Legislature(2005 - 2006)BELTZ 211
04/12/2005 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB160 | |
| SB108 | |
| SB157 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 157 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 160 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 108 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 157-REG. COST CHARGES: UTILITIES/PIPELINES
CHAIR CON BUNDE announced SB 157 to be up for consideration.
KATE GIARD, Chairman, Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA),
said that SB 157 is in response to complaints about the RCA's
lack of transparency, its being non-responsive and creating a
burdensome regulatory environment because of the time it takes
to make decisions. She ran for the position of chairman to
resolve that problem.
2:17:52 PM
The reason dockets sit is because the RCA has no mechanism to
tell her, as chair, what her staff of 56 people are doing on a
regular basis.
I don't know what they do; I can't account for their
time, because we have no time management system. The
industries that file with us don't know whenever we're
going to get an answer to their questions.... People
don't know what we're doing and when we're doing it.
The systems are developed and are out there that can
assist the RCA in certainly being more prompt, being
more transparent, but we' don't have them here.
2:21:36 PM
CHAIR BUNDE asked if she hears general agreement or opposition
from the utilities on this bill.
MS. GIARD replied that Chugach Electric, ML&P, ConocoPhillips,
AT&T Alas COM, ACS, GCI, Alaska Power Association, all strongly
support it. "They think that it's long overdue." She has not
heard from anyone that this is a bad idea.
2:23:11 PM
CHAIR BUNDE said she indicated in a letter to the legislature
that the bottom line is with the consumer and if a consumer uses
three regulated services - telephone, gas and electric - that
the total impact of this legislation is estimated to be $6.48
for three years; then this rate increase would go away.
MS. GIARD replied that is correct. She explained that she did
not ask for this money to be put into a capital plan, because it
is needed in the form of a range of monies. At first, she
estimated her plan would cost $1.5 million. But upon seeing
that, Chugach Electric recommended that she form an advisory
group, which she did in January 2005. It was comprised of
Chugach ML&P, AWWU and GCI all of which dedicated their time and
IT resources to help formulate the budget. They came up with a
budget range of $2 million to $3 million. Because of the unique
way the RCA statute is written, the money would come into the
operating budget and if it is not all spent, it will offset the
RCC calculation for the next year. If it went to the capital
budget and wasn't spent, it would sit there and the RCA could
use it for something else in the future. "That's not beneficial
to rate-payers."
2:26:04 PM
CHAIR BUNDE referenced her letter again that says the money
would be spent on creating a staff and time management system.
He asked if she planned to add staff.
MS. GIARD responded.
What I mean is I don't know what they do with their
time. So, I'd like to know their time resource, where
they spend it. Do they spend it on electric utilities?
Do they spend it on telephone? Are they doing admin
seven hours a day? It's not likely, but because
there's no real reporting, I don't know where our
resources are going. So I can't tell you what the
optimal staffing level is...whether we need more staff
or fewer staff. I suspect if we get these systems in
place, we should be able to operate with fewer staff
and we actually recently reduced our staff size from
62 to 56 - because our docket load is approximately
125 dockets.
2:27:18 PM
CHAIR BUNDE continue saying that the second item in the letter
says she would use the monies for a system to receive, store and
retrieve data filed with the RCA electronically.
MS. GIARD replied yes and that most utilities are now computer
savvy.
2:28:36 PM
DAN DICKRAF, Treasurer and Manager, Division of Finance and
Rates, EnStar Natural Gas Company, said he has dealt with
regulatory matters for years and supported the efficiencies and
funding mechanism in SB 157. It would make information available
easier and faster for the commission, utilities and customers.
It would save on paper, storage, filing costs and is ecological
in that respect, as well. Rate payers will save and get better
regulation.
2:30:34 PM
CHAIR BUNDE said this is straight-forward, but not knowing RCA
issues, he wanted to hold the bill until the next committee
meeting.
SENATOR ELLIS asked, "What's the time frame for some sort of net
benefit to consumers?"
MR. DICKRAF replied that he is not the person to ask because he
doesn't know what the delivery times to the RCA are for the
individual systems. They will create costs as they come on line.
Filing costs, for example, if that can be done electronically,
would be an immediate savings on paper copies, a courier, et
cetera. As a practical matter, a utility's rate might not drop
until it comes in for a rate case or it may not have to ask for
additional cost at some point in the future. The timeframe would
depend on the individual utility.
SENATOR ELLIS asked if before the next meeting Ms. Giard could
provide the committee with a better understanding of the phase-
in of the new systems and technologies that will save money down
the line. He also wanted to know when the benefits of paying
more would catch up to the consumers.
MS. GIARD responded that she would be happy to do that.
CHAIR BUNDE said he would set SB 157 aside until Thursday and
adjourned the meeting at 2:35:41 PM.
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