H.F. 2381 Section 1. Section 364.3, subsection 13, paragraph b, 1 subparagraph (2), Code 2022, is amended to read as follows: 2 (2) Paragraph “a” does not apply to an ordinance, motion, 3 resolution, or amendment relating to the rates, services, or 4 governance of a municipally owned public utility providing 5 gas service to the public for compensation and subject to 6 the jurisdiction of the utilities board of the department of 7 commerce pursuant to section 476.1B 476.1A . 8 Sec. 2. Section 476.1A, Code 2022, is amended by striking 9 the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 10 476.1A Applicability of authority —— certain utilities. 11 1. For purposes of this section, unless the context 12 otherwise requires: 13 a. “Engineering standards” means standards adopted by the 14 American national standards institute, or the institute of 15 electrical and electronics engineers, rural utilities service, 16 or comparable engineering organization or engineering standards 17 adopted by the board. 18 b. “Safety standards” means applicable regulations 19 promulgated by the United States occupational safety and health 20 administration and by Iowa occupational safety and health 21 administration. Safety standards for electric utilities 22 subject to this section also include those contained in the 23 national electric safety code, as published by the institute 24 of electrical and electronic engineers, inc. and approved by 25 the American national standards institute. Safety standards 26 for municipal gas utilities subject to this section include the 27 pipeline safety rules contained in the federal regulations at 28 49 C.F.R. pts. 191 – 193 and 199. 29 2. Electric public utilities having fewer than ten thousand 30 customers, electric cooperative corporations and associations, 31 and municipally owned utilities furnishing gas or electricity 32 are not subject to the regulation authority of the board, 33 except for regulatory action pertaining to the following: 34 a. Assessment of fees for the support of the division and 35 -1- LSB 5465HV (1) 89 es/rn 1/ 9

H.F. 2381 the office of consumer advocate, pursuant to section 476.10. 1 b. Safety standards. 2 c. Procedures and requirements for disconnection of service, 3 as set forth in section 476.20, subsections 1 through 4. 4 d. Assigned area of service, as set forth in sections 476.22 5 through 476.26. 6 e. Public utility railroad crossings, as set forth in 7 section 476.27. 8 f. Filing alternate energy purchase program plans with the 9 board, and offering such programs to customers, pursuant to 10 section 476.47. 11 g. Civil penalties pursuant to section 476.51. 12 h. Providing energy cost information pursuant to section 13 476.56. 14 i. Distributed generation interconnection safety pursuant to 15 section 476.58, subsections 3 and 4. 16 j. Utility-owned exterior flood lighting pursuant to section 17 476.62. 18 k. Customer contribution funds pursuant to section 476.66. 19 l. Chapters 476A and 478, to the extent applicable. 20 3. Electric public utilities having fewer than ten 21 thousand customers and electric cooperative corporations and 22 associations are also subject to the regulation authority of 23 the board for engineering standards for equipment, operations, 24 and procedures and shall be subject to section 476.21. 25 a. This subsection shall not apply to a municipally owned 26 utility. 27 b. This subsection shall apply to an electric power agency 28 as defined in chapter 28F and section 390.9 that includes 29 as a member a city or municipally owned utility that builds 30 transmission facilities after July 1, 2001, and is subject to 31 applicable transmission reliability rules or standards adopted 32 by the board for those facilities. 33 4. Electric public utilities having fewer than ten 34 thousand customers and electric cooperative corporations and 35 -2- LSB 5465HV (1) 89 es/rn 2/ 9

H.F. 2381 associations not subject to rate regulation by the board 1 shall give written notice of a proposed increase of any rate 2 or charge to all affected customers served by the public 3 utility at least thirty days prior to the effective date of 4 the increase pursuant to section 476.6, subsection 2. This 5 subsection shall not apply to a municipal utility. 6 5. The board may hear complaints regarding the practices, 7 facilities, or services of public utilities subject to 8 this section. Such complaints shall be limited solely to 9 matters directly related to the regulatory actions listed 10 in subsections 2 through 4. After a complaint is submitted 11 to the board or filed by the board upon its own motion, the 12 written complaint shall be forwarded by the board to the public 13 utility. The public utility shall be called upon to satisfy 14 the complaint or to answer it in writing within a reasonable 15 time to be specified by the board. 16 a. Copies of the written complaint forwarded by the board to 17 the public utility and copies of all correspondence from the 18 public utility in response to the complaint shall be provided 19 by the board in an expeditious manner to the consumer advocate. 20 (1) If the board determines the public utility’s response 21 is inadequate and there appears to be reasonable ground for 22 investigating the complaint, the board shall promptly initiate 23 a formal proceeding. 24 (2) If the consumer advocate determines the public 25 utility’s response to the complaint is inadequate, the consumer 26 advocate may file a petition with the board which shall 27 promptly initiate a formal proceeding if the board determines 28 that there is any reasonable ground for investigating the 29 complaint. 30 (3) The complainant or the public utility may petition the 31 board to initiate a formal proceeding and such petition shall 32 be granted if the board determines that there is any reasonable 33 ground for investigating the complaint. 34 b. The formal proceeding may be initiated at any time by 35 -3- LSB 5465HV (1) 89 es/rn 3/ 9

