Raised Bill No. 5360, introduced in the February Session of 2024, aims to establish a municipal electric aggregation program effective July 1, 2024. This program allows municipalities to negotiate the purchase of electric generation services for residential customers within their boundaries. Municipalities can join the program by adopting an ordinance to form a municipal aggregation unit and filing it with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority by January 1, 2025. The ordinance must specify the unit's organizational structure. Residential customers will have the option to opt out of the service offered by the municipal aggregation unit, and those with existing contracts with electric suppliers can opt in after canceling or terminating their current contracts. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority is tasked with initiating a proceeding by October 1, 2024, to develop program requirements, including how customers are informed about enrollment, rates, environmental characteristics of energy sources, contract terms, and the right to cancel service. A municipal aggregation unit must provide at least sixty days' notice before enrolling customers and must issue a request for proposals to electric suppliers, ensuring that the economic benefits to customers are at least equal to standard service. The unit is also required to retain a firm with expertise in electric aggregation and energy procurement.

Section 2 of the bill amends Section 16-245b of the general statutes, effective July 1, 2024, to exempt municipal aggregation units established under this act from certain provisions. Section 3 amends subsection (b) of section 33-219 of the general statutes, effective the same date, to allow cooperative, nonprofit, membership corporations organized for generating and supplying electric energy to register with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and to collect competitive transition assessments and systems benefits charges as prescribed by the authority. The bill also includes a provision for the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, in consultation with the Office of Consumer Counsel, to submit a report by January 1, 2027, on the performance of the municipal electric aggregation program and any related recommendations. The bill includes insertions of new legal language and the deletion of some existing language, as indicated by the markup. The purpose of the bill is to establish a municipal electric aggregation program.

Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 16-245b