Establishing the “Resiliency and Environmental System Investment Charge Program”

HB 3480 establishes the "Resiliency and Environmental System Investment Charge Program" (SEI Program) for West Virginia water and wastewater utilities. The bill allows these utilities to petition the Public Service Commission to recover costs associated with specific infrastructure projects - including replacing aging systems, improving environmental protection, or relocating infrastructure for public projects - that enhance resiliency, safety, or environmental health. Utilities must submit detailed project plans, cost estimates, and rate impact analyses to the Commission for approval before recovering costs through a new rate charge. The program covers eligible costs like depreciation, operations, maintenance, property taxes, and a "pretax return" on investments, but excludes fines or projects solely for customer growth. This is a procedural mechanism to help utilities fund critical infrastructure upgrades without waiting for full rate case reviews.