H.F. 2381 the board on its own motion. If a proceeding is initiated 1 upon petition filed by the consumer advocate, complainant, 2 or the public utility, or upon the board’s own motion, the 3 board shall set the case for hearing and give notice as it 4 deems appropriate. When the board, after a hearing held after 5 reasonable notice, finds a public utility’s practices or 6 services over which it exercises regulatory authority pursuant 7 to subsections 2 through 4 are in violation of law, the board 8 shall determine reasonable practices, services, or regulations 9 to be observed and enforced. 10 6. Electric public utilities having fewer than ten 11 thousand customers and electric cooperative corporations and 12 associations under this section shall not make or grant any 13 unreasonable preferences or advantages as to rates or services 14 to any person or subject any person to any unreasonable 15 prejudice or disadvantage. This subsection shall not apply to 16 municipal utilities subject to section 388.6. 17 7. The board of directors or the membership of an electric 18 cooperative otherwise exempt from rate regulation may 19 elect to have the cooperative’s corporation or association 20 rates regulated by the board. The board shall adopt rules 21 prescribing the manner in which the board of directors or the 22 membership of an electric cooperative may so elect. 23 a. If the board of directors or the membership of an 24 electric cooperative has elected to have the cooperative’s 25 rates regulated by the board, after two years have elapsed from 26 the effective date of such election the board of directors or 27 the membership of an electric cooperative may elect to exempt 28 the cooperative from the rate regulation authority of the 29 board. 30 b. If the membership of an electric cooperative elected to 31 have the cooperative’s rates regulated by the board, only the 32 membership may elect to exempt the cooperative from the rate 33 regulation authority of the board. 34 8. A municipal utility providing local exchange services 35 -4- LSB 5465HV (1) 89 es/rn 4/ 9

H.F. 2381 is not subject to regulation by the board under this chapter 1 except for regulatory action pertaining to the enforcement of 2 sections 476.95, 476.95A, 476.95B, 476.100, and 476.102. 3 9. The Iowa utilities board does not have direct or indirect 4 rate authority over the utilities in this section, unless an 5 electric cooperative has elected rate regulation authority. 6 Sec. 3. Section 476.2, subsection 4, Code 2022, is amended 7 to read as follows: 8 4. The board shall have authority , to the extent reasonably 9 necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter, to 10 inquire into the management of the business of all public 11 utilities that are subject to regulation pursuant to this 12 chapter , and shall keep itself informed as to the manner and 13 method in which the same such business is conducted, and may 14 obtain from any public utility all necessary the information 15 reasonably necessary to enable the board to perform its duties , 16 as provided in this chapter . 17 Sec. 4. Section 476.6, subsection 2, Code 2022, is amended 18 to read as follows: 19 2. Written notice of increase. All Rate-regulated public 20 utilities , except those exempted from rate regulation by 21 section 476.1 and telecommunications service providers 22 registered pursuant to section 476.95A , shall give written 23 notice of a proposed increase of any rate or charge to all 24 affected customers served by the public utility no more 25 than sixty-two days prior to the time the application for 26 the increase is filed with the board. Public utilities 27 exempted from rate regulation by section 476.1 , except 28 telecommunications service providers registered pursuant to 29 section 476.95A , The notice to affected customers shall state 30 that the customer has a right to file a written objection to 31 the rate increase and that the affected customers may request 32 the board to hold a public hearing to determine if the rate 33 increase should be allowed. Electric public utilities having 34 fewer than ten thousand customers and electric cooperative 35 -5- LSB 5465HV (1) 89 es/rn 5/ 9

H.F. 2381 corporations and associations not subject to rate regulation 1 by the board shall give written notice of a proposed increase 2 of any rate or charge to all affected customers served by the 3 public utility at least thirty days prior to the effective 4 date of the increase. If the public utility is subject 5 to rate regulation, the notice to affected customers shall 6 also state that the customer has a right to file a written 7 objection to the rate increase and that the affected customers 8 may request the board to hold a public hearing to determine 9 if the rate increase should be allowed. The board shall 10 prescribe the manner and method that the written notice to each 11 affected customer of the public utility shall be served. This 12 subsection shall not apply to municipal utilities subject to 13 section 384.84. 14 Sec. 5. Section 476.20, subsection 3, paragraph a, Code 15 2022, is amended to read as follows: 16 a. The board shall establish adopt rules which shall 17 be uniform with respect to all public utilities furnishing 18 gas or electricity relating to establishing the procedures 19 and requirements for disconnection of service. The rules 20 adopted by the board shall be uniform with respect to all 21 rate-regulated public utilities furnishing gas or electricity. 22 The rules adopted by the board shall reflect the limited 23 scope of the board’s jurisdiction pursuant to section 476.1A. 24 This subsection applies both to regulated rate-regulated 25 utilities , utilities over which the board’s jurisdiction is 26 limited by section 476.1A, and to municipally owned utilities 27 and unincorporated villages which own their own distribution 28 systems, and violations of this subsection subject the 29 utilities to civil penalties under section 476.51 . 30 Sec. 6. Section 476.58, subsections 3 and 4, Code 2022, are 31 amended to read as follows: 32 3. Procedures and requirements provided in rules adopted 33 pursuant to subsection 2 shall apply to all electric utilities 34 and all interconnection customers in this state. However, 35 -6- LSB 5465HV (1) 89 es/rn 6/ 9

