An Act To Clarify the Criteria for Provision of Assistance to Low-income Customers of Natural Gas Companies

Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §4703, sub-§1,  as amended by PL 1997, c. 707, §5, is further amended to read:

Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §4706-A,  as enacted by PL 1999, c. 664, §1, is amended to read:

§ 4706-A. Special rate arrangements for eligible low-income customers

The commission may approve rates or bill payment assistance programs for residential customers who have been certified as eligible for state or federal fuel assistance that satisfy eligibility criteria for low-income assistance. The commission shall take into account the difficulty these customers have paying in full for natural gas service or that and shall target assistance to these customers in the most efficient manner. Any such rates or bill payment assistance programs that have been approved by the commission are determined to be just and reasonable. The commission may approve recovery of the costs of such rate changes and programs through base distribution rates or through the cost-of-gas adjustment rate pursuant to section 4703, subsection 1.

SUMMARY

This bill clarifies that there may be other eligibility criteria used, in addition to eligibility for federal or state fuel assistance, for providing low-income assistance to customers of natural gas utilities. This clarification of the law allows, but does not require, the Public Utilities Commission to use criteria other than eligibility for federal or state fuel assistance to qualify low-income customers for assistance. It also allows the commission to approve recovery of the costs of this assistance through base distribution rates or through the cost-of-gas adjustment rate.