ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 578
(By Senators Fanning and Plymale)
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[Passed March 11, 2006; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §24-2-11d, relating
to increasing the power of the Public Service Commission with
respect to the takeover or transfer or takeover of troubled
utilities; authorizing the revocation of certificates of
public convenience and necessity for the effective abandonment
or inability or unwillingness of gas and electric utilities to
adequately serve its customers; establishing criteria which
would need to be met to support a contemplated revocation of
certificate authority; authorizing the Public Service
Commission to concurrently require another public utility to
acquire and serve the customers, facilities and service
territory of a revoked utility; listing additional criteria to
be considered prior to revoking authority or approving
acquisition of territory; providing for the determination of
an acquisition price for the revoked utility's facilities and territory, either by agreement or by eminent domain; requiring
reasonable notice and hearing to affected utility and
customers before revoking certificate; and establishing
deadline by which Public Service Commission may initiate
proceeding to revoke authority pursuant to said section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §24-2-11d, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2. POWERS AND DUTIES OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.
§24-2-11d. Revocation of certificate of public convenience and
necessity; acquisition of facilities by capable
public utility.
(a) In addition to the powers conferred by section seven,
article two of this chapter, upon a finding by the Public Service
Commission that a public utility which holds a certificate of
public convenience and necessity to provide natural gas or electric
service is unable or unwilling to adequately serve its customers or
has been actually or effectively abandoned by its owner or owners,
or that its management is grossly and willfully inefficient,
irresponsible or unresponsive to the needs of its customers, or is
not capable of providing economical and efficient utility service,
the commission may, after reasonable notice and opportunity for
hearing has been afforded to the affected utility and its customers, revoke the certificate of public convenience and
necessity held by the public utility. In the case of such
revocation, the commission shall concurrently order a capable
public utility to acquire the facilities of the revoked public
utility and to provide service to the customers of the revoked
public utility. The commission shall also allow a capable public
utility that acquires the facilities of a revoked public utility to
recover all reasonable costs related to such acquisition of
facilities and upgrading of service to customers of the revoked
public utility, including, but not limited to, additional capital,
environmental, operating and maintenance costs.
(b) In making a determination to revoke a certificate of
public convenience and necessity, pursuant to subsection (a) of
this section, the commission shall consider: (1) The financial,
managerial and technical ability of the public utility considered
for revocation; (2) the financial, managerial and technical ability
of the capable public utility; (3) the expenditures that may be
necessary to make improvements to the facilities of the public
utility considered for revocation to assure compliance with all
applicable statutory and regulatory standards concerning adequacy,
efficiency, safety and reasonableness of service; and (4) any other
matters which may be relevant.
(c) The price of the acquisition of the facilities of the
revoked public utility shall be determined by an agreement between
the revoked public utility and the acquiring capable public utility, subject to a determination by the commission that the
price is reasonable. If the revoked public utility and the
acquiring capable public utility are unable to agree on an
acquisition price or the commission disapproves the acquisition
price on which the utilities have agreed, the commission shall
issue an order directing the acquiring capable public utility to
acquire the revoked public utility by following the procedure
prescribed for exercising the power of eminent domain pursuant to
article two, chapter fifty-four of this code. The fact that the
acquisition price has not been agreed to or finally determined
shall not delay the effect of any order issued by the commission
pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(d) As used in this section, the following words and phrases
shall have the following meanings:
(1) "Capable public utility" means a public utility which
provides electric or natural gas service and has at least twenty-
five thousand customers which provides the same type of utility
service as the revoked public utility and has the financial,
managerial and technical ability to comply with all applicable
statutory and regulatory standards concerning adequacy, efficiency,
safety and reasonableness of service on a long-term basis;
(2) "Revoked public utility" means a public utility with less
than twenty-five thousand customers which has had its certificate
of public convenience and necessity revoked by the commission
pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(e) Any action of the Public Service Commission to revoke the
certificate of public convenience and necessity of an electric or
natural gas public utility pursuant to the provisions of this
section must be initiated on or before the first day of March, two
thousand eight.
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