H.F. 2381 only those rule provisions concerning interconnections between 1 distributed generation facilities and electric distribution 2 systems and safety issues shall apply to utilities over which 3 the board’s jurisdiction is limited by section 476.1A or 4 476.1B . 5 4. This section shall not be construed to expand the 6 board’s jurisdiction over a utility over which the board’s 7 jurisdiction is limited by section 476.1A or 476.1B . This 8 section shall not be construed to authorize the board to 9 require that an installation or connection of a distributed 10 generation facility, disconnection device, or interconnection 11 between a distributed generation facility and an electric 12 distribution system be performed by a licensed electrician, 13 installer, or professional engineer. This section shall not 14 be construed to require inspection of a distributed generation 15 facility, disconnection device, or interconnection between a 16 distributed generation facility and an electric distribution 17 system pursuant to chapter 103 . 18 Sec. 7. REPEAL. Section 476.1B, Code 2022, is repealed. 19 EXPLANATION 20 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 21 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 22 This bill relates to the regulatory authority of the Iowa 23 utilities board regarding specified gas and electric utilities. 24 The bill provides that municipally owned gas or utility 25 companies, electric public utilities having less than 26 10,000 customers, and electric cooperative corporations and 27 associations shall not be subject to the regulation authority 28 of the board except for the assessment of fees for the 29 support of the office of consumer advocate, safety standards, 30 assigned areas of service, public utility railroad crossings, 31 procedures for the disconnection of service, alternative 32 energy program plans filed with the board, specified civil 33 penalties, energy cost information, distributed generation 34 interconnection safety, utility-owned exterior flood lighting, 35 -7- LSB 5465HV (1) 89 es/rn 7/ 9

H.F. 2381 customer contribution funds, and electric power generation and 1 transmission under Code chapter 476A and electric transmission 2 lines under Code chapter 478. 3 The bill provides that electric public utilities with less 4 than 10,000 customers and electric cooperative corporations 5 and associations, and certain electric power agencies are 6 subject to board regulation for engineering standards and are 7 prohibited from discriminatory rates or charges under Code 8 section 476.21. This provision is inapplicable to municipal 9 utilities. 10 The bill provides that an electric cooperative not subject 11 to rate regulation may elect to have their rates regulated 12 by the board. After two years, rate regulation may be 13 reconsidered. If the membership of the electric cooperative 14 chooses to have the rates regulated, only the membership may 15 elect to be exempt from regulation. 16 The bill provides that a municipal utility providing local 17 exchange services is not subject to regulation by the board 18 except for regulatory action pertaining to Code sections 19 476.95, 476.95A, 476.95B, 476.100, and 476.102. 20 The bill provides that electric public utilities with less 21 than 10,000 customers and electric cooperative corporations 22 and associations shall not make or grant any unreasonable 23 preferences or advantages as to rates or services to any 24 person or subject any person to any unreasonable prejudice or 25 disadvantage. The bill provides that this bill does not apply 26 to municipal utilities subject to the prohibition relating to 27 discrimination in rates specified in Code section 388.6. 28 Rate-regulated public utilities shall give written notice to 29 customers of a proposed rate increase or charge no more than 62 30 days prior to filing an application for a proposed increase. 31 The notice from the rate-regulated public utility shall include 32 a provision whereby customers are informed of rights to file an 33 objection and request a hearing. The bill provides electric 34 public utilities with less than 10,000 customers and electric 35 -8- LSB 5465HV (1) 89 es/rn 8/ 9

H.F. 2381 cooperative corporations and associations that are not subject 1 to rate regulation by the board shall give written notice to 2 customers regarding a proposed rate increase or charge at least 3 30 days before the effective date of the increase. These 4 notice provisions are made inapplicable to municipal utilities 5 subject to the rates and charges provisions of Code section 6 384.84. 7 The bill establishes a written complaint and response 8 process. Both the board and the division of the office 9 of the consumer advocate may determine if the utility’s 10 response is inadequate and initiate further action. The bill 11 establishes practices and procedures for a formal action filed 12 by complainants. 13 The bill provides that the board shall adopt rules 14 establishing procedures and requirements for public utilities 15 supplying gas or electricity and to utilities over which the 16 board’s jurisdiction is limited by the bill relating to the 17 disconnection of service. These rules must be uniform for all 18 rate-regulated public utilities. 19 -9- LSB 5465HV (1) 89 es/rn 9/ 9