BlackletterCalifornia law

CHAPTER 3. Rights and Obligations of Public Utilities [451. - 666.]

Chapter 3 enacted by Stats. 1951, Ch. 764.

§§ 451–666 · 125 sections

  1. ARTICLE 1. Rates §§ 451–468 · 51 sections
    • § 451 All charges demanded or received by any public utility, or by any two or more public utilities, for any product or commodity furnished or to be furnished or…
    • § 451.1 (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) “Covered wildfire” has the same meaning as defined in Section 1701.8.…
    • § 451.2 (a) In an application by an electrical corporation to recover costs and expenses arising from, or incurred as a result of, a catastrophic wildfire with an…
    • § 451.3 If the commission finds that an electrical corporation is requesting recovery of costs that were previously authorized by the commission for cost recovery by…
    • § 451.5 (a) Any expense resulting from a bonus paid to an executive officer of a public utility that has ceased to pay its debts in the ordinary course of business…
    • § 451.7 (a) Nonbypassable or departing load surcharges, as defined by the commission, shall not apply to a reduction in kilowatthours of electricity that an electrical…
    • § 451.8 (a) Following the approval of each general rate case, the commission shall review which costs, if any, differed from the general rate case forecasts for each…
    • § 451.9 (a) Notwithstanding Section 451, a gas corporation may cease providing service in an area within its service territory where a pilot project has been…
    • § 452 Nothing in this part shall be construed to prohibit any common carrier from establishing and charging a lower than a maximum reasonable rate for the…
    • § 453 (a) No public utility shall, as to rates, charges, service, facilities, or in any other respect, make or grant any preference or advantage to any corporation…
    • § 453.5 Whenever the commission orders rate refunds to be distributed, the commission shall require public utilities to pay refunds to all current utility customers,…
    • § 454 (a) Except as provided in Section 455, a public utility shall not change any rate or so alter any classification, contract, practice, or rule as to result in…
    • § 454.1 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), if a customer with a maximum peak electrical demand in excess of 20 kilowatts located or planning to locate within…
    • § 454.2 Notwithstanding Section 454, the commission may establish a “zone of rate freedom” for any passenger stage transportation service which is operating in…
    • § 454.3 The commission may, after a hearing, approve an increase of from one-half of 1 percent to 1 percent in the rate of return otherwise allowed an electrical…
    • § 454.4 The commission shall establish rates for gas which is utilized in cogeneration technology projects not higher than the rates established for gas utilized as a…
    • § 454.5 (a) The commission shall specify the allocation of electricity, including quantity, characteristics, and duration of electricity delivery, that the Department…
    • § 454.51 The commission shall do all of the following: (a) Identify a diverse and balanced portfolio of resources needed to ensure a reliable electricity supply that…
    • § 454.52 (a) (1) Beginning in 2017, and to be updated regularly thereafter, the commission shall adopt a process for each load-serving entity to file an integrated…
    • § 454.53 (a) It is the policy of the state that eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources supply 90 percent of all retail sales of electricity to…
    • § 454.54 In addition to the requirements of Section 454.52, the integrated resource plan of each load-serving entity shall contribute to a diverse and balanced…
    • § 454.55 (a) (1) The commission, in consultation with the Energy Commission, shall identify all potentially achievable cost-effective electricity efficiency savings and…
    • § 454.56 (a) The commission, in consultation with the Energy Commission, shall identify all potentially achievable cost-effective natural gas efficiency savings and…
    • § 454.57 (a) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the Accelerating Renewable Energy Delivery Act. (b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the…
    • § 454.58 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) California must dramatically increase the capacity of its electrical transmission and…
    • § 454.59 (a) This section applies to the obligations on a state agency, except the State Water Resources Development System commonly known as the State Water Project,…
    • § 454.6 (a) A contract entered into pursuant to Section 454.5 by an electrical corporation for the electricity generated by a replacement or repowering project that…
    • § 454.7 The commission shall, to the extent permitted by federal law and consistent with Section 2771, provide cogeneration technology projects with the highest…
    • § 454.8 In any decision establishing rates for an electrical or gas corporation reflecting the reasonable and prudent costs of the new construction of any addition to…
    • § 454.9 (a) The commission shall authorize public utilities to establish catastrophic event memorandum accounts and to record in those accounts the costs of the…
    • § 455 Whenever any schedule stating an individual or joint rate, classification, contract, practice, or rule, not increasing or resulting in an increase in any rate,…
