In this section, “zero–emission credit” means a credit equal to the environmental attributes of 1 megawatt–hour of electricity that is derived from a nuclear energy generating station approved by the Commission under § 7–1217 of this subtitle. The Commission shall adopt regulations that: establish the nuclear energy long–term pricing purchase obligation sufficiently in advance to allow an electric company to reflect nuclear energy long–term pricing costs as a nonbypassable surcharge that is added to the electric company’s base distribution rate on customer bills; define rules that facilitate and ensure the secure and transparent transfer of revenues and long–term pricing payments among parties; define the terms and procedures of the nuclear energy long–term pricing schedule obligations, including: establishing a formula and process to adjust the value of the long–term pricing schedule every 2 years based on projected wholesale market prices adjusted by the locational value and earning potential in the PJM region of the nuclear energy generating station; and establishing a per megawatt hour cap on any long–term pricing schedule specified in an order issued under § 7–1217 of this subtitle; require the Commission to establish an escrow account; and to meet the total statewide long–term pricing purchase obligation for all applications approved in an order issued under § 7–1217 of this subtitle, require the Commission to annually establish each electric company’s zero–emission credit purchase obligation based on the most recent final electricity sales data as reported by PJM Interconnection and measured at the customer’s meter in proportion to the electric company’s share of statewide load. Each electric company shall procure from the escrow account established by regulation under this section a quantity of zero–emission credits equal to the electric company’s respective percentage of retail electric sales each year. Subject to any escrow account reserve requirement the Commission establishes, if there are insufficient zero–emission credits available to satisfy the electric companies’ zero–emission credit purchase obligations, the overpayment shall be distributed to electric companies to be refunded or credited to each distribution customer based on the customer’s consumption of electricity supply that is subject to the renewable energy portfolio standard. A debt, an obligation, or a liability of a nuclear energy generation project or of an owner or operator of a nuclear energy generation project may not be considered a debt, an obligation, or a liability of the State. Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, and before the nuclear energy generation project begins commercial operation, the Commission may approve an increase of the total cost of a nuclear energy generation project under a long–term pricing purchase obligation. The total cost of a nuclear energy generation project that may be recovered under a long–term pricing purchase obligation may not be increased by more than 15% of the original total project cost.