Indian Electric Power Utilities

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

25 CFR Part 175

RIN 1076-AD45

Indian Electric Power Utilities

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The regulations on Indian electric power utilities were

identified for reinvention under the National Performance Review. This

proposed revision is written in plain English to make the rule easier

to read and understand for utility customers and operators.

DATES: Comments by interested parties must be in writing and we must

receive them before August 6, 1996.

ADDRESSES: You must mail or hand carry your comments to Terrance

Virden, Acting Director, Office of Trust Responsibilities, Bureau of

Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, N.W., MS

4513 MIB, Washington, D.C. 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross Mooney, Chief, Branch of

Irrigation and Power, Division of Water and Land Resources, Bureau of

Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, N.W., MS

4513 MIB, Washington, D.C. 20240, Phone Number (202)208-5480.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We are publishing this proposed rule by the

authority delegated by the Secretary of the Interior to the Assistant

Secretary--Indian Affairs by 209 DM 8.

Our policy is to give the public an opportunity to participate in

the rule making process by submitting written comments regarding

proposed rules. We will consider all comments received during the

public comment period. We will determine necessary revisions and issue

the final rule. Please refer to this preamble's ADDRESSES section for

where you must submit your written comments on this proposed rule.

We certified to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that

these proposed regulations meet the applicable standards provided in

Sections 2(a) and 2(b)(2) of Executive Order 12778.

This rule is not a significant rule under Executive Order 12866 and

does not require approval by the Office of Management and Budget.

This rule imposes no unfunded mandates on any governmental or

private entity and is in compliance with the provisions of the Unfunded

Mandates Act of 1995.

We determined this proposed rule:

(a) Does not constitute a major Federal action significantly

affecting the human environment, and no detailed statement is needed

under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969;

(b) Does not have significant takings implications in accordance

with Executive Order 12630; and

(c) Does not have significant Federalism effects.

(d) Does not have a significant economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.

601 et seq.).

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

Section 175.13(a) contains information collection requirements. As

required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507(d)),

the Bureau of Indian Affairs has submitted a copy of this section to

the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review.

We need to know the customer's name, address, phone number, social

security number, the kind of service desired, and where the service is

needed.

All information is collected when applying for electric service.

Reporting and record keeping burden for this collection of information

is estimated to average 15 minutes for each response, including time

for gathering and maintaining data and completing and reviewing the

collection of information. The total reporting and record keeping

burden for this collection is estimated to be less than 1188 hours per

year.

Organizations and individuals wishing to submit comments on the

information collection requirement should direct them to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Room 10202, New Executive

Office Building, Washington, D.C.

[[Page 29041]]

20503; Attention Desk Officer for U.S. Department of the Interior.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs considers comments by the public on

this proposed collection of information in:

Evaluating whether the proposed collection of information is

necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Bureau,

including whether the information will have practical utility;

Enhancing the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the information

to be collected; and

Minimizing the burden of the collection of information on those who

are to respond, including through the use of appropriate collection

techniques or other form of information technology.

OMB is required to make a decision concerning the collection of

information contained in these proposed regulations between 30 and 60

days after publication of this document in the Federal Register.

Therefore, a comment to the OMB is best assured of having its full

affect if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication. This does not

affect the deadline for the public to comment to the Bureau of Indian

Affairs on the proposed rule.

List of Subjects in 25 CFR Part 175

Indian-lands, Irrigation.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, we propose to revise Part

175 of Title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as follows:

PART 175--INDIAN ELECTRIC POWER UTILITIES

Subpart A--General Provisions

Sec.

175.01 Definitions

175.02 Does this part apply to you?

175.03 Do you need to comply?

175.04 Information Collection.

Subpart B--How do we operate a power facility?

175.10 We prepare a manual to tell you how we operate.

175.11 What are our responsibilities?

175.12 What are our employees' responsibilities?

175.13 What are your responsibilities?

175.14 How can you lose your electric service?

Subpart C--What Does It Cost Us To Operate A Power Facility?

175.20 What will we bill you for?

Subpart D--How do we pay for Operating a Power Facility?

175.30 What do your power bills pay for?

175.31 We charge service fees.

175.32 We charge electric power rates.

175.33 We charge to recover costs of purchased power for resale to

you.

175.34 How we notify you?

175.35 How do we bill you?

175.36 How do you pay us?

Subpart E--How do we Extend or Upgrade Your Power System?

175.40 When do we extend or upgrade your power system?

175.41 You can pay for system extension or upgrades.

175.42 You may receive a refund of your construction costs.

175.43 We need a right-of-way for your system.

Subpart F--If you do not Agree with our Actions.

175.50 You may appeal to us.

175.51 You may appeal to the Interior Board of Indian Appeals.

175.52 While your appeal is pending.

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; sec. 2, 49 Stat. 1039-1040; 54 Stat.