    • § 455.1 Whenever a water corporation files with the commission, pursuant to an advice letter submitted in accordance with commission procedures for this means of…
    • § 455.2 (a) The commission shall issue its final decision on a general rate case application of a water corporation with greater than 10,000 service connections in a…
    • § 455.3 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including, but not limited to Section 454, no later than January 1, 1998, the commission shall adopt rules and…
    • § 455.5 (a) In establishing rates for any electrical, gas, heat, or water corporation, the commission may eliminate consideration of the value of any portion of any…
    • § 455.7 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) “Large electrical corporation” has the same meaning as defined in Section 3280. (2)…
    • § 456 Nothing in this part shall be construed to prohibit any public utility from profiting, to the extent permitted by the commission, from any economies,…
    • § 458 (a) No common carrier, or any officer or agent thereof, or any person acting for or employed by it, shall, by means of known false billing, classification,…
    • § 459 (a) No person or corporation, or any officer, agent, or employee of a corporation, shall knowingly, directly or indirectly, by any false statement or…
    • § 460.3 (a) The commission shall prohibit any passenger stage corporation from charging any fare to, or imposing any other charge on, any physically disabled or…
    • § 460.7 (a) Beginning July 1, 1990, and continuing thereafter, every passenger stage corporation shall file with the commission one of the following: (1) A certificate…
    • § 461.2 For purposes of establishing rates for a telephone or telegraph corporation, the commission shall include all revenues and expenses of the corporation from the…
    • § 461.5 (a) (1) No discrimination in charges or facilities for transportation shall be made by any railroad or other transportation company between places or persons,…
    • § 462 Every street or interurban railroad corporation shall upon such terms as the commission finds to be just and reasonable furnish to its passengers transfers…
    • § 463 (a) For purposes of establishing rates for any electrical or gas corporation, the commission shall disallow expenses reflecting the direct or indirect costs…
    • § 463.5 (a) Section 463 does not require the commission to undertake a reasonableness review of recorded costs to determine the reasonableness of the costs of each…
    • § 464 (a) Reasonable expenditures by transmission owners that are electrical corporations to plan, design, and engineer reconfiguration, replacement, or expansion of…
    • § 465 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), whenever any labor of a custodial or janitorial nature is not performed by the employees of a public utility, such…
    • § 466 Pursuant to Section 465, the contractor to whom the contract is awarded and any subcontractor under him shall pay not less than the specified prevailing wage…
    • § 467 The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in the Department of Industrial Relations shall enforce Section 466 in the same manner as provided for by Chapter 4…
    • § 468 (a) For purposes of this section, “expense incurred by a public utility in assisting or deterring union organizing” means costs incurred in communicating with…
  2. ARTICLE 2. Tariff Schedules §§ 486–495.7 · 13 sections
    • § 486 (a) Every common carrier shall file with the commission and shall print and keep open to the public inspection schedules showing the rates, fares, charges, and…
    • § 487 The schedules shall plainly state the places between which property and persons will be carried, and the classification of passengers or property in force, and…
    • § 488 (a) Subject to such rules as the commission may prescribe, the schedules of carriers shall be produced and made available for inspection upon the demand of any…
    • § 489 (a) The commission shall, by rule or order, require every public utility other than a common carrier to file with the commission within the time and in the…
    • § 490 (a) The commission may from time to time determine and prescribe by order changes in the form of the schedules referred to in this article as it finds…
    • § 491 Unless the commission otherwise orders, no change shall be made by any public utility in any rate or classification, or in any rule or contract relating to or…
    • § 491.1 Notwithstanding Section 491, the commission may authorize a passenger stage corporation, upon one day’s notice, to reduce its rates and charges to not less…
    • § 492 The names of the several public utilities which are parties to any joint tariff, rate, contract, or classification shall be specified in the schedule. Unless…
    • § 493 (a) No common carrier subject to this part shall engage or participate in the transportation of persons or property, between points within this state, until…
    • § 494 (a) No common carrier shall charge, demand, collect, or receive a different compensation for the transportation of persons or property, or for any service in…
    • § 495 Every telegraph and telephone corporation shall print and file with the commission schedules showing all the rates and classifications for the transmission of…
    • § 495.6 (a) Any city, county, or city and county that levies a utility user tax on the consumption of telephone services, including, but not limited to, the tax…
