§ 34–1313.01. Commission authorizations.

(a) The Commission is authorized to issue financing orders upon application by the electric company. The Commission may include its financing order as part of its order issued with respect to a biennial Underground Infrastructure Improvement Projects Plan. All financing orders, among their other provisions, shall:

(1) Describe the DDOT Underground Electric Infrastructure Improvement Activities to be paid through the DDOT Underground Electric Company Infrastructure Improvement Charge for the next 2-year period;

(2)(A) Assess the DDOT Underground Electric Company Infrastructure Improvement Charge on the electric company for the next 2-year period sufficient to fully satisfy the DDOT Underground Electric Company Infrastructure Annual Revenue Requirement to enable DDOT Underground Electric Company Infrastructure Improvement Activity to be undertaken in the next 2-year period plus an amount necessary to recover any DDOT Underground Electric Company Infrastructure Improvement Costs incurred by DDOT but not reimbursed through prior collections of the DDOT Underground Electric Company Infrastructure Improvement Charge; provided, that the DDOT Underground Electric Company Infrastructure Charges approved by the Commission under this chapter shall not exceed $187.5 million in the aggregate; provided further, that any amounts collected with respect to the DDOT Underground Electric Company Infrastructure Improvement Charge and not expended for DDOT Underground Electric Company Infrastructure Improvement Costs as contemplated by this chapter shall be refunded to the electric company and thereafter credited to customers as the Commission may direct; and

(B) By the 10th day of each month during the applicable 2-year period, the electric company shall remit a payment equal to 1/24 of the DDOT Underground Electric Company Infrastructure Improvement Charges approved for the applicable 2-year period pursuant to the financing order to the DDOT Underground Electric Company Infrastructure Improvement Fund established pursuant to § 34-1313.03a;

(3) Assess the Underground Rider for the next 2-year period among the distribution service customer classes of the electric company in accordance with the distribution service customer class cost allocations approved by the Commission for the electric company and in effect pursuant to the electric company's most recently decided base rate case in an amount sufficient for the electric company to recover the DDOT Underground Electric Company Infrastructure Charge; provided, that no such charges shall be assessed against the electric company's residential aid discount customer class or any succeeding customer class approved by the Commission for the purpose of providing economic relief to a specified low-income customer class; provided further, that the Underground Rider shall be billed to customers by the electric company on a volumetric basis;

(4) Describe the true-up mechanism as provided in § 34-1313.12 to reconcile actual collections of the Underground Rider with forecasted collection on at least an annual basis to ensure that the collections of the Underground Rider are adequate for the electric company to recover an amount equal to the aggregate amount of the DDOT Electric Company Infrastructure Improvement Charges;

(5) Prescribe the filing of billing and collection reports relating to the DDOT Underground Electric Company Infrastructure Improvement Charges and the Underground Rider; and

(6) Consistent with this chapter, contain such other findings, determinations, and authorizations as the Commission considers necessary or appropriate.

(b) All financing orders shall be operative and in full force and effect from the time fixed for them to become effective by the Commission.

(c) The financing order shall provide that except to implement any true-up mechanism as required by § 34-1313.12, the Commission may not reduce, impair, postpone, terminate, or otherwise adjust the Underground Rider approved in the financing order unless it has similarly adjusted the DDOT Underground Electric Company Infrastructure Improvement Charges by an equal amount.

(d) The electric company shall have no liability or obligation with respect to the DDOT Underground Electric Company Infrastructure Improvement Charge except for the 2-year period that is the subject of the financing order then in effect.