422; sec. 5, 43 Stat. 475-476; 45 Stat. 210-211; and sec. 7, 62

Stat. 273.

Subpart A--General Provisions

Sec. 175.01 Definitions.

Appellant means any person who files an appeal under this part.

Customer means any individual, business, or government entity to

whom we provide the services of a utility or who seeks to have us

provide the services of a utility.

Customer Service means the assistance or service we provide to

customers, other than the actual delivery of electric power or energy,

including, but not limited to, such items as: line extension, system

upgrade, meter testing, connection or disconnection, special meter

reading, or other assistance or service as provided for in the

operations manual.

Electric Power Utility or Utility means that program administered

by the Bureau of Indian Affairs which provides for the marketing of

electric power or energy.

Electric Service means the delivery of electric energy or power by

the utility to the point of delivery pursuant to execution of a service

agreement or special contract as provided for in the operations manual.

Inventory valuation means our accounting procedures for fixing the

costs for supplies we hold in inventory.

Operations Manual means the utility's written compilation of its

procedures and practices which govern service the utility provides.

Power Rates means the charges we establish in a rate schedule(s)

for electric service we provide to a customer.

Purchased Power means power or energy we buy from another power

marketing organization for resale to our customers.

Service means electric service and customer service which we

provide.

Service Agreement means the written form provided by the utility

which constitutes a binding agreement between the customer and the

utility for service except for service which the utility provides to

the customer under a special contract.

Service Fees means charges for providing administrative or customer

service to customers, prospective customers, and other entities having

business relationships with the utility.

Service Life means the period of time we can expect performance to

design standards from a plant or capitalized equipment.

Special Contract means a written agreement between the utility and

a customer for special conditions of service.

Utility office(s) means the current or future facility or

facilities which the utility uses for conducting general business with

customers.

We means the United States Government, the Department of the

Interior, the Secretary, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and all who are

authorized to represent us in matters covered under this part.

You means a customer of a Bureau of Indian Affairs power utility.

Sec. 175.02 Does this part apply to you?

The purpose of this part is to regulate the electric power

utilities administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Sec. 175.03 Do you need to comply?

All utilities and customers of utilities administered by the Bureau

of Indian Affairs are bound by this part.

Sec. 175.04 Information collection.

The information collection requirements contained in Sec. 175.13(a)

will be approved by the Office of Management and Budget as required by

44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. We collect this information to provide you the

appropriate electric power service and an accurate bill. You must

provide this information to obtain electric power service.

Subpart B--How Do We Operate a Power Facility?

Sec. 175.10 We prepare a manual to tell you how we operate.

We will establish an operations manual to administer the utility

consistent with this part and all applicable laws and regulations. We

will amend the operations manual as needed.

(a) We will notify you of changes we propose to make to the

operations

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manual. We will notify you of a proposed action to establish or amend

the operations manual at least 30 days before the effective date of the

proposed action so that you may comment on our proposed action. We will

publish notices of the proposed action in the Federal Register. The

notice will give you:

(1) A brief description of the proposed action;

(2) The effective date of the proposed action;

(3) The name, address and telephone number of the person you should

contact if you have comments or questions; and

(4) The period of time you have to submit your comments or views of

the proposed action.

(b) We will consider your comments. We will consider your comments

before we establish or amend the operations manual. We will notify you

of any decisions we make finalizing the operations manual and we will

provide an explanation of how we made the decisions in the notice.

Sec. 175.11 What are our responsibilities?

We must:

(a) Provide you with reliable energy. We will define the specific

types of service and limitations on our service in our operations

manual.

(b) Construct and operate facilities in accordance with accepted

industry practice.

(c) Exercise reasonable care in protecting your equipment and

property.

(d) Comply with additional requirements we define in the operations

manual.

(e) Read your meters or authorize you to read your meters at

intervals prescribed in the operations manual, service agreement, or

special contract, except where we cannot read the meter due to

conditions described in the operations manual.

(f) Get your permission to operate or handle your equipment, except

to eliminate what, in our judgment, is an unsafe condition.

(g) Prevent the unauthorized use of electricity.

Sec. 175.12 What are our employees responsibilities?

Our employees are forbidden to accept any personal compensation

from you or any payment for services related to their employment by the

utility.

Sec. 175.13 What are your responsibilities?

You must:

(a) Enter into a written service agreement or special contract with

us to obtain electrical power services.

(b) Install and operate your equipment in compliance with the

National Electrical Manufacturers Association Standards and/or the

National Electrical Code of the National Board of Fire Underwriters for

Electric Wiring and Apparatus as they apply to you.

(c) Pay all your financial obligations resulting from your

receiving utility service.

