If the true-up report does not reflect
an over-collection from the customers, the implementation of a change
to the pass-through rate is optional. The change may be effective
in a billing cycle within three months after the end of the true-up
period as long as the true-up clearly shows the reconciliation between
charges by pass-through entities and collections from the customers,
and charges from previous years are reconciled. Only expenses charged
by the pass-through provider may be included in the provision. The
true-up report must include:
(i) a list of all entities charging fees included in
the combined pass- through provision, specifying any new entities
added to the combined pass-through provision;
(ii) a summary of each charge passed through in the
report year, along with documentation verifying the charge assessed
and showing the amount the utility paid;
(iii) a comparison between annual amounts billed by
all entities charging fees included in the pass-through provision
with amounts billed for the usage by the utility to its customers
in the pass-through period;
(iv) all calculations and supporting documentation;
(v) a summary report, by year, for the lesser of all
years prior or five years prior to the pass-through period showing
the same information as in clause (iii) of this subparagraph with
a reconciliation to the utility's booked numbers, if there is a difference
in any year; and
(vi) any other documentation or information requested
by the commission.
(E) For any pass-through provision granted under this
section, all charges approved for recovery of pass-through costs must
be stated separately from all charges by the utility to recover the
revenue requirement. Except for a combined pass-through provision,
the calculation for a pass-through gallonage rate for a utility with
one source of water may be made using the following equation, which
is provided as an example: R=G /(1-L), where R is the utility's new
proposed pass-through rate, G equals the new gallonage charge by source
supplier or conservation district, and L equals the actual line loss
reflected as a percentage expressed in decimal format (for example,
8.5% would be expressed as 0.085). Line loss will be considered on
a case-by-case basis.
(F) A utility that requests to revise or implement
an approved pass-through provision must take the following actions
prior to the beginning of the billing period in which the revision
takes effect:
(i) file a written notice with the commission that
must include:
(I) each affected CCN number;
(II) a list of each affected subdivision public water
system (including name and corresponding number issued by the TCEQ),
and water quality system (including name and corresponding number
issued by the TCEQ), if applicable;
(III) a copy of the notice to the customers;
(IV) documentation supporting the stated amounts of
any new or modified pass-through costs;
(V) historical documentation of line loss for one year;
(VI) all calculations and assumptions for any true-up
of pass-through costs;
(VII) the calculations and assumptions used to determine
the new rates; and
(VIII) a copy of the pages of the utility's tariff
that contain the rates that will change if the utility's application
is approved; and
(ii) e-mail (if the customer has agreed to receive
communications electronically), mail, or hand-deliver notice to the
utility's customers. Notice may be in the form of a billing insert
and must contain:
(I) the effective date of the change;
(II) the present calculation of customer billings;
(III) the new calculation of customer billings;
(IV) an explanation of any corrections to the pass-through
formula, if applicable;
(V) the change in charges to the utility for purchased
water or sewer treatment or ground water reduction fee or subsidence,
if applicable; and
(VI) the following language: "This tariff change is
being implemented in accordance with the minor tariff changes allowed
by 16 Texas Administrative Code §24.25. The cost to you as a
result of this change will not exceed the costs charged to your utility."
(G) The following provisions apply to surcharges:
(i) A surcharge is an authorized rate to collect revenues
over and above the usual cost of service.
(ii) If authorized by the commission or the municipality
exercising original jurisdiction over the utility, a surcharge to
recover the actual increase in costs to the utility may be collected
over a specifically authorized time period without being listed on
the approved tariff for:
(I) sampling fees not already recovered by rates;
Cont'd... |
