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MPUC Releases information about filing Tariffs in the New Electronic Case Filing Application

May 22, 2012

The Maine Public Utilities Commission will launch its new Electronic Case Filing and Consumer Complaint System from June 8 – 12, 2012.

This update provides information on filing Tariffs in the new application.

Will the Tariffs currently on file with the Commission be migrated over to the new application?

No. The new application structures tariffs (Rates and Terms & Conditions) in ways that will make it easier for members of the public to search for and view individual Rates and Terms. To take advantage of this feature, utilities must enter their tariffs through the new application’s screens.

When must I submit my Tariffs into the new application?

You may submit your tariffs as soon as the Commission launches the new application, expected to be on June 12, 2012. All utilities must submit their complete set of tariffs into the new application no later than 2 months after the new application is implemented, or August 13, 2012. Until you submit your tariffs on the new application, they will remain viewable on the current Commission system. You may continue to revise tariffs through the old system until you have transferred to the new application.

What electronic form is required for filing Rates and Terms in the new application?

Rates and Terms, as with other filings, must be filed as text-searchable PDF documents.

How should I structure my Tariffs in the new application?

The Commission’s new application will require you to structure your tariffs in the ways that make searching and viewing easy. Utilities with a large number of Rates or Terms should take advantage of the structure when initially entering their tariffs into the new system, as described below. Utilities with short tariff books may simplify the structure. Following is an explanation of how to structure your tariffs for the new system, using terminology you will see on the computer screens.

Guidelines for Structuring Tariffs

• Each utility will have a Tariff Book.

• The Tariff Book will include a complete set of all of the utility’s Commission jurisdictional (1) Rate Schedules (Rates in the new application) and (2) Terms and Conditions (Terms in the new application). These are the Rates and Terms that utilities currently file at the Commission.

• Rates will be structured by Rate Name. The new application will list the Rates by Rate Name, and a user may search for and view an individual Rate Name. This approach will be most useful if each Rate applies to a specified class of service, e.g., “A,” “Residential Service” or “Residential Time-of-Use Service,” or to a type of charge, e.g., “Cost of Gas Factor.”

• Page and revision numbers within Rate schedules should be numbered as they are currently, pursuant to Chapter 120 of the Commission’s Rules.

• Terms will be structured and indexed by Section Numbers. Terms and subsections within each Term should be logically organized and numbered.

• Pages and revision numbers within Term schedules should be numbered as they are currently, pursuant to Chapter 120 of the Commission’s Rules.

Guidelines for Structuring Simpler Tariffs

If a utility has very few Rates or Terms, it is possible to simplify the approach above by combining individual rates into one system “Rate.” The single “Rate” must be given a Rate Name in the new system (e.g., “Schedule of Rates” or “Rates for XYZ Water Utility”). If done this way, when the new system lists Rates, it will only list one. In a similar manner, all terms may be combined into one system “Term” called “Terms and Conditions for XYZ Water Company.” Or, similar terms could be grouped together into one system “Term.”

Table of Contents

You should submit a Table of Contents, as you do now. The Table of Contents for rates can be contained in a Rate. When viewing rates, rate names can be sorted in alphabetical order. To make the Table of Contents appear as the first on the list, give it the Rate Name “1 Table of Contents – Rates.” Similarly store a Table of Contents as a Term with the Term Name of “1 Table of Contents – Terms,” for efficient sorting.

Examples attached below – Fully Structured Rate and Simplified Rate

Download the file (Fully Structured Rate - Attachment 1)

Download the file (Simplified Rate - Attachment 2)