TITLE 34. PUBLIC UTILITIES
SUBTITLE III. ELECTRICITY
CHAPTER 15. RETAIL ELECTRIC COMPETITION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
D.C. Code § 34-1514 (2006)
§ 34-1514. Reliable Energy Trust
Fund; public purpose programs
(a) (1) There is hereby established the Reliable Energy
Trust Fund, which shall be a proprietary fund in the nature of an enterprise
fund as classified under § 47-373(a).
(2) The electric company shall remit all proceeds
collected under subsection (b) of this section to the Mayor on a monthly basis.
The Mayor shall deposit those proceeds into the Reliable Energy Trust Fund. All
proceeds collected by the electric company under subsection (b) of this section
shall be credited to the Reliable Energy Trust Fund without regard to fiscal
year limitation and shall not at any time be transferred to, lapse into, or be
commingled with the General Fund of the District of Columbia or any other fund
or account of the District of Columbia.
(3) All interest earned on monies deposited in the
Reliable Energy Trust Fund shall be credited to the Reliable Energy Trust Fund
and shall be used solely for the purposes designated in this section.
(4) All revenue credited to the Reliable Energy Trust
Fund shall be used solely to fund the programs mandated by subsection (c) of
this section.
(b) (1) All customers other than those participating in the universal
service program established under subsection (c)(1)(A)
of this section shall contribute to the Reliable Energy Trust Fund through a
non-bypassable charge collected by the electric
company.
(2) (A) The charge mandated by
paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be determined by the Commission and may
not vary by customer class.
(B) Notwithstanding any other
provision of this chapter, for 4 years after the initial implementation date,
the charge mandated by this subsection shall not exceed $ 0.0008 per
kilowatt-hour.
(C) After the 4-year period designated
in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, the charge mandated by paragraph (1) of
this subsection shall not exceed $ 0.002 per kilowatt-hour, but shall not be
less than $.0001 per kilowatt hour. Collection shall commence as of February 1,
2005.
(3) On an annual basis, the Commission shall evaluate
the charge mandated by paragraph (1) of this subsection to determine whether it
is set at an appropriate level to fund the programs mandated by subsection (c)
of this section. Subject to the restriction in paragraph (2) of this
subsection, the Commission may adjust the charge if the Commission finds that
the charge is not set at an appropriate level.
(c) (1) The Commission shall establish a universal service program to
assist low-income customers in the
(B) The program established under to
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall be administered by the District of
Columbia Office of Energy.
(2) (A) The Commission shall establish a program to
promote energy efficiency in the
(B) The program established by the Commission
under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph may include:
(i) Rate
discounts or other rate-related incentives;
(ii) Financing of
activities of energy service companies;
(iii) Certification
standards for energy service companies;
(iv) Financial
incentives for owners of low-income residential properties; and
(v) Energy
efficiency assistance to customers who qualify for the universal service
program under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
(C) In the discretion of the
Commission, the energy efficiency program established under subparagraph (A) of
this paragraph may be administered by the District of Columbia Office of
Energy.
(3) The Commission shall establish a program to promote
the use of electricity from renewable energy sources as defined in § 34-1517.
The program established under this paragraph may include the use of rebates to
customers who purchase electricity from renewable energy sources as defined in
§ 34-1518.
(d) In the discretion of the Commission, and to the extent allowed by
(e) Proceedings regarding the establishment of programs under this section
shall be legislative in nature and not be contested cases as defined in §
2-502(8).