ENERGY DEREGULATION. LIMIT ON RETAIL ELECTRICITY RATES. INITIATIVE STATUTE.

Provides that no retail electricity rate shall be set at a level intended to generate revenues for any utility company to offset losses it incurred during the rate freeze mandated by the 1996 energy deregulation legislation. Further provides that any charges imposed on ratepayers prior to the enactment of this initiative, intended to generate revenues for any utility company to offset losses it incurred during the rate freeze period, shall be rebated to ratepayers. States that if any provision of initiative is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: This measure would have the following fiscal effects: (1) one-time state costs of potentially low millions to several tens of millions of dollars for administrative costs associated with the implementation of the initiative; (2) potential state revenue losses of up to hundreds of millions of dollars, likely spread over several years, due to reduced bank and corporation taxes paid by the utilities affected by the initiative; and (3) potential savings to state and local governments of an unknown amount due to potential reduction in retail electricity rates