393.1645.  Gas corporation accounts — eligibility for discounts, when — procedure. — 1.  Subject to the limitations provided for in subsection 2 of this section, and upon proper application by an eligible customer prior to public announcement of a growth project, a new or existing account meeting the criteria in this subsection shall qualify for one of the discounts set forth in subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection:

  (1)  When the customer is a new customer and the new load is reasonably projected to be at least two hundred seventy thousand CCF annually, the discount shall equal up to twenty-five percent subject to the limiting provisions of this section and shall apply for four years; or

  (2)  When the customer is an existing customer and the new load is reasonably projected to be at least one hundred thirty-five thousand CCF annually, the discount shall equal twenty-five percent subject to the limiting provisions of this section and shall apply for four years.

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To obtain one of the discounts set forth in subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection, the customer's load shall be incremental, net of any offsetting load reductions due to the termination of other accounts of the customer or an affiliate of the customer within twelve months prior to the commencement of service to the new load, the customer shall receive an economic development incentive from the local, regional, state, or federal government, or from an agency or program of any such government, in conjunction with the incremental load, and the customer shall meet the criteria set forth in the gas corporation's economic development rider tariff sheet, as approved by the commission, that are not inconsistent with the provisions of this subsection.  Unless otherwise provided for by the gas corporation's tariff, the applicable discount shall be a percentage applied to all variable base-rate components of the bill.  The discount shall be applied to such incremental load from the date when the meter has been permanently set until the date that such incremental load no longer meets the criteria required to qualify for the discount as determined under the provisions of subsection 2 of this section, or a maximum of four years.  The gas corporation may include in its tariff additional or alternative terms and conditions to a customer's utilization of the discount, subject to approval of such terms and conditions by the commission.  The customer, on forms supplied by the gas corporation, shall apply for the applicable discount provided for by this subsection at least ninety days prior to the date the customer requests that the incremental usage receive one of the discounts provided for by this subsection and shall enter into a written agreement with the gas corporation reflecting the discount percentages and other pertinent details prior to which no discount will be available.  If the incremental usage is not separately metered, the gas corporation's determination of the incremental usage shall control.  The gas corporation shall verify the customer's consumption annually to determine continued qualification for the applicable discount.  Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subsection, the cents-per-CCF realization resulting from application of any discounted rates as calculated shall be higher than the gas corporation's variable cost to serve such incremental usage and the applicable discounted rate also shall make a positive contribution to fixed costs associated with service to such incremental usage.  If in a subsequent general rate proceeding the commission determines that application of a discounted rate is not adequate to cover the gas corporation's variable cost to serve the accounts in question and provide a positive contribution to fixed costs, then the commission shall reduce the discount for those accounts prospectively to the extent necessary to do so.

  2.  In each general rate proceeding concluded after August 28, 2025, the difference in revenues generated by applying the discounted rates provided for by this section and the revenues that would have been generated without such discounts shall not be imputed into the gas corporation's revenue requirement, but instead such revenue requirement shall be set using the revenues generated by such discounted rates, and the impact of the discounts provided for by this section shall be allocated to all the gas corporation's customer classes, including the classes with customers that qualify for discounts under this section, through the application of a uniform percentage adjustment to the revenue requirement responsibility of all customer classes.  To qualify for the discounted rates provided for in this section, customers shall meet the applicable criteria within twenty-four months of initially receiving discounts based on metering data for calendar months thirteen through twenty-four and annually thereafter.  If such data indicates that the customer did not meet the applicable criteria for any subsequent twelve-month period, it shall thereafter no longer qualify for a discounted rate.  Customer usage existing at the time the customer makes an application for discounted rates under this section shall not constitute incremental usage.  The discounted rates provided for by this section apply only to variable base-rate components, with charges or credits arising from any rate adjustment mechanism authorized by law to be applied to customers qualifying for discounted rates under this section in the same manner as such rate adjustments would apply in absence of this section.

  3.  For purposes of this section, the following terms shall mean:

  (1)  "Gas corporation", the same as defined in section 386.020;

  (2)  "Variable base-rate components", the rate charged for gas service based on the volume of gas used excluding any additional riders or surcharges.