Filing Requirements and Schedule of Fees Applicable to Applications for Post-Annexation Assignment of Exclusive Service Territories and Determination of Compensation

PURPOSE: This rule establishes the requirements that must be met and a schedule of fees for applications to the commission for post-annexation assignment of exclusive service territories and determination of compensation. As noted in the rule, additional requirements pertaining to such applications are set forth in 4 CSR 240-2.060(1). (1) In addition to the requirements of 4 CSR 240-2.060(1), municipally owned electric utility applications for post-annexation assignment of exclusive service territories and determination or compensation shall include: (A) An explanation as to why the requested relief is in the public interest; (B) A specific designation of the proposed exclusive electric service territory boundary including maps showing the boundary and a schedule of the applicable Townships, Ranges, and Sections, by county. If the requested boundary cannot reliably be ascertained from the information supplied by the applicant, such applicant shall provide additional information as requested by the commission or its staff, if necessary, including the legal description of the area; (C) The electric rates that will be charged if the proposed change of supplier is allowed; (D) The municipal electric utility’s estimate of the fair and reasonable compensation to be paid to the affected electric supplier for the existing distribution system within the proposed exclusive electric service territory, for any proposed acquisitions or transfers, including the valuation formulas and factors used to calculate fair and reasonable compensation; (E) Any effect on the municipal electric utility’s system operation, including, but not limited to, how the increased load will be served; (F) Any power contracts that the municipality has agreed to with the affected electric supplier to serve the annexed area; (G) Any issues on which the municipally owned electric utility and the affected electric supplier agree; (H) A copy of the newspaper notification, as well as notifications sent to any affected supplier; and (I) Affirmation of compliance with the deadlines for negotiation as outlined in section 386.800, RSMo. (2) If any of the information required by subsections (1)(A)–(I) of this rule is unavailable at the time the application is filed, the application must be accompanied by a statement of the reasons the information is currently unavailable and a date by which it will be furnished. All required information shall be furnished prior to the granting of the authority sought. (3) The commission shall notify the affected electric suppliers within ten (10) days of receipt of an application from a municipally owned electric utility and, that the affected electric suppliers are made parties to the proceeding and shall file with the commission within twenty (20) days of the notice the following information: (A) A response to the applicant’s requested relief; (B) The current electric rates that are charged in the proposed exclusive electric service territory; (C) The electric supplier’s estimate of the fair and reasonable compensation to be paid by the applicant for the existing distribution system within the proposed exclusive electric service territory, for any proposed acquisitions or transfers, including the valuation formulas and factors used to calculate fair and reasonable compensation; (D) Any effect on the electric supplier’s system operation, including, but not limited to, loss of load and loss of revenue; and (E) Affirmation of compliance with the deadlines for negotiation as outlined in section 386.800, RSMo. (4) If any of the information required by subsections (3)(A)–(E) of this rule is unavailable within twenty (20) days of the notice, the responsive pleading must be accompanied by a statement of the reasons the information is currently unavailable and a date by which it will be furnished. (5) The application shall be accompanied by an initial filing fee in the amount of five hundred dollars ($500). (6) In addition to the filing fee, the fee for commission review of the application is set at six hundred eighty-five dollars ($685) per hour of hearing time, subject to a minimum charge for hearing time of six hundred eighty-five dollars ($685). There is an additional charge of three dollars and fifty cents ($3.50) per page of transcript. These fees are in addition to the fees authorized by section 386.300, RSMo. (7) The parties shall be responsible for payment of any unpaid fees on and after the effective date of the commission’s report and order relating to the application. The executive director shall send an itemized billing statement to the applicants on or after the effective date of the commission’s report and order. Responsibility for payment of the fees shall be that of the parties to the proceeding as ordered by the commission in each case. (8) On July 1 of each year, the filing fee and the fee per hour of evidentiary hearing time may be modified to match any percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for the twelve (12)-month period ending December 31 of the preceding year. AUTHORITY: sections 386.250 and 386.800, RSMo 2000.* This rule originally filed as 4 CSR 240-3.135. Original rule filed Aug. 16, 2002, effective April 30, 2003. Amended: Filed Feb. 24, 2005, effective Oct. 30, 2005. Moved to 20 CSR 4240-3.135, effective Aug. 28, 2019. *Original authority: 386.250, RSMo 1939, amended 1963, 1967, 1977, 1980, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996; 386.800, RSMo 1991.