    • § 495.7 (a) The commission may, by rule or order, establish procedures to allow telephone or telegraph corporations to apply for the exemption of certain…
  3. ARTICLE 3. Free or Reduced Rates §§ 521–533 · 12 sections
    • § 521 As used in this article “employees” includes furloughed, pensioned, and superannuated employees of any common carrier subject to the provisions of this part,…
    • § 522 Except as provided in this article, Sections 40180.5 and 99151 of this code, and Section 26002.5 of the Government Code, no common carrier subject to the…
    • § 523 When approved by the commission, a common carrier may give free or reduced rate transportation between points within this state to: (a) Its officers, agents,…
    • § 524 (a) Any common carrier may issue free or reduced rate passenger transportation to the proprietors and employees of newspapers and magazines and the members of…
    • § 525 All blind residents of California may be granted free transportation on all street cars and may be permitted to travel on all other common carriers within the…
    • § 527 Nothing in this part shall prevent the interchange of free or reduced rate transportation for passenger or express matter between common carriers, their…
    • § 528 Nothing in this part shall prevent the interchange of free or reduced rate transportation for passengers or express matter between a common carrier and a…
    • § 529 Nothing in this part shall prevent any of the following: (a) The issue of reduced rate transportation by a common carrier to children attending an institution…
    • § 530 (a) Every common carrier subject to the provisions of this part may transport, free or at reduced rates, as follows: (1) Persons for the United States, state,…
    • § 531 Every common carrier subject to the provisions of this part may transport free or at reduced rates contractors and their employees engaged in carrying out…
    • § 532 Except as in this article otherwise provided, no public utility shall charge, or receive a different compensation for any product or commodity furnished or to…
    • § 533 The officers and employees of the Operations and Safety Section of the Transportation Division of the commission, shall, when in the performance of their…
  4. ARTICLE 4. Facilities §§ 556–564 · 7 sections
    • § 556 Every common carrier shall afford all reasonable, proper, and equal facilities for the prompt and efficient interchange and transfer of passengers between the…
    • § 558 Every telephone corporation and telegraph corporation operating in this State shall receive, transmit, and deliver, without discrimination or delay, the…
    • § 559 (a) Nothing in Sections 556 to 558, inclusive, shall limit or modify the duty of a common carrier to establish joint rates, fares, and charges for the…
    • § 560 Upon the application of any shipper or receiver or contemplated shipper or receiver of freight for a connection between the railroad of a railroad corporation…
    • § 561 (a) Every railroad corporation, passenger stage corporation, passenger air carrier, and street railroad corporation providing departures originating in this…
    • § 562 (a) Whenever the commission, on its own motion or upon the complaint of a public utility, finds that public convenience and necessity require the use by a…
    • § 564 By January 1, 2024, the commission shall update General Order 131-D to authorize each public utility electrical corporation to use the permit-to-construct…
  5. ARTICLE 5. Reports to the Commission §§ 581–591 · 10 sections
    • § 581 Every public utility shall furnish to the commission in such form and detail as the commission prescribes all tabulations, computations, and all other…
    • § 582 Whenever required by the commission, every public utility shall deliver to the commission copies of any or all maps, profiles, contracts, agreements,…
    • § 583 (a) No information furnished to the commission by a public utility, a business that is a subsidiary or affiliate of a public utility, or a corporation that…
    • § 584 Every public utility shall furnish such reports to the commission at such time and in such form as the commission may require in which the utility shall…
    • § 585 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (d), every public utility and business specified in subdivision (b) shall in any rate proceeding or proceeding…
    • § 587 Every water corporation with more than 2,000 service connections, and every electrical, gas, and telephone corporation shall annually prepare and submit to the…
    • § 588 (a) Notwithstanding any regulation, tariff, opinion, or interim opinion of the Public Utilities Commission, or any other provision of law, an inspector or…
    • § 589 (a) In an existing or new proceeding, the commission shall require the electrical and gas corporations to cooperate in establishing a single Internet Web site…
    • § 590 The commission shall require each electrical corporation to report annually on its compliance with the standards or rules adopted by the commission pursuant to…
    • § 591 (a) The commission shall require an electrical or gas corporation to annually notify the commission, as part of an ongoing proceeding or in a report otherwise…
  6. ARTICLE 6. Relocation Assistance § 600 · 1 section
    • § 600 A public utility acquiring real property by eminent domain shall provide relocation advisory assistance and shall make any of the payments required of public…
  7. ARTICLE 7. Eminent Domain §§ 610–626 · 18 sections
    • § 610 This article applies only to a corporation or person that is a public utility.