(d) Comply with additional requirements we may define in the

operations manual.

(e) Prevent unauthorized use of electricity.

(f) Not install or use equipment which will adversely affect the

utility system or other customers of the utility.

Sec. 175.14 How can you lose your electric service?

We may discontinue your service if you do not comply with our

requirements as stated in this part and in the operations manual. We

will define our procedures for discontinuing your service in the

operations manual.

Subpart C--What Does It Cost To Operate a Power Facility?

Sec. 175.20 What will we bill you for?

(a) We will bill you for the following three types of costs:

(1) Service fees are for services we provide to you that are not

power consumption; i.e., you apply for electricity where there are no

poles and wires, we charge you the cost of installing the poles and

wire.

(2) Electric power rate is the cost of power we provide to you;

i.e., your meter reading.

(3) Purchased power costs are the costs of power we buy for resale

to you.

(b) We will compute our costs to operate a power facility as the

total marginal costs for: power generation, power transmission, power

distribution, operation and maintenance, debt servicing, capital

improvements, minus miscellaneous revenues.

(c) We will compute our inventory valuation based on a last in--

first out (LIFO) depreciation method and we will depreciate our plants

and capital equipment by applying straight line depreciation over the

service life of the plant or equipment. We will include plant and

equipment service life tables in the operations manual.

Subpart D--How Do We Pay for Operating a Power Utility?

Sec. 175.30 What do your power bills pay for?

The Act of August 7, 1946 (60 Stat. 895), as amended by the Act of

August 31, 1951 (65 Stat. 254) provides that we collect revenues from

power operations to:

(a) Pay our expenses for operating and maintaining the utility.

(b) Create and maintain reserve funds to be available so that we

can:

(1) Make repairs and replacements to the utility;

(2) Defray emergency expenses for the utility;

(3) Ensure the continuous operation of the utility.

(c) Amortize construction costs allocated to be returned from power

revenues, in accordance with the repayment provisions of the applicable

statutes or contracts.

(d) Pay other expenses and obligations chargeable to power revenues

to the extent required or permitted by law.

Sec. 175.31 We charge service fees.

Annually we will unilaterally establish service fees to recover our

expenses for providing services to you. We will publish a schedule of

the service fees and the effective date in the Federal Register, as

provided in Sec. 175.34. Our decision on the amount of the service fees

is final. The fees will remain in effect until we amend them.

Sec. 175.32 We charge electric power rates.

Annually we will review the rates we charge for electric power or

energy. We will use the annual review to decide if the revenues we

collect are sufficient to pay for our costs defined under Sec. 175.30.

If our current rates and fees are not sufficient to cover our costs, we

will conduct further studies to determine whether we should adjust the

rates and to prepare rate schedules which will return sufficient

revenues. If we decide we must adjust the rates we charge, we will

inform you. We will publish a notice of the rate increase in the

Federal Register, as provided in Sec. 175.34.

Sec. 175.33 We charge to recover costs of purchased power for resale

to you.

When the cost we pay for purchased power or energy changes, we will

compute how much it changes the cost for services we provide to you and

we will adjust the power rates accordingly. When we decide we must

adjust the rates we charge, we will inform you. We will publish a

notice of the rate increase in the Federal Register, as provided in

Sec. 175.34.

Sec. 175.34 How we notify you.

(a) If we decide we must adjust the rates or fees we charge, we

will inform you of the proposed adjustments. We will publish in the

Federal Register a notice of the proposed change. The notice will give

you:

[[Page 29043]]

(1) A description of the proposed action;

(2) The name, address, and telephone number of the person you

should contact if you have comments or questions; and

(3) The period of time you have to submit your comments or views of

the proposed action.

(b) You may comment on our proposed changes. You may submit written

statements to us. We will incorporate your statements into our record.

(c) We will consider your comments. We will consider all your

written statements before we finalize the proposed changes. We will

decide any issues you raise concerning the proposed changes. We will

notify you of our decisions and provide you an explanation of how we

made the decisions through a notice which we will publish in the

Federal Register. The changes will remain in effect until we make

further adjustments using these same procedures.

Sec. 175.35 How do we bill you?

(a) Metered customers--We will compute your bills using the

published rate schedules. We will bill you monthly unless you have a

special contract with different billing arrangements. We will measure

your power or energy demand using the register on the meter at your

point of delivery. We will estimate your power or energy demand if:

your meter has failed; the seal on your meter is broken; or our

employees cannot read the meter registrations. We will base our

estimate on the pattern of your prior power consumption or on an

estimate of your electric load if you have no billing history with us.

(b) Unmetered customers--We will bill you according to the

provisions of your special contract.

(c) Service fee billing--We will send you a special bill for other

services we provide you.

