An Act To Maintain Competition among Electricity Suppliers Serving Northern Maine
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §3205, sub-§2, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 316, §3, is amended to read:
(1) The affiliated competitive provider may not sell or contract to sell more than 33% of the total kilowatt hours sold within the service territory of the distribution utility, as determined by the commission by rule; and
(2) In accordance with section 3212, the affiliated competitive provider may not at any one time provide or bid to provide standard-offer service for more than 20% of electric load within the territory of the transmission and distribution utility with which it is affiliated.
The marketing limitations in this paragraph do not apply to competitive electricity service or standard-offer service in the service territory or any portion of the service territory of a distribution utility that is located in an area administered by the independent system administrator for northern Maine or any successor of the independent system administrator for northern Maine unless the commission finds that the level of competitive electricity service and standard-offer service competition in the area administered by the independent system administrator for northern Maine or any successor of the independent system administrator for northern Maine is substantially similar to the level of competitive electricity service and standard-offer service competition in the area of the State that is within the New England independent system operator control area. All kilowatt hours sales and electric load in any portion of a distribution utility's service territory that is located in an area administered by the independent system administrator for northern Maine or any successor of the independent system administrator for northern Maine must be excluded from the calculation under this paragraph for those portions of the distribution utility's service territory that is not located in an area administered by the independent system administrator for northern Maine or any successor of the independent system administrator for northern Maine.
SUMMARY
This bill provides that the limitations on how much electricity an affiliated competitive provider may sell within the service territory of the distribution utility with which it is affiliated do not apply to competitive electricity service or standard-offer service in the service territory or any portion of the service territory of a distribution utility that is located in an area administered by the independent system administrator for northern Maine unless the Public Utilities Commission finds that the level of competitive electricity service and standard-offer service competition in the area administered by the independent system administrator for northern Maine is substantially similar to the level of competitive electricity service and standard-offer service competition in the area of the State that is within the New England independent system operator control area.