Section 45:1272 - DefinitionsAs used in this Part:
(1) "Ancillary agreement" means any bond, insurance policy, letter of credit, reserve account, surety bond, swap arrangement, hedging arrangement, liquidity or credit support arrangement, or other financial arrangement entered into in connection with the issuance or payment of energy transition bonds.(2) "Assignee" means any legal or commercial entity, including but not limited to a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership, or other legally recognized entity to which an electric utility sells, assigns, or transfers, other than as security, all or a portion of its interest in or right to energy transition property. The assignee may be a new subsidiary created by the electric utility for this purpose. The term also includes any legal or commercial entity to which an assignee sells, assigns, or transfers, other than as security, all or a portion of its interest in or right to energy transition property.(3) "Commission" means the Louisiana Public Service Commission.(4) "Electric utility" or "utility" means an "electric public utility" as defined in R.S. 45:121.(5) "Eligible electric generating facility" means a coal-fired or lignite-fired electric generating facility owned entirely or in indivision by an electric utility furnishing electric service to customers within the state.(6) "Eligible mine" means a coal or lignite mine that services a mine-mouth eligible electric generating facility furnishing electric service to customers within this state.(7) "Energy transition bonds" means bonds, notes, certificates of participation, or other evidences of indebtedness that are issued pursuant to an indenture or other contract of an electric utility or an issuer pursuant to a financing order, the proceeds of which are used directly or indirectly to provide, recover, finance, or refinance commission-approved energy transition costs and financing costs, and costs to fund energy transition reserves to such levels as the commission may authorize in a financing order, and that are secured by or payable from energy transition property. If certificates of participation are issued, references in this Part to principal, interest, or premium shall refer to comparable amounts under those certificates. Energy transition bonds shall be nonrecourse to the credit or any assets of the electric utility other than the energy transition property as specified in the financing order and any rights under any ancillary agreement. Energy transition bonds shall be legal investments for all governmental units, financial institutions, insurance companies, fiduciaries, and other persons that require statutory authority regarding legal investment.(8) "Energy transition charge" means the amounts authorized by the commission to recover, finance, or refinance energy transition costs and financing costs, and to fund any energy transition reserves to such levels as the commission may authorize in a financing order. To the extent determined appropriate by the commission and provided for in a financing order, such amounts are to be imposed on, and be a part of, all customer bills, be periodically adjusted, and be collected by an electric utility or its successors or assignees, or a collection agent, through a nonbypassable charge collected as part of the electric utility's retail rates, whether in base rates, fuel adjustment clauses, or in any other manner considered appropriate by the commission, for the time period specified in the financing order, paid by all existing and future customers receiving retail electric service from the electric utility or its successors under rate schedules or special contracts authorized or approved by the commission.(9) "Energy transition costs" means, if requested by the electric utility, and as may be approved by the commission, costs incurred or to be incurred by an electric utility consisting of any of the following: (a) Costs caused by or associated with the following: (i) The retirement of an eligible electric generating facility.(ii) The decommissioning, demolition, remediation, and cleanup of a retired eligible electric generating facility and related improvements and waterworks and restoring its site.(iii) The unrecovered capitalized costs of or undepreciated investments in a retired eligible electric generating facility that were being recovered in rates as of the date of retirement.(iv) Obsolete or unnecessary stores inventory previously serving the eligible electric generating facility.(b)(i) Costs for previously mined coal or lignite or for the closure and reclamation of an eligible mine, including land remediation and liabilities. These costs may include the following:(aa) Costs not previously collected from the electric utility's customers.(bb) Costs previously collected from the electric utility's customers but subsequently ordered by the commission to be refunded to customers. These costs, including any interest component, ordered to be refunded may be included in the energy transition costs being financed by the energy transition bonds regardless of whether the refund credits are given before or after the date that the energy transition bonds are issued.(ii) Energy transition costs shall not include any monetary penalty, fine, or forfeiture assessed against an electric utility or its affiliate by a government agency or a court under a federal or state environmental statute, rule, or regulation.(c) Costs of repurchasing equity or retiring any existing indebtedness relating to any costs as provided in Subparagraphs (a) and (b) of this Paragraph.(d) Costs to fund and finance one or more energy transition reserves if the commission determines appropriate.(e) Carrying costs pertaining to any costs included in this Paragraph not otherwise being recovered in rates, from the respective dates on which such costs were incurred until the date that energy transition bonds are issued.(f) Costs for severance, retention payments, or early retirement payments and job retraining and education for employees whose existing jobs are eliminated due to the retirement of the eligible electric generating facility or the eligible mine, or to fund and finance a reserve therefor.