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For Immediate Release: July 25, 2012
Contact: Rob Thormeyer, 202-898-9382, rthormeyer@naruc.org

NARUC Board Adopts Policies on Energy Reliability, USF Issues, Much More

PORTLAND—Energy reliability, Universal Service reform, energy efficiency, and utility workforce issues topped the agenda during the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners 2012 Summer Committee Meetings.

NARUC also passed resolutions recommending that utilities disclose consumer information in easily understandable ways and urged the Federal Communications Commission to suspend the Quantile Regression Analysis on communications providers until certain concerns are addressed and the economy improves.

The resolutions were passed today at the conclusion of the NARUC Board of Directors meeting here.

Below is a summary of each resolution. The complete text is available here.

ENERGY

Resolution Supporting Building Efficiency Incentives
The resolution recognizes the important role States play in the creation of policy incentives for advancing building efficiency upgrades in existing and new buildings as a step to achieving cost-effective energy efficiency

Resolution on Utility Programs on Customer Energy Usage Data
The resolution encourages utilities to inform their customers of the energy information that is available to them by their utility in clear and understandable language and encourages State public utility commissions to request that their utilities inform customers that energy usage program information may be made available at a central location, such as the “Utility Data Access Map” located on OpenEI.org.

Resolution Encouraging the Department of Defense to Work with State Utility Regulators and Utilities
This resolution supports the DoD’s efforts to strengthen its energy security and our national defense and encourages the DoD to coordinate with State utility regulators and utilities to ensure that the actions taken by the military to improve energy security and national defense do not increase costs to the remaining utility customers.

Resolution Urging Congressional Action to Address the Conflict Between Grid Reliability Laws and Environmental Laws and Regulations
This resolution urges Congress to enact narrow legislation that would resolve conflicts between Section 202(c) and environmental laws and regulations, and would ensure that a company/generator would not have to choose which law with which to comply during a DOE declared emergency.

Resolution Encouraging Regulatory Utility Commissions to Become Informed on Utility Workforce Preparedness Strategies
This resolution encourages State public utility commissions to review and where necessary urge their regulated companies to develop strategic workforce preparedness strategies.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Resolution Addressing Rural Call Termination Issues
The resolution commends the Federal Communications Commission for its efforts over the past year to resolve the rural call termination issues, in particular, with the release of the Declaratory Ruling, on February 6, 2012, and urges the FCC to continue its work to expeditiously identify providers that have not resolved practices that result in call termination issues identified in its February order.

Resolution to Protect State Authority to Assess Taxes and Fees for State Universal Service Funds and E911 Services
The resolution urges Congress to ensure that any legislative proposal impacting the taxation of digital goods and digital services will not prohibit or limit the authority of States and local governments to assess a tax or surcharge fee to interconnected VoIP service providers and their customers in order to provide financial support for State Universal Service Funds, Telecommunications Relay Services and E911 services.

Resolution Urging the Federal Communications Commission to Refrain from Implementing Quantile Regression Analysis and Other Negative Impacts on Communications Providers Until Concerns Are Resolved and the U.S. Economy Improves
The resolution acknowledges the need for the FCC to forgo implementation specifically of QRA-based caps on capital and operational expense for rural rate-of-return carriers, until the resolution of the Application for Review, Petition for Stay, and Application for a federal court stay, and widespread concerns about the accuracy of the study area boundaries and the QRA’s legal assumptions, methodology, application, accuracy, predictability, randomness, and appropriateness are resolved
 

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NARUC is a non-profit organization founded in 1889 whose members include the governmental agencies that are engaged in the regulation of utilities and carriers in the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. NARUC's member agencies regulate telecommunications, energy, and water utilities. NARUC represents the interests of State public utility commissions before the three branches of the Federal government.

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