(a) No later than 120 days after the effective date of this article, and from time to time thereafter, the recovery corporation shall apply to the commission for a determination that some or all of the recovery corporation’s recovery costs may be recovered through fixed recovery amounts, which would be recovery property under this article, and that any portion of the recovery corporation’s federal and State of California income and franchise taxes associated with those fixed recovery amounts and not financed from proceeds of recovery bonds be recovered through fixed recovery tax amounts. The recovery corporation may request this determination by the commission in a separate proceeding or in an existing proceeding, or both. The recovery corporation shall in its application specify that consumers within its service territory would benefit from reduced rates on a present value basis through the issuance of recovery bonds. The commission shall designate fixed recovery amounts and any associated fixed recovery tax amounts as recoverable in one or more financing orders if the commission determines, as part of its findings in connection with the financing order, that the designation of the fixed recovery amounts and any associated fixed recovery tax amounts, and the issuance of recovery bonds in connection with fixed recovery amounts, would reduce the rates on a present value basis that consumers within the recovery corporation’s service territory would pay if the financing order were not adopted. Fixed recovery amounts and any associated fixed recovery tax amounts shall only be imposed on existing and future consumers in the service territory. Consumers within the service territory shall continue to pay fixed recovery amounts and any associated fixed tax recovery amounts until the recovery bonds are paid in full by the financing entity. Once the recovery bonds have been paid in full, the payment by consumers of fixed recovery amounts and fixed recovery tax amounts shall terminate.
(b) The commission shall establish an effective mechanism that ensures recovery of recovery costs through fixed recovery amounts and any associated fixed recovery tax amounts from existing and future consumers in the service territory, provided that the costs shall not be recoverable from any of the following:
(1) New load or incremental load of an existing consumer of the recovery corporation where the load is being met through a direct transaction and the transaction does not require the use of transmission or distribution facilities owned by the recovery corporation.
(2) Customer Generation departing load that is exempt from Department of Water Resources power charges pursuant to the commission’s Decision No. 03-04-030, as modified by Decision No. 03-04-041, and as clarified and affirmed by Decision No. 03-05-039, except that the load shall pay the costs as a component of and in proportion to any purchase of electricity delivered by the recovery corporation under standby or other service made following its departure.
(3) The Department of Water Resources, with respect to the pumping, generation, and transmission facilities and operations of the State Water Resources Development System, except to the extent that system facilities receive electric service from the recovery corporation on or after December 19, 2003, under a commission approved tariff.
(4) Retail electric load, continuously served by a local publicly owned electric utility from January 1, 2000, through the effective date of the act adding this section.
(5) Load that thereafter comes to take electric service from a city where all the following conditions are met:
(A) The new load is from locations that never received electric service from the recovery corporation.
(B) The city owns and operates the local publicly owned electric utility.
(C) The local publicly owned electric utility served more than 95 percent of the customers receiving electric service residing within the city limits prior to December 19, 2003.
(D) The city annexed the territory in which the load is located on or after December 19, 2003.
(E) Following annexation, the city provides all municipal services to the annexed territory that the city provides to other territory within the city limits, including electric service.
(F) The total load exempt from paying fixed recovery amounts and associated fixed recovery tax amounts pursuant to subparagraphs (A) through (D), inclusive, does not exceed 50 megawatts, as determined by the commission, and any load above the 50 megawatt exemption amount shall be responsible for paying recovery amounts and associated fixed recovery tax amounts, except as provided in subdivision (c).
(c) Except as provided in paragraphs (4) and (5) of subdivision (b), the commission shall determine the extent to which fixed recovery amounts and any associated fixed recovery tax amounts are recoverable from new municipal load, consistent with the commission’s determination in the limited rehearing granted in Decision 03-08-076. The determination of the commission shall be made on the earlier of the date it adopts a financing order or December 31, 2004.
(d) Except as provided in paragraphs (4) and (5) of subdivision (b) and in subdivision (c), the obligation to pay fixed recovery amounts and any associated fixed recovery tax amounts cannot be avoided by the formation of a local publicly owned electric utility on or after December 19, 2003, or by annexation of any portion of the service territory of the recovery corporation by an existing local publicly owned electric utility.
(e) Recovery bonds authorized by the commission’s financing orders may be issued in one or more series on or before December 31, 2006.
(f) The commission may issue financing orders in accordance with this article to facilitate the recovery, financing, or refinancing of recovery costs. A financing order may be adopted only upon the application of the recovery corporation and shall become effective in accordance with its terms only after the recovery corporation files with the commission the recovery corporation’s written consent to all terms and conditions of the financing order. A financing order may specify how amounts collected from a consumer shall be allocated between fixed recovery amounts, any associated fixed recovery tax amounts, and other charges.
