A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to authorize the utilities commission to reassign territories of certain electric suppliers to municipal electric suppliers in the absence of approved territorial agreements.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 160A‑331.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 160A‑331.2.  Agreements of electric suppliers.
(a)	The General Assembly finds and determines that, in order to avoid the unnecessary duplication of electric facilities and to facilitate the settlement of disputes between cities that are primary suppliers and other electric suppliers, it is desirable for the State to authorize electric suppliers to enter into agreements pursuant to which the parties to the agreements allocate to each other the right to provide electric service to premises each would not have the right to serve under this Article but for the agreement, provided that no agreement between a city that is a primary supplier and another electric supplier shall be enforceable by or against an electric supplier that is subject to the territorial assignment jurisdiction of the North Carolina Utilities Commission until the agreement has been approved by the Commission. The Commission shall approve an agreement entered into pursuant to this section unless it finds that such agreement is not in the public interest. Such agreements may allocate the right to serve premises by reference to specific premises, geographical boundaries, or amounts of unspecified load to be served, but no agreement shall affect in any way the rights of other electric suppliers who are not parties to the relevant agreement. The provisions of this section apply to agreements relating to electric service inside and outside the corporate limits of a city.
	
(c)	Any electric supplier subject to the territorial assignment jurisdiction of the North Carolina Utilities Commission pursuant to G.S. 62‑110.2 that, as of January 1, 2008, has less than 150,000 retail customers within this State, or a city that owns and maintains its own electric distribution lines, may petition the North Carolina Utilities Commission under this subsection at any time with respect to the provision of electric service within any area not covered by a service area agreement filed with and approved by the Commission under this section. Upon the filing of  a petition and the payment of a filing fee of five hundred dollars ($500.00) by a petitioner, the  Commission shall have and exercise the authority to reassign some or all of the affected portion of  the previously assigned territory of the involved electric supplier as territory to be served solely by the involved electric supplier, territory to be served solely by the involved city, or territory to be designated as unassigned territory and subject to customer choice as between the involved electric supplier and the involved city. In making any such assignments or reassignments, the Commission shall consider public convenience and necessity, the geography of the affected area, the existing infrastructure to provide service in or near that area, the investments previously made to provide service within or near that area, the utilization of existing facilities already installed in or near the affected area, the desires of consumers within the affected area, the engineering and technical effects on the systems of the competing suppliers of providing service in or near the affected area, and the potential adverse impact of loss of previously assigned service territory by the involved electric supplier. The Commission shall not consider rate differentials between the involved city and the involved electric supplier.
(d)	Notwithstanding an assignment or reassignment pursuant to subsection (c) of this section:
(1)	Any electric supplier or city may furnish electric service to any consumer who desires service from that electric supplier or city at any premises being served by another electric supplier or city, or at premises which another electric supplier or city has the right to serve pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, upon agreement of the affected electric supplier or city, subject to approval by the Commission.
(2)	The Commission shall have the authority and jurisdiction, after notice to all affected electric suppliers and cities and after a hearing, if a hearing is requested by any affected electric supplier or city, or any other interested party, to order any electric supplier or city which may reasonably do so to furnish electric service to any consumer who desires service from  that electric supplier or city at any premises being served by another electric supplier or city pursuant to subsection (c) of this section or subdivision (1) of this subsection, or which another electric supplier or city has the right to serve pursuant to subsection (c) of this section or subdivision (1) of this subsection, and to order the other electric supplier or city to cease and desist from furnishing electric service to such premises, upon finding that service to the consumer by the electric supplier or city which is then furnishing service, or which has the right to furnish service to those  premises, is or will be inadequate or undependable, or that the rates, conditions of service or service regulations, applied to such consumer, are unreasonably discriminatory.
(e)	Assignments or reassignments made or approved by the Commission pursuant to subsection (c) or (d) of this section shall be deemed to be service area agreements approved pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and shall survive annexation of all or any part of the affected territories assigned or reassigned in that order or approval."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 117‑10.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 117‑10.2.  Restriction on municipal service.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, no electric membership corporation shall furnish electric service to, or within the limits of, any incorporated city or town, except pursuant to a franchise that may be granted under the provisions of G.S. 117‑10.1, or as permitted under G.S. 160A‑331,  160A‑331.2, 160A‑332, and 160A‑333. In addition, an electric membership corporation may furnish electric service to, or within the limits of, any incorporated city or town if the city or town and all electric suppliers, including public utilities, other electric membership corporations and other cities or towns, then furnishing electric service to or within such city or town consent thereto in writing."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 117‑10.3 and G.S. 160A‑331.1 are repealed.  Agreements previously entered into pursuant to G.S. 117‑10.3 and G.S. 160A‑331.1 shall not be affected by this repeal.
SECTION 4.  G.S. 7A‑38.3C is repealed.  Any territorial disputes submitted to the Public Staff of the North Carolina Utilities Commission pursuant to G.S. 7A‑38.3C(i) are vacated without prejudice to any party to submit the same or similar disputes to the North Carolina Utilities Commission pursuant to G.S. 160A‑331.2(c), as enacted by this act.
SECTION 5.  G.S. 160A‑331.2(c), (d), and (e), as enacted by this act, become effective January 1, 2008.  The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.