761-788
PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE
SECTION 761-788
761. Whenever the commission, after a hearing, finds that the
rules, practices, equipment, appliances, facilities, or service of
any public utility, or the methods of manufacture, distribution,
transmission, storage, or supply employed by it, are unjust,
unreasonable, unsafe, improper, inadequate, or insufficient, the
commission shall determine and, by order or rule, fix the rules,
practices, equipment, appliances, facilities, service, or methods to
be observed, furnished, constructed, enforced, or employed. The
commission shall prescribe rules for the performance of any service
or the furnishing of any commodity of the character furnished or
supplied by any public utility, and, on proper demand and tender of
rates, such public utility shall furnish such commodity or render
such service within the time and upon the conditions provided in such
rules.
761.3. (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (g) of Section 216 and
subdivision (c) of Section 218.5, the commission shall implement and
enforce standards for the maintenance and operation of facilities for
the generation of electricity owned by an electrical corporation or
located in the state to ensure their reliable operation. The
commission shall enforce the protocols for the scheduling of
powerplant outages of the Independent System Operator.
(b) Nothing in this section authorizes the commission to establish
rates for wholesale sales in interstate commerce from those
facilities, or to approve the sale or transfer of control of
facilities if an exempt wholesale generator, as defined in the Public
Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 16451(6)).
(c) (1) (A) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, this
section shall not apply to nuclear powered generating facilities
that are federally regulated and subject to standards developed by
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and that participate as members of
the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations.
(B) The owner or operator of a nuclear powered generating facility
shall file with the Oversight Board and the commission an annual
schedule of maintenance, including repairs and upgrades, updated
quarterly, for each generating facility. The owner or operator of a
nuclear powered generating facility shall make good faith efforts to
conduct its maintenance in compliance with its filed plan and shall
report to the Oversight Board and the Independent System Operator any
significant variations from its filed plan.
(C) The owner or operator of a nuclear powered generating facility
shall report on a monthly basis to the Oversight Board and the
commission all actual planned and unplanned outages of each facility
during the preceding month. The owner or operator of a nuclear
powered generating facility shall report on a daily basis to the
Oversight Board and the Independent System Operator the daily
operational status and availability of each facility.
(2) (A) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, this
section shall not apply to a qualifying small power production
facility or a qualifying cogeneration facility within the meaning of
Sections 201 and 210 of Title 11 of the federal Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. Secs. 796(17), 796(18),
and 824a-3), and the regulations adopted pursuant to those sections
by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (18 C.F.R. Secs. 292.101
to 292.602, inclusive), nor shall this section apply to other
generation units installed, operated, and maintained at a customer
site, exclusively to serve that customer's load.
(B) An electrical corporation that has a contract with a
qualifying small power production facility, or a qualifying
cogeneration facility, with a name plate rating of 10 megawatts or
greater, shall report to the Oversight Board and the commission
maintenance schedules for each facility, including all actual planned
and unplanned outages of the facility and the daily operational
status and availability of the facility. Each facility with a name
plate rating of 10 megawatts or greater shall be responsible for
directly reporting to the Oversight Board and the Independent System
Operator maintenance schedules for each facility, including all
actual planned and unplanned outages of the facility and the daily
operational status and availability of the facility, if that
information is not provided to the electrical corporation pursuant to
a contract.
(d) Nothing in this section shall result in the modification,
delay, or abrogation of any deadline, standard, rule, or regulation
adopted by a federal, state, or local agency for the purposes of
protecting public health or the environment, including, but not
limited to, any requirements imposed by the State Air Resources Board
or by an air pollution control district or an air quality management
district pursuant to Division 26 (commencing with Section 39000) of
the Health and Safety Code. The Independent System Operator shall
consult with the State Air Resources Board and the appropriate local
air pollution control districts and air quality management districts
to coordinate scheduled outages to provide for compliance with those
retrofits.
