CSHB 394(L&C): "An Act relating to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska and regulation of the service of natural gas storage and liquefied natural gas import facilities; relating to records of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska; relating to rates established by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 394(L&C) 01 "An Act relating to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska and regulation of the service 02 of natural gas storage and liquefied natural gas import facilities; relating to records of 03 the Regulatory Commission of Alaska; relating to rates established by the Regulatory 04 Commission of Alaska; and providing for an effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 42.05.141 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 07 (g) Except as provided in AS 42.05.711(q), (s), and (w), the commission shall 08 regulate under this chapter the service of natural gas storage and the service of 09 liquefied natural gas storage, including storage furnished by operating a natural gas 10 storage facility that is part of a 11 (1) pipeline facility operated by a pipeline carrier; or 12 (2) natural gas pipeline facility operated by a natural gas pipeline 13 carrier. 14 (h) In (g) of this section, "natural gas pipeline carrier," "natural gas pipeline
01 facility," "pipeline carrier," and "pipeline facility" have the meanings given in 02 AS 42.06.630. 03 * Sec. 2. AS 42.05.381(k) is amended to read: 04 (k) The cost to the utility of storing gas in a gas storage facility or storing 05 liquefied natural gas in a liquefied natural gas storage facility that is allowed in 06 determining a just and reasonable rate shall reflect the 07 (1) reduction in cost attributable to any exemption from a payment due 08 under AS 38.05.096 or 38.05.180(u), as applicable, and the value of a tax credit that 09 the owner of the gas storage facility received under AS 43.20.046 or 43.20.047, as 10 applicable; the [. THE] commission may request the 11 (A) [(1)] commissioner of natural resources to report the value 12 of the exemption from a payment due under AS 38.05.096 or 38.05.180(u), as 13 applicable, that the gas storage facility received; and 14 (B) [(2)] commissioner of revenue to report information on the 15 amount of tax credits claimed under AS 43.20.046 and 43.20.047, as 16 applicable, for the gas storage facility or liquefied natural gas storage facility; 17 (2) fair market value of oil and gas fields, drilling rigs, production 18 platforms, wells, and similar assets used for gas storage or liquefied natural gas 19 storage and a fair return on the fair market value of those assets; 20 (3) costs related to the dismantlement, removal, and restoration of 21 a gas storage facility or liquefied natural gas storage facility [. IN THIS 22 SUBSECTION, "GAS STORAGE FACILITY" HAS THE MEANING GIVEN IN 23 AS 31.05.032]. 24 * Sec. 3. AS 42.05.381 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 25 (p) For rate-making purposes, the commission shall consider the investment of 26 a public utility in a liquefied natural gas import or export facility as utility property, 27 even if the liquefied natural gas import or export facility is exempt from regulation by 28 the commission. In this subsection, 29 (1) "investment" includes an investment in land used to connect to a 30 liquefied natural gas import or export facility used by the public utility to render 31 service to the public;
01 (2) "liquefied natural gas import or export facility" includes a facility 02 used to receive, unload, load, store, transport, gasify, liquefy, or process natural gas. 03 (q) In (k) of this subsection, "gas storage facility" has the meaning given in 04 AS 31.05.032(e). 05 * Sec. 4. AS 42.05 is amended by adding a new section to article 5 to read: 06 Sec. 42.05.505. Records of gas storage facilities. Records held by the 07 commission related to the finances of a gas storage facility, a liquefied natural gas 08 storage facility, or a public utility providing the service of natural gas storage, 09 including financial statements and financial assurance agreements, are confidential 10 and are not public records under AS 40.25.100 - 40.25.295 (Alaska Public Records 11 Act). The commission may disclose information from a record subject to this section 12 only to a state or federal agency if the commission determines that disclosure of the 13 information is necessary for the commission to complete its duties. 14 * Sec. 5. AS 42.05.711(q) is amended to read: 15 (q) The service of natural gas storage furnished by operating a natural gas 16 storage facility that is [(1) PART OF A PIPELINE FACILITY OPERATED BY A 17 PIPELINE CARRIER, (2) PART OF A NATURAL GAS PIPELINE FACILITY 18 OPERATED BY A NATURAL GAS PIPELINE CARRIER, OR (3)] part of a North 19 Slope natural gas pipeline facility operated by a North Slope natural gas pipeline 20 carrier is exempt from this chapter. In this subsection, ["NATURAL GAS PIPELINE 21 CARRIER," "NATURAL GAS PIPELINE FACILITY,"] "North Slope natural gas 22 pipeline carrier [,]" and "North Slope natural gas pipeline facility [,]" ["PIPELINE 23 CARRIER," AND "PIPELINE FACILITY"] have the meanings given in 24 AS 42.06.630. 25 * Sec. 6. AS 42.05.711 is amended by adding a new subsection read: 26 (w) A liquefied natural gas import facility under the jurisdiction of the Federal 27 Energy Regulatory Commission is exempt from this chapter. 28 * Sec. 7. AS 42.06.140 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 29 (c) The commission shall regulate under AS 42.05 the service of natural gas 30 and liquefied natural gas storage, including storage furnished by operating a natural 31 gas storage facility that is part of a
01 (1) pipeline facility operated by a pipeline carrier; or 02 (2) natural gas pipeline facility operated by a natural gas pipeline 03 carrier. 04 (d) In this section, 05 (1) "service of liquefied natural gas storage" means the operation of a 06 liquefied natural gas storage facility; "service of liquefied natural gas storage" does 07 not include the storage of liquefied natural gas 08 (A) owned by or contractually obligated to the owner, operator, 09 or manager of the liquefied natural gas storage facility; or 10 (B) for which the price of storage is not separately itemized; 11 (2) "service of natural gas storage" means the operation of a natural 12 gas storage facility primarily or exclusively for the benefit of third-party customers, 13 and not for the benefit of the owner, operator, or manager of the natural gas storage 14 facility; "service of natural gas storage" does not include the storage of natural gas 15 (A) owned by or contractually obligated to the owner, operator, 16 or manager of the natural gas storage facility; or 17 (B) for which the price of storage is not separately itemized. 18 * Sec. 8. AS 42.06.370 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 19 (d) The following costs related to a pipeline carrier shall be considered when 20 determining a just and reasonable rate under this chapter: 21 (1) costs related to the dismantlement, removal, and restoration of a 22 pipeline; 23 (2) the costs, at fair market value, of oil and gas fields, drilling rigs, 24 production platforms, wells, and similar assets used for gas storage or liquefied natural 25 gas storage, and a fair return on the fair market value of those assets. 26 * Sec. 9. AS 42.06.445(a) is amended to read: 27 (a) Except as provided in (b), [AND] (c), and (g) of this section, or prohibited 28 from disclosure under state or federal law, records in the possession of the commission 29 are open to public inspection at reasonable times. 30 * Sec. 10. AS 42.06.445 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 31 (g) Records held by the commission related to the finances of a pipeline
01 carrier, including financial statements and financial assurance agreements, are 02 confidential and are not public records under AS 40.25.100 - 40.25.295 (Alaska Public 03 Records Act). The commission may disclose information from a record subject to this 04 subsection only to a state or federal agency if the commission determines that 05 disclosure of the information is necessary for the commission to complete its duties. 06 * Sec. 11. AS 42.05.990(10)(B) and 42.05.990(11)(B) are repealed. 07 * Sec. 12. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).