BILL 19
An Act to Amend the
Electricity Act
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:
1 Section
10 of the Electricity Act, chapter E-4.6 of the Acts of New Brunswick,
2003, is amended
(a) in subsection
(1) by striking out “6 months” and substituting “4 months”;
(b) in subsection
(2) by striking out “6 months” and substituting “4 months”.
2 Section
37 of the Act is amended
(a) by repealing
subsection (1) and substituting the following:
37(1) During the period that the Corporation or a subsidiary of the
Corporation incorporated pursuant to subsection 4(1) is exempt under subsection 149(1)
of the Income Tax Act (Canada)
from the payment of tax under that Act, it shall pay to the Finance
Corporation in respect of each taxation year an amount in lieu of
such tax, calculated in accordance with the regulations.
(b) by
repealing subsection (2) and substituting the following:
37(2) During the period that the Corporation or a subsidiary of the
Corporation incorporated pursuant to subsection 4(1) is exempt under subsection 10(1)
of the New Brunswick Income Tax Act from the payment of tax under that Act, it shall pay to the Finance
Corporation in respect of each taxation year an amount in lieu of
such tax, calculated in accordance with the regulations.
3 The
Act is amended by adding after section 79 the following:
Calculation of fee payable to leave standard
service
79.1(1) The Board may, on its own initiative,
hold a hearing for the purposes of inquiring into and determining
the methodology and any relevant factors for consideration in the
calculation of the fee to leave standard service.
79.1(2) The costs and expenses incurred by the Board under subsection
(1) shall be paid by the standard service supplier.
4 Subsection
101(3) of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:
101(3) The Board shall, when considering an
application under this section, base its order or decision respecting
the charges, rates and tolls to be charged by the Distribution Corporation
on all of the projected revenue requirements for the provision of
the services referred to in section 97, including the revenue requirements referred to in section 143.1.
5 Subsection
111(3) of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:
111(3) When an application is made under this
section for approval of a tariff pertaining to transmission services,
a transmitter shall attend the hearing under section 123 for the purposes of defending its
revenue requirements, and is deemed to be a party in the proceedings
before the Board.
6 Subsection
142(2) of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:
142(2) A person to whom this section applies
shall, in accordance with the regulations, ensure that a portion of
the electricity that it obtains is from renewable resources.
7 The
Act is amended by adding after section 143 the following:
Refurbishment of the Point Lepreau nuclear
generating station
143.1(1) The following definitions apply in this section.
“project” means the project
to refurbish the Point Lepreau nuclear generating station. (projet)
“out of service period” means
the period of time beginning when the Point Lepreau nuclear generating
station is out of service due to the project until such time that
the station returns to normal service. (période d’interruption
de service)
143.1(2) The Nuclear Corporation shall establish and maintain the accounts,
books and records that are necessary to record the following non-capital
costs and expenses incurred by the Nuclear Corporation in relation
to the project during the out of service period, notwithstanding that
the Point Lepreau nuclear generating station is out of service:
(a) transmission services costs;
(b) operation, maintenance and administration
expenses;
(c) amortization costs and expenses
associated with the decommissioning and irradiated fuel management
costs referred to in section 143;
(d) taxes and payments in lieu of taxes;
and
(e) financing charges.
143.1(3) Any revenue earned by the Nuclear Corporation during the out
of service period, excluding any revenues related to ancillary services
and revenues associated with electricity generation, shall be used
to offset the costs and expenses referred to in subsection (2).
143.1(4) The Generation Corporation shall establish and maintain the accounts,
books and records that are necessary to record the following non-capital
costs and expenses incurred by the Generation Corporation in relation
to the project during the out of service period:
(a) costs and expenses related to the
supply of additional electricity to the Distribution Corporation to
be sold by the Distribution Corporation to its customers within the
Province; and
(b) transmission services costs related
to the supply of additional electricity referred to in paragraph (a).
143.1(5) The Nuclear Corporation and the Generation Corporation shall
provide the Distribution Corporation, each month during the out of
service period, with invoices relating to the costs, expenses and
revenues referred to in subsections (2), (3) and (4).
143.1(6) The Distribution Corporation has a right of access at all times
to the accounts, books and records referred to in subsections (2),
(3) and (4) and is entitled to require from the directors, officers
and employees of the Nuclear Corporation and the Generation Corporation
such information and explanations as the Distribution Corporation
considers necessary in relation to those accounts, books and records.
