(a) Scope of Rule.—This Rule provides the procedural and filing requirements for the determination of the value of utility property for ratemaking purposes applicable when a utility acquires an existing water system owned by a municipality or county, or an authority or district established under Chapter 162A of the General Statutes, and the utility makes an election pursuant to G.S. 62‑133.1A(a) to establish its rate base associated with the acquisition by using the fair value of the acquired property instead of original cost.
(b) Definitions.
(1) "Local Government Utility" means an existing water system owned by a municipality, county, or an authority or district established under Chapter 162A of the General Statutes.
(2) "Rate Division" means a separate rate schedule of a water utility for one or more established customer service areas.
(3) "Utility Valuation Expert" means a person qualified as an expert in the appraisal of utility plant whose proficiency is demonstrated and established pursuant to subsection (c) of this Rule.
(4) "Professional Engineer" means a person who has been duly licensed by the North Carolina State Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors established by Chapter 89C of the General Statutes, including those persons who may be licensed by comity or endorsement.
(5) "Asset Purchase Agreement" means a contract for the sale of an existing water system between a water utility, as buyer, and a Local Government Utility, as seller, which is to be valued for purposes of rate base. The Asset Purchase Agreement shall reflect the price negotiated between the Public Utility purchaser and the Local Government Utility.
(c) Establishment of List of Utility Valuation Experts.—The Commission shall establish a generic proceeding in Docket No. W-100, Sub 60A for the purpose of creating and maintaining a list of accredited, impartial Utility Valuation Experts as required pursuant to G.S. 62-133.1A(b). A person seeking to become a Utility Valuation Expert shall apply to the Commission by furnishing the following:
(1) a demonstration of the person's education and experience specific to providing valuations and appraisals of utility plant, as differentiated from other types of appraisals, such as for real estate;
(2) a written attestation that a Utility Valuation Expert owes a fiduciary duty to provide a thorough, objective, and fair valuation;
(3) a demonstration of financial and technical fitness, such as through production of professional licenses, technical certifications, and names of current or past clients with a description of dates and types of services provided;
(4) a demonstration of adequate utility valuation and appraisal experience to support the Commission's decision to consider these persons or entities as experts in this field;
(5) a statement that the Utility Valuation Expert will make use of the assessment of the tangible assets of the system to be acquired, which assessment shall be from a Professional Engineer jointly retained by the utility and the Local Government Utility and make use of the Water and Wastewater Fair Value Engineering Assessment Form included in the Appendix to this Chapter as a template for the engineer's assessment;
(6) a statement that the Utility Valuation Expert will comply with the requirements of G.S. 62-133.1A in conducting their appraisal, including that the Utility Valuation Expert shall appraise the subject property in compliance with the uniform standards of professional appraisal practice, employing cost, market, and income approaches to assessment of value; and
(7) any other information as required by the Commission.
(d) Application for Election to Establish Rate Base Using Fair Value.—A water utility may elect to establish rate base using the fair value of the utility property acquired from a Local Government Utility by filing with the Commission an application pursuant to G.S. 62‑133.1A and this Rule. The form of the application shall be as provided in the Appendix to this Chapter. In addition to providing the information required pursuant to G.S. 62‑133.1A in the completed application form, the application shall contain a narrative explanation of the object and purposes desired by the application and how the public interest is served by the acquisition, along with any other information required by the Commission. The application shall be accompanied by the testimony of the acquiring utility's president or another person employed by the utility who is personally familiar with the contents thereof and who verifies that the contents of the application are true and accurate.
(e) Procedure upon receipt of Application.—Contemporaneous with the filing of an application with the Commission pursuant to G.S. 62-133.1A and this Rule, the utility shall serve a copy of the application on the Public Staff. The Public Staff shall review the application and no later than ten days after the application is filed, the Public Staff shall file with the Commission and serve upon the applicant a recommendation regarding whether the application is complete or identify any deficiencies noted. If the Commission determines that the application is incomplete as submitted, the utility will be required to file the omitted information.
Once the Commission determines that the application is complete, the Commission will promptly issue an order establishing procedural deadlines and discovery guidelines and requiring the utility to provide notice of the pending application to the customers of the Local Government Utility. If the Commission receives significant written complaints against the application, then the Commission will issue a further order setting the application for hearing. The Commission will endeavor to schedule the hearings to be held within three months of the filing of the application to facilitate issuance of a final order within six months of the filing of a completed application as directed pursuant to G.S. 62‑133.1A(d).
(f) Rate Division Assignment.—Pursuant to G.S. 62-133.1A(c)(8), service to customers in the service area of the Local Government Utility shall be under a tariff that includes rates equal to the rates of the selling utility until the utility's next general rate case, unless otherwise ordered by the Commission for good cause shown. An application filed pursuant to G.S. 62-133.1A and this Rule shall include a proposed tariff that reflects such rates and a statement as to whether the utility intends to propose in its next general rate case that the service area of the Local Government Utility be integrated into an existing Rate Division of the acquiring utility or be established as a new Rate Division. A determination as to whether the service area of the Local Government Utility should be integrated into an existing Rate Division or established as a new Rate Division shall be preserved for the Commission's consideration in the utility's next general rate case.
(g) Final Order on Application.—Consistent with the direction provided in G.S. 62‑133.1A(d), the Commission will endeavor to issue a final order on the application filed pursuant to G.S. 62-133.1A and this Rule within six months of the filing of a completed application. The Commission's final order will resolve all substantive issues and, if the Commission determines that the Application should be approved, the Commission will specifically determine the rate base value of the acquired property for rate-making purposes in a manner consistent with G.S. 62‑133.1A and the provisions of this Rule, as follows:
(1) Determination of Rate Base.—The rate base value of the acquired system shall be the lesser of the purchase price reflected in the Asset Purchase Agreement or the average of the three appraisals as required pursuant to G.S. 62-133.1A (b)(1), unless the Commission specifically finds that the average of the appraisals will not result in a reasonable fair value, in which case the Commission may adjust the fair value pursuant to G.S. 62‑133.1A(e) as it deems appropriate and in the public interest;
(2) Certain Costs Eligible to be Included in Rate Base Value.—Consistent with G.S. 62-133.1A(b), the Commission will allow the inclusion of the costs of the engineering assessment, transaction and closing costs incurred by the utility, and fees paid to Utility Valuation Experts, including fees paid by the acquiring utility to a Utility Valuation Expert that represents the Public Staff, in the rate base value of the acquired system upon a finding that those costs were reasonably and prudently incurred;
(3) Depreciation.—The Commission will require the utility to apply the normal rules of depreciation against the rate base value from the date of the purchase of the system; and
(4) Tariffs.—The Commission will approve the establishment of a new tariff for the provision of water service to customers in the acquired service territory, which shall also determine whether the acquired service territory will be treated as a separate Rate Division.
(h) Burden of Proof.—The utility shall have the burden of proof regarding all aspects of the proceeding on an application filed pursuant to G.S. 62-133.1A and this Rule, and for demonstrating that the acquisition of the Local Government Utility is in the public interest.
(NCUC Docket No. W-100, Sub 60, 12/30/2020.)