(g) Notwithstanding Section 455.5 or 1708, or any other provision of law, except as otherwise provided in Section 848.7 or in this subdivision with respect to recovery property that has been made the basis for the issuance of recovery bonds and with respect to any associated fixed recovery tax amounts, the financing order, the fixed recovery amounts and any associated fixed recovery tax amounts shall be irrevocable, and the commission shall not have authority either by rescinding, altering, or amending the financing order or otherwise, to revalue or revise for ratemaking purposes, the recovery costs or the costs of recovering, financing, or refinancing the recovery costs, determine that the fixed recovery amounts, any associated fixed recovery tax amounts or rates are unjust or unreasonable, or in any way reduce or impair the value of recovery property or of the right to receive any associated fixed recovery tax amounts either directly or indirectly by taking fixed recovery amounts or any associated fixed recovery tax amounts into account when setting other rates for the recovery corporation or when setting charges for the Department of Water Resources; nor shall the amount of revenues arising with respect thereto be subject to reduction, impairment, postponement, or termination. Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, the State of California does hereby pledge and agree with the recovery corporation, owners of recovery property, and holders of recovery bonds that the state shall neither limit nor alter the fixed recovery amounts, any associated fixed recovery tax amounts, recovery property, financing orders, or any rights thereunder until the recovery bonds, together with the interest thereon, are fully paid and discharged, and any associated fixed recovery tax amounts have been satisfied or, in the alternative, have been refinanced through an additional issue of recovery bonds; provided nothing contained in this section shall preclude the limitation or alteration if and when adequate provision shall be made by law for the protection of the recovery corporation, owners, and holders. The financing entity is authorized to include this pledge and undertaking for the state in these recovery bonds. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the commission shall approve adjustments to the fixed recovery amounts and any associated fixed recovery tax amounts as may be necessary to ensure timely recovery of all recovery costs that are the subject of the pertinent financing order, and the costs of capital associated with the recovery, financing, or refinancing thereof, including servicing and retiring the recovery bonds contemplated by the financing order. When setting other rates for the recovery corporation, nothing in this subdivision shall prevent the commission from taking into account either of the following:
(1) Any collection of fixed recovery amounts in excess of amounts actually required to pay recovery costs financed or refinanced by recovery bonds.
(2) Any collection of fixed recovery tax amounts in excess of amounts actually required to pay federal and State of California income and franchise taxes associated with fixed recovery amounts; provided that this would not result in a recharacterization of the tax, accounting, and other intended characteristics of the financing, including, but not limited to, either of the following:
(A) Treating the recovery bonds as debt of the recovery corporation or its affiliates for federal income tax purposes.
(B) Treating the transfer of the recovery property by the recovery corporation as a true sale for bankruptcy purposes.
(h) (1) Financing orders issued under this article do not constitute a debt or liability of the state or of any political subdivision thereof, and do not constitute a pledge of the full faith and credit of the state or any of its political subdivisions, but are payable solely from the funds provided therefor under this article and shall be consistent with Sections 1 and 18 of Article XVI of the California Constitution. This subdivision shall in no way preclude bond guarantees or enhancements pursuant to this article. All recovery bonds shall contain on the face thereof a statement to the following effect: “Neither the full faith and credit nor the taxing power of the State of California is pledged to the payment of the principal of, or interest on, this bond.”
(2) The issuance of recovery bonds under this article shall not directly, indirectly, or contingently obligate the state or any political subdivision thereof to levy or to pledge any form of taxation therefor or to make any appropriation for their payment.
(i) The commission shall establish procedures for the expeditious processing of applications for financing orders, including the approval or disapproval thereof within 120 days of the recovery corporation making application therefor. The commission shall provide in any financing order for a procedure for the expeditious approval by the commission of periodic adjustments to the fixed recovery amounts and any associated fixed recovery tax amounts that are the subject of the pertinent financing order, as required by subdivision (g). The procedure shall require the commission to determine whether the adjustments are required on each anniversary of the issuance of the financing order, and at the additional intervals as may be provided for in the financing order, and for the adjustments, if required, to be approved within 90 days of each anniversary of the issuance of the financing order, or of each additional interval provided for in the financing order.
(j) Fixed recovery amounts are recovery property when, and to the extent that, a financing order authorizing the fixed recovery amounts has become effective in accordance with this article, and the recovery property shall thereafter continuously exist as property for all purposes with all of the rights and privileges of this article for the period and to the extent provided in the financing order, but in any event until the recovery bonds are paid in full, including all principal, interest, premium, costs, and arrearages thereon.
(k) This article and any financing order made pursuant to this article do not amend, reduce, modify, or otherwise affect the right of the Department of Water Resources to recover its revenue requirements and to receive the charges that it is to recover and receive pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000) of the Water Code, or pursuant to any agreement entered into by the commission and the Department of Water Resources pursuant to that division.
(Added by Stats. 2004, Ch. 46, Sec. 5. Effective June 7, 2004.)