HB 766 -- Electric and Gas Utilities

Co-Sponsors:  Bray, Lowe

This bill requires the Public Service Commission to adopt rules
by January 1, 2003, that establish procedures for retail
electric or gas service providers to disclose terms of service
to current and potential customers and to others on request.
The disclosure must include information on price structure and
variability; contract details; required deposits, fees, and
penalties; and a detailed statement of customer rights.  Retail
customers may cancel their electric service within 7 business
days after receiving the disclosure.

A uniform label that facilitates comparison shopping for service
must be placed on the marketing and advertising materials of
retail electric service providers.  The label must disclose
terms of service; the percentages of the supplier's electricity
generated from coal, biomass, hydropower, solar, wind, nuclear,
and other sources; and the supplier's emissions of air
pollutants and nuclear waste.

The bill also requires all retail electric service providers,
except municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives that
chose not to participate in retail competition, to provide at
least 3% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2005, 5%
by 2008, and 7.5% by 2015.  The Department of Natural Resources,
in consultation with the Public Service Commission, will develop
a certification process for renewable sources.

The department and commission will also develop safety criteria
and a standard contract to provide two-directional net metering
to customers with electric generating systems that are powered
by renewable energy sources and capable of producing no more
than 100 kilowatts.  The contract must allow customers to feed
excess electricity back into the power grid to offset
consumption costs over an annual billing period.  Net metering
will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis until
statewide capacity equals the lesser of 10,000 kilowatts or 0.1%
of the state's peak electricity demand for 1999.  Utilities must
respond to customer connection requests within 30 days and
complete the connection within an additional 15 days or a
mutually agreeable later date.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated September 13, 2001 at 2:03 pm