Sec. 175.36 How do you pay us?

(a) You may pay us in person or you may mail your payment to the

utility office which we designate in our operations manual. We may

refuse for cause to accept personal checks for payment of bills.

(b) What if your check bounces? We will try to collect payment from

you if your bank returns your check due to insufficient funds or other

cause. We will assess interest, penalties and administrative charges

for each delinquent account and collection action we take other than

court proceedings. We will consider your account to be delinquent if

you do not redeem your check and we may discontinue your service. We

will accept only cash, a cashier's check, or a money order to cover an

unredeemed check and associated charges.

Subpart E--How Do We Extend or Upgrade Your Power System?

Sec. 175.40 When do we extend or upgrade your power system?

We may extend or upgrade a power system to serve new or increased

loads.

Sec. 175.41 You can pay for system extensions or upgrades.

You may contract with us to finance the construction necessary to

extend or upgrade the power system if the construction would not be

adverse to the interest of the utility. We must approve your

construction plans and specifications, any items you furnish, or

construction you perform. You may also:

(a) Furnish materials or equipment for an extension or upgrade to

the system;

(b) Install materials or equipment for an extension or upgrade to

the system; or

(c) Pay us to install materials or equipment for an extension or

upgrade to the system.

Sec. 175.42 You may receive a refund of your construction costs.

We may refund all or part of your payment for construction costs.

If we do this, we will stipulate the arrangements for your refund in a

special contract. We will consider refunding your costs if:

(a) Additional customers are later served by your extension or

upgrade; or

(b) We determine that the service will provide substantial economic

benefits to the utility as a whole.

Sec. 175.43 We need a right of way for your system.

You are responsible for obtaining the rights of way necessary for

us to furnish services to you where there is no existing right(s) of

way for our facilities. All rights of way, material, or equipment you

furnish or install will be our property.

Subpart F--If You Do Not Agree With Our Actions

Sec. 175.50 You may appeal to us.

(a) If you feel any of our actions or decisions adversely affect

you, you may file a notice of appeal with us within 30 days of our

action. You must submit the notice of appeal in writing and clearly

identify the decision which you are appealing. We will grant no

extension of time for filing a notice of appeal. We will list the

address where appeals must be sent in the operations manual.

(b) Within 30 days after you file a notice of appeal, you must file

a statement with us which lists the reasons for your appeal. In the

statement you must explain why you believe the decision under appeal is

wrong and you must include your arguments and any supporting

documentation. You may file the statement of reason(s) at the same time

as the notice of appeal. We may summarily dismiss your appeal if you do

not file a statement of reason(s).

(c) You must deliver your documents to us or ensure they are

received in the facility officially designated for receipt of mail

addressed to us.

(d) Within 30 days of your filing your statement of reasons, we

will:

(1) Decide your appeal in writing; or

(2) Refer your appeal to the Office of Hearings and Appeals Board

of Indian Appeals for a decision.

Sec. 175.51 You may appeal to the Interior Board of Indian Appeals.

(a) You may file an appeal of any decision with the Office of

Hearings and Appeals Board of Indian Appeals if:

(1) We do not decide your appeal within 30 days of your filing your

statement of reasons; or

(2) You do not agree with our decision regarding an action you

appealed to us.

(b) We will list the address for the Office of Hearings and Appeals

Board of Indian Appeals in the operations manual.

(c) To file your appeal with the Office of Hearings and Appeals

Board of Indian Appeals, you must follow the provision of 43 CFR, part

4, subpart D, except that you must file a notice of appeal from a

decision under Secs. 175.31 and 175.33 within 30 days of publication of

the decision. If the Office of Hearings and Appeals Board of Indian

Appeals does not receive an appeal within the time frames defined in 43

CFR part 4, subpart D, our decision will be final.

(d) If we refer your appeal to the Office of Hearings and Appeals

Board of Indian Appeals rather than deciding the appeal ourself, we

will make the referral.

Sec. 175.52 While your appeal is pending

If your appeal involves:

(a) Our discontinuing your service, we do not have to resume your

service during the appeal process unless you meet our requirements.

(b) The amount of a bill and you have paid the bill, we will

acknowledge that you have paid the bill under protest until the final

decision on your appeal is rendered.

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(c) The amount of a bill and you have not paid the bill and the

final decision on the appeal requires you to pay the bill, we will

consider your bill to be a delinquent account subject to interest,

penalties, and administrative charges, as required by the Federal

Claims Collection Act of 1966, as amended, 31 U.S.C. 3717.

(d) An electric power rate, we will implement the rate and it will

remain in effect subject to the final decision on the appeal.

Dated: May 8, 1996.

Ada E. Deer,

Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.

[FR Doc. 96-14062 Filed 6-6-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-02-P