143.1(7) The Distribution Corporation shall establish and maintain a deferral
account that records the non-capital costs and expenses referred to
in subsections (2) and (4) after the offsetting of any revenues referred
to in subsection (3).
143.1(8) For the purposes of this Act, the project shall be deemed to
be prudent and the costs and expenditures recorded in the deferral
account established under subsection (7) shall be deemed to be necessary
to carry out the project.
143.1(9) Where the amounts are properly recorded in the deferral account
established under subsection (7), the Board shall ensure that the
balance in the deferral account
(a) is recovered by the Distribution
Corporation over the operating life of the refurbished Point Lepreau
nuclear generating station, and
(b) is reflected in the charges, rates
and tolls charged by the Distribution Corporation.
143.1(10) The amounts recorded in the deferral account established under
subsection (7) shall be deemed to be part of the revenue requirements
of the Distribution Corporation and shall be deemed to be necessary
for the services provided by the Distribution Corporation.
143.1(11) For the purposes of an application to the Board for approval
of a change in charges, rates or tolls for its services, the Distribution
Corporation shall present its revenue requirements to the Board in
such a manner that the costs and expenses associated with the project
are shown separately from the other revenue requirements of the Distribution
Corporation.
8 Section
149 of the Act is amended
(a) by adding
after paragraph (1)(d) the following:
(d.1) respecting the payments by the Corporation
or a subsidiary of the Corporation referred to in section 37, including making any provision of
the Income Tax Act (Canada)
and the New Brunswick Income Tax
Act, with or without modifications, applicable to the Corporation
or the subsidiary of the Corporation for the purposes of calculating
the payment;
(b) by adding
after subsection (2) the following:
149(2.1) A regulation made under paragraph (1)(d.1) may provide that
it has retroactive application to a date not earlier than October
1, 2004.
9 This Act or any provision of it comes into
force on a day or days to be fixed by proclamation.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Section 1
(a) The existing provision is
as follows:
10(1) The Corporation shall, within 6 months after the termination
of its fiscal year, submit to the Minister an audited report, in such
form as the Minister may direct, on the operations of the Corporation
and the subsidiaries of the Corporation for that fiscal year and the
Minister shall table the report in the Legislative Assembly if it
is then sitting or, if it is not then sitting, when it next sits.
(b) The existing provision is
as follows:
10(2) The Transmission Corporation shall,
within 6 months after the termination of its fiscal year, submit to
the Minister an audited report, in such form as the Minister may direct,
on its operations for each fiscal year after the date referred to
in section 5, and the Minister shall table the report in the Legislative
Assembly if it is then sitting or, if it is not then sitting, when
it next sits.
Section 2
(a) The existing provision is
as follows:
37(1) During the period that the Corporation
or a subsidiary of the Corporation incorporated pursuant to subsection
4(1) is exempt under subsection 149(1) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) from the
payment of tax under that Act, it shall pay to the Finance Corporation
in respect of each taxation year an amount equal to the amount of
the tax that it would have been liable to pay under that Act if it
were not exempt.
(b) The existing provision is
as follows:
37(2) During the period that the Corporation
or a subsidiary of the Corporation incorporated pursuant to subsection
4(1) is exempt under subsection 10(1) of the New Brunswick Income Tax Act from
the payment of a tax under that Act, it shall pay to the Finance Corporation
in respect of each taxation year an amount equal to the amount of
the tax that it would be liable to pay under that Act if it were not
exempt.
Section 3
New provision.
Section 4
The existing provision is as follows:
101(3) The Board shall, when considering an application under this section,
base its order or decision respecting the charges, rates and tolls
to be charged by the Distribution Corporation on all of the projected
revenue requirements for the provision of the services referred to
in section 97.
Section 5
The existing provision is as follows:
111(3) When an application is made under this section, a transmitter
shall attend the hearing under section 123 for the purposes of defending
its revenue requirements, and is deemed to be a party in the proceedings
before the Board.
Section 6
The existing provision is as follows:
142(2) A person to whom this section applies shall, in accordance with
the regulations, ensure that a portion of the electricity that it
uses is obtained from renewable resources.
Section 7
New provision.
Section 8
(a) New provision.
(b) New provision.
Section 9
Commencement provision.