The commission shall find that a gas corporation‘s expenditures for the construction, operation, and maintenance of natural gas fueling stations and appurtenant natural gas facilities are in the public interest and are just and reasonable, if:
Terms Used In Utah Code 54-4-13.4
Commission: means the Public Service Commission. See Utah Code 54-2-1
Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
Corporation: includes an association and a joint stock company having any powers or privileges not possessed by individuals or partnerships. See Utah Code 54-2-1
Gas corporation: includes every corporation and person, their lessees, trustees, and receivers, owning, controlling, operating, or managing any gas plant for public service within this state or for the selling or furnishing of natural gas to any consumer or consumers within the state for domestic, commercial, or industrial use, except in the situation that:
(a)
gas is made or produced on, and distributed by the maker or producer through, private property:
(i)
solely for the maker's or producer's own use or the use of the maker's or producer's tenants; and
(ii)
not for sale to others;
(b)
gas is compressed on private property solely for the owner's own use or the use of the owner's employees as a motor vehicle fuel; or
(c)
gas is compressed by a retailer of motor vehicle fuel on the retailer's property solely for sale as a motor vehicle fuel. See Utah Code 54-2-1
(a)
the gas corporation‘s expenditures for the fueling stations and appurtenant facilities:
(i)
are prudently incurred; and
(ii)
do not exceed $5,000,000 in any calendar year;
(b)
the gas corporation shows that the estimated annual incremental increase in revenue related to the stations and facilities exceeds 50% of the annual revenue requirement of the stations and facilities; and
(c)
the stations and facilities are in service and are being used and are useful.
(2)
(a)
A gas corporation may seek the recovery of expenditures under Subsection (1) through a mechanism designed to track and collect the expenditures between general rate cases.
(b)
(i)
The commission shall allow a gas corporation to recover, through an incremental surcharge to all of its rate classes, expenditures that the gas corporation incurs that are directly related to the construction, operation, and maintenance of the stations and facilities described in Subsection (1), reduced by revenues the gas corporation receives during the same time period directly attributable to the stations and facilities.
(ii)
The commission shall assign a surcharge under Subsection (2)(b)(i) to each rate class based upon the pro rata share, approved by the commission, of the tariff revenue ordered in the gas corporation’s most recent general rate case.
(iii)
A gas corporation may file an application to adjust a surcharge under Subsection (2)(b)(i) as frequently as semiannually.
(iv)
At the gas corporation’s next general rate case, the commission shall include in base rates all expenditures that the gas corporation prudently incurs associated with a surcharge under Subsection (2)(b)(i).
