(a) In order to encourage economic development and maintain the state’s manufacturing base, the authority shall: (1) Continue to implement flexible pricing when it determines that such pricing is appropriate; (2) require each water and gas company, as defined in § 16-1, which serves manufacturing customers and has not yet done so, to propose, in its first application for an amendment of rates filed pursuant to § 16-19 on or after October 1, 1993, flexible and innovative rates which promote manufacturing, which rates may include, but not be limited to, economic development, business retention, competitive energy, interruptible, conservation and time of use rates; and (3) require each water and gas company, as defined in said § 16-1, to support and promote the Connecticut manufacturing program for energy technology.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, an electric distribution company that (1) renegotiates, extends or renews any special contract for electric service that is in effect on July 1, 2000, and has a term that expires prior to July 1, 2000, for a term that extends beyond June 30, 2000, or (2) enters into any new special contracts for electric service, shall provide in any such renegotiated, extended, renewed or new contract for the collection of the assessment required under § 16-245g, as provided in said § 16-245g, and for the collection of the charge required in § 16-245l, as provided in said § 16-245l, provided no such contract shall shift costs to other ratepayers.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section, a customer that is (1) an existing or proposed manufacturing plant that will add or create one hundred or more jobs and that will demand at least fifty kilowatts of additional load through the construction or expansion of manufacturing facilities, or (2) an existing manufacturing plant located in a distressed municipality, as defined in § 32-9p, that is located in an enterprise corridor and employing not less than two hundred persons may be exempted from payment of the competitive transition assessment required under § 16-245g. A customer meeting the requirements of subdivision (1) of this subsection may apply to the authority for an exemption from the payment of the competitive transition assessment that relate to the new or incremental load created by such construction or expansion. A customer meeting the requirements of subdivision (2) of this subsection may apply to the authority for an exemption from the payment of the competitive transition assessment. The authority shall hold a hearing on any such application, and if approved, direct the electric distribution company to refrain from collecting a specific portion of the competitive transition assessment from such customer. The authority may adopt regulations pursuant to chapter 54 to implement the provisions of this section.

(d) (1) As used in this subsection, “qualified manufacturer” means a manufacturer described in the North American Industry Classification System Codes 324000 to 325999, inclusive, and “qualified manufacturing facility” means a manufacturing facility owned by a qualified manufacturer that, during any calendar year beginning on or after January 1, 2016, used more than two million five hundred thousand centum cubic feet of natural gas.

(2) Each gas company shall propose, in its first application for an amendment of rates filed pursuant to § 16-19 on or after October 1, 2017, a rate for certain qualified manufacturers that are firm service gas customers of such gas company on October 1, 2017, and that do not qualify for interruptible gas sales or transportation service under such gas company’s applicable interruptible service tariffs. No qualified manufacturing facility of a qualified manufacturer shall utilize such rate, as described in this subsection, unless (A) such qualified manufacturer petitions the authority for approval, and (B) the authority grants approval after determining that: (i) Participation of such qualified manufacturer in such rate is in the public interest; (ii) participation of such qualified manufacturer in such rate will provide economic benefits to the state; and (iii) utilization of such rate will not endanger the integrity of the gas distribution system of the gas company.

(3) The rate proposed and approved pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection shall allow for a rate equal to not less than seventy per cent of the delivery component in the gas company’s firm gas service rate that it charges to large commercial or industrial customers.

(4) A gas company shall recover its revenues lost resulting from the provisions of this subsection through such gas company’s decoupling mechanism pursuant to § 16-19tt or a monthly surcharge assessed to all of such gas company’s gas firm customers.

(5) Each gas company shall file with the authority, as part of such gas company’s annual decoupling filing pursuant to 16-19tt or in a separate proceeding, an annual revenue reconciliation of actual revenues to allowed revenues associated with the implementation of the rate in this subsection.