Section 407-320-12 - INDEPENDENT AUDITS OF METERING AND BILLING SYSTEMSA. The Commission shall administer periodic audits by an independent auditor of the billing and metering systems of Investor-Owned T&D Utilities. The audits shall be conducted pursuant to 35-A M.R.S. §113.B. The independent auditor shall be selected by the Commission pursuant to the applicable rules and processes of the State of Maine Division of Procurement Services, or any successor entity. In selecting an independent auditor, the Commission shall ensure that the methodologies to be used by the auditor are sufficiently objective, thorough and rigorous, and that any statistical sampling and analyses will be sufficiently robust to represent the relevant population and range of systems being audited.C. An audit shall be conducted once every five years for each Investor-Owned T&D Utility, or as otherwise deemed necessary by the Commission. The Commission may focus the audit on only residential and small commercial customers, or the Commission may include other customer groups in the audit.D. The Commission shall determine the allocation of the cost of the periodic audit between the utility and its ratepayers based on the results of the audit.65-407 C.M.R. ch. 320, § 12