    • § 611 A railroad corporation may condemn any property necessary for the construction and maintenance of its railroad.
    • § 612 An electrical corporation may condemn any property necessary for the construction and maintenance of its electric plant.
    • § 613 A gas corporation may condemn any property necessary for the construction and maintenance of its gas plant.
    • § 614 A heat corporation may condemn any property necessary for the construction and maintenance of its heating plant.
    • § 615 A pipeline corporation may condemn any property necessary for the construction and maintenance of its pipeline.
    • § 616 A telephone corporation may condemn any property necessary for the construction and maintenance of its telephone line.
    • § 616.1 Notwithstanding Section 616, a telephone corporation may not condemn any property on an airport owned by a city and county, and located in another county,…
    • § 617 A telegraph corporation may condemn any property necessary for the construction and maintenance of its telegraph line.
    • § 618 A water corporation may condemn any property necessary for the construction and maintenance of its water system.
    • § 619 A wharfinger may condemn any property necessary for the construction and maintenance of facilities for the receipt or discharge of freight or passengers.
    • § 620 A common carrier, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 211, may condemn any property necessary for the construction and maintenance of facilities for its…
    • § 621 A street railroad corporation may condemn any property necessary for the construction and maintenance of its street railroad.
    • § 622 (a) As used in this section, “motor carrier” means: A passenger stage corporation as defined in Section 226. (b) As used in this section, “water carrier” means…
    • § 623 A warehouseman may condemn any property necessary for the construction and maintenance of its facilities for storing property.
    • § 624 A sewer system corporation may condemn any property necessary for the construction and maintenance of its sewer system.
    • § 625 (a) (1) (A) For the purpose of this article, except as specified in paragraph (4), a public utility that offers competitive services may not condemn any…
    • § 626 On or after January 1, 2000, a public utility may not enter into any exclusive access agreement with the owner or lessor of, or a person controlling or…
  8. ARTICLE 8. Consultant and Advisory Services §§ 631–633 · 3 sections
    • § 631 In addition to the requirements of Article 1 (commencing with Section 1001) of Chapter 5 and any other provisions of law, the commission shall require every…
    • § 632 For purposes of entering into contracts for consultant or advisory services, the requirements of Sections 11042 and 14615 of the Government Code and Sections…
    • § 633 The requirements of Section 632 do not apply to contracts for legal services. The commission shall notify the Attorney General when contracting for legal…
  9. ARTICLE 9. Long-Term Plans and Procurement Plans § 635 · 1 section
    • § 635 In a long-term plan adopted by an electrical corporation or in a procurement plan implemented by a local publicly owned electric utility, the electrical…
  10. ARTICLE 10. Biomethane Procurement §§ 650–651 · 2 sections
    • § 650 For purposes of this article, “biomethane” means methane produced from an organic waste feedstock that meets the standards adopted pursuant to subdivisions (c)…
    • § 651 (a) The commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, shall consider adopting specific biomethane procurement targets or goals for each gas…
  11. ARTICLE 11. Neighborhood Decarbonization Zone Pilot Projects §§ 660–666 · 7 sections
    • § 660 For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply: (a) “Disadvantaged community” means a community identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the…
    • § 661 (a) On or before July 1, 2025, and each year thereafter, each gas corporation shall submit to the commission a map that includes all of the following: (1) The…
    • § 662 (a) On or before January 1, 2026, in a new or existing proceeding and following recommendations from each gas corporation and the opportunity for public…
    • § 663 (a) On or before July 1, 2026, in a new or existing proceeding, the commission, in consultation with the state’s gas corporations, shall establish a voluntary…
    • § 664 (a) (1) Beginning on January 1, 2029, the commission, in a new or existing proceeding, shall review the efficacy of the pilot projects established pursuant to…
    • § 665 In a new or existing proceeding, the commission shall evaluate the costs and benefits of thermal energy networks and identify potential implementation barriers.
    • § 666 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b) or (c), this article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2031, and as of that date is repealed. (b)…