Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §116, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2001, c. 136, §1, is further amended to read:

1. Utilities subject to assessments. Every transmission and distribution, gas, telephone and water utility and ferry subject to regulation by the commission is subject to an assessment on its intrastate gross operating revenues to produce no more than $4,918,000 $6,558,000 in revenues annually. The commission shall increase the assessment to produce an additional $318,000 during fiscal year 2001-02 and an additional $587,000 during fiscal year 2002-03. The commission shall assess transmission and distribution utilities at a rate sufficient to produce $3,370,000 and $4,345,400 during fiscal year 2003-04 and $4,493,400 thereafter.__The commission shall assess all other utilities at a rate sufficient to produce $1,548,000 $1,996,600 in fiscal year 2003-04 and $2,064,600 thereafter. The commission shall increase the assessment of transmission and distribution utilities to produce an additional $218,000 during fiscal year 2001-02 and an additional $402,000 during fiscal year 2002-03. The commission shall increase the assessment of all other utilities to produce an additional $100,000 during fiscal year 2001-02 and an additional $185,000 during fiscal year 2002-03. The commission shall determine the assessments annually prior to May 1st and assess each utility for its pro rata share for expenditure during the fiscal year beginning July 1st. Each utility shall pay the assessment charged to the utility on or before July 1st of each year. Any increase in the assessment that becomes effective subsequent to May 1st may be billed on the effective date of the act authorizing the increase.

A. The assessments charged to utilities under this section are just and reasonable operating costs for rate- making purposes.

B. For the purposes of this section, "intrastate gross operating revenues" means intrastate revenues derived from filed rates, except revenues derived from sales for resale.

C. Gas utilities subject to the jurisdiction of the commission solely with respect to safety are not subject to any assessment.

D. The commission may correct any errors in the assessments by means of a credit or debit to the following year's assessment rather than reassessing all utilities in the current year.

E. The commission may exempt utilities with annual