Section 743.

(a) As used in this section, "steel producer" means a producer of steel products in California which in 1981 or any subsequent year produced at least 75,000 tons of rolled or finished steel and which has a maximum demand for electricity of 4,000 kilowatts or more at one plant location. Any steel producer which transfers any substantial amount of employment from its facilities in this state to any out-of-state facility or otherwise substantially reduces employment at its facilities in this state below the June 30, 1985, level, or fails to maintain and make reasonable and prudent investments in its facilities, as determined by the commission, is ineligible for any electric rate established pursuant to this section.

(b) As used in this section, "frozen food processor" means a corporation or person engaged in the processing of food in California, which food is classified according to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1972, in Industry No. 2037 and Industry No. 2038 of Group 203, of Food and Kindred Products Major Group 20, as specified in Section 2900.3 o. "Processing of food" includes the postprocessing storage of frozen food in a warehouse, or other facility, until the frozen food leaves the control or responsibility of the frozen food processor or until the frozen food processor no longer has an obligation to store the food.

(c) As used in this section, "system average rate" means total jurisdictional revenues of the electrical corporation divided by total jurisdictional sales.

(d) Every electrical corporation furnishing electricity to a steel producer, frozen food processor, or other heavy-industry customer, as determined and specified by the electrical corporation, shall prepare and file tariffs providing rates which shall be lower than the system average rate and take into consideration all of the following:

(1) Specific service requirements of individual customers, including, but not limited to, reliability, interruptability, quantity of use, and requirements of voltage.

(2) Incentives to achieve conservation, improvements in efficiency, and time-of-day load shifting.

(3) Implementation at the option of the customer.

(4) Cost of service.

(e) The commission shall consider and approve tariffs which shall be consistent with this section and which shall be in effect on and after July 1, 1992.

(f) The commission may approve contracts between an electrical corporation and its heavy industrial customers as determined by the electrical corporation, of not more than ten years' duration, in which the electrical corporation buys from the heavy industrial customer the right to interrupt the customer's service on short notice, as determined by the commission. The payment mechanism may include a discounted rate for service. In approving and determining the reasonableness of these contracts, the commission may consider, among other things, the price paid by the electrical corporation for the right to interrupt, the value of that right to the utility system and its ratepayers, and the benefits to the ratepayers and the people of the state of retaining heavy industrial customers. Throughout the term of any of these contracts, the commission shall have the right to amend the contract. Every contract subject to this subdivision shall include a provision indicating that the contract is subject to amendment by the commission as provided in this subdivision. This subdivision does not supersede the requirement of subdivision (d) that the commission establish a heavy industrial tariff.

(Amended by Stats. 1991, Ch. 878, Sec. 1.)