(g) Any other costs determined by the commission to be reasonably associated with the retirement of an eligible mine or an eligible energy electric generating facility.(10) "Energy transition property" means the contract right constituting incorporeal movable property newly created pursuant to this Part which consists of all of the following: (a) The rights and interests of an electric utility or successors or assignees of the electric utility specified as being energy transition property in a financing order, including the right to impose, bill, charge, collect, and receive energy transition charges authorized in the financing order, the right to enforce the obligations of the utility to collect and service the energy transition charges, and the right to obtain periodic adjustments to such charges as may be provided in the financing order and this Part.(b) All revenues, collections, claims, rights to payment, payments, money, or proceeds arising from the rights and interests specified in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, regardless of whether such revenues, collections, claims, rights to payment, payments, money, or proceeds are imposed, billed, received, collected, or maintained together with or commingled with other revenues, collections, rights to payment, payments, money, or proceeds.(11) "Energy transition reserve" means a reserve established pursuant to an order of the commission for energy transition costs. An energy transition reserve shall be a restricted segregated fund, the use of which may be limited by the commission to specific types of incurred or future energy transition costs, such as future employee payments or future closure or remediation costs for an eligible mine or an eligible electric generating facility.(12) "Financing costs" means, if approved by the commission, whether incurred or paid on issuance of the energy transition bonds or ongoing over the life of the energy transition bonds, any of the following: (a) Interest and acquisition, defeasance, or redemption premiums that are payable on energy transition bonds and any other amounts owing in respect of energy transition bonds.(b) Any payment required under an ancillary agreement and any amount required to fund initially or replenish from time to time any sinking fund, overcollateralization fund, reserve, or other accounts established under the terms of any indenture, ancillary agreement, or other financing documents pertaining to energy transition bonds.(c) Any other cost related to issuing, supporting, repaying, servicing, and refunding energy transition bonds, including but not limited to servicing fees, accounting and auditing fees, fees and other amounts payable to a trustee, legal fees, consulting fees, administrative fees, printing and edgarizing fees, financial advisor fees, placement and underwriting fees, capitalized interest, rating agency fees, government registration fees, stock exchange listing and compliance fees, and filing fees, including costs related to obtaining the financing order. Financing costs may be, without limitation, costs of the issuer, the electric utility, or the commission.(d) Any income taxes and license fees imposed on the revenues generated from the collection of energy transition charges or otherwise resulting from the collection of energy transition charges, in any such case whether paid, payable, or accrued.(e) Any state and local taxes, franchise, gross receipts, and other taxes or similar charges, including but not limited to regulatory assessment fees, in any such case whether paid, payable, or accrued.(f) The fees, costs, and related expenses to obtain any waiver, consent, release, or approval from any lender related to any existing debt agreement pertaining to an eligible mine or its operation.(13) "Financing order" means an order of the commission, if granted by the commission in its sole discretion, which allows for all of the following: (a) The issuance of energy transition bonds.(b) The imposition, collection, and periodic adjustments of energy transition charges.(c) The creation of energy transition property.(d) The sale, assignment, or transfer of energy transition property to an assignee.(e) The disposition of the proceeds of the energy transition bonds.(14) "Financing party" means any holder of energy transition bonds, any party to or beneficiary of an ancillary agreement, and any trustee, collateral agent, or other person acting for the benefit of any of the foregoing.(15) "Financing statement" has the same meaning as that provided in the Uniform Commercial Code-Secured Transactions. All financing statements referenced in this Part shall be filed in accordance with Part 5 of Chapter 9 of Title 10 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 and shall be filed in this state.(16) "Issuer" means any assignee that is a wholly owned subsidiary of an electric utility and that issues energy transition bonds approved by a financing order.(17) "Lien creditor" means any of the following:(a) A creditor that has acquired a lien on the property involved by attachment, sequestration, seizure, levy, or by similar means.(b) A person receiving an assignment for benefit of creditors from the time of assignment.(c) A trustee in bankruptcy from the date of the filing of the petition.(d) A receiver in equity from the time of appointment.(18) "Secured party" means a financing party in favor of which an electric utility or an issuer creates a security interest in any or all portions of its interest in or right to energy transition property. A secured party may be granted a security interest in energy transition property under this Part and a security interest in other collateral subject to the Uniform Commercial Code-Secured Transactions in one security agreement.(19) "Security interest" means an encumbrance of and a right of preference over any portion of energy transition property created by contract to secure the payment or performance of an obligation.(20) "Uniform Commercial Code-Secured Transactions" means Chapter 9 of Title 10 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950. Acts 2022, No. 255, §2, eff. June 3, 2022; Acts 2023, No. 149, §1, eff. June 7, 2023.Amended by Acts 2023, No. 149,s. 1, eff. 6/7/2023.Added by Acts 2022, No. 255,s. 2, eff. 6/3/2022.