(e) The Independent System Operator shall maintain records of
generation facility outages and shall provide those records to the
Oversight Board and the commission on a daily basis. Each entity that
owns or operates an electric generating unit in California with a
rated maximum capacity of 10 megawatts or greater, shall provide a
monthly report to the Independent System Operator that identifies any
periods during the preceding month when the unit was unavailable to
produce electricity or was available only at reduced capacity. The
report shall identify the reasons for any such unscheduled
unavailability or reduced capacity. The Independent System Operator
shall immediately transmit the information to the Oversight Board and
the commission.
(f) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) Facilities owned by a local publicly owned electric utility.
(2) Any public agency that may generate electricity incidental to
the provision of water or wastewater treatment.
(3) Facilities owned by a city and county operating as a public
utility, furnishing electric service as provided in Section 10001.
761.5. (a) Where the commission determines that it would be
cost-effective, the commission shall authorize electrical and gas
corporations to participate in a centralized credit check system to
share information on customers; and the electrical and gas
corporations may also share information on customers with telephone
corporations and publicly owned public utilities. No public utility
which participates in the centralized credit check system shall
utilize any information obtained through the database for its
internal marketing purposes. A public utility may release pertinent
information to a collection agency for the purpose of collecting an
outstanding bill, but shall not otherwise release, transfer, or sell
any information obtained through the centralized credit check system.
(b) Every electrical and gas corporation which participates in a
centralized credit check system is subject to the Consumer Credit
Reporting Agencies Act (Title 1.6 (commencing with Section 1785.1) of
Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code) and the federal Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.).
762. Whenever the commission, after a hearing, finds that
additions, extensions, repairs, or improvements to, or changes in,
the existing plant, equipment, apparatus, facilities, or other
physical property of any public utility or of any two or more public
utilities ought reasonably to be made, or that new structures should
be erected, to promote the security or convenience of its employees
or the public, or in any other way to secure adequate service or
facilities, the commission shall make and serve an order directing
that such additions, extensions, repairs, improvements, or changes be
made or such structures be erected in the manner and within the time
specified in the order. If the commission orders the erection of a
new structure, it may also fix the site thereof. If the order
requires joint action by two or more public utilities, the commission
shall so notify them and shall fix a reasonable time within which
they may agree upon the portion or division of the cost which each
shall bear. If at the expiration of such time the public utilities
fail to file with the commission a statement that an agreement has
been made for a division or apportionment of the cost, the commission
may, after further hearing, make an order fixing the proportion of
such cost to be borne by each public utility and the manner in which
payment shall be made or secured.
762.5. The commission, as a basis for making any order pursuant to
the provisions of Section 762 relating to location of structures,
shall give consideration to, and include in its order findings upon,
the following factors:
(a) Community values.
(b) Recreational and park areas.
(c) Historical and aesthetic values.
(d) Influence on environment, except that in the case of any
structure located in another state which will be subject to
environmental impact review pursuant to the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (Chapter 55 (commencing with Section 4321) of
Title 42 of the United States Code) or similar state laws in the
other state, the commission shall not consider influence on the
environment unless any emissions or discharges therefrom would have a
significant influence on the environment of this state.
763. (a) Whenever the commission, after a hearing, finds that any
railroad corporation or street railroad corporation does not run a
sufficient number of trains or cars, or possess or operate sufficient
motive power, reasonably to accommodate the traffic, passenger or
freight, transported by or offered for transportation to it, or does
not run its trains or cars with sufficient frequency or at a
reasonable or proper time having regard to safety, or does not stop
its trains or cars at proper places, or does not run any train or car
upon a reasonable time schedule for the run, the commission may make
an order directing such corporation to increase the number of its
trains or cars or its motive power or to change the time for starting
its trains or cars or to change the time schedule for the run of any
train or car, or to change the stopping place or places thereof. The
commission may make any other order that it determines to be
reasonably necessary to accommodate and transport the traffic,
passenger or freight, transported or offered for transportation.
(b) Subdivision (a) is not applicable to network railroad
transportation.
765.5. (a) The purpose of this section is to provide that the
commission takes all appropriate action necessary to ensure the safe
operation of railroads in this state.
(b) The commission shall dedicate sufficient resources necessary
to adequately carry out the State Participation Program for the
regulation of rail transportation of hazardous materials as
authorized by the Hazardous Material Transportation Uniform Safety
Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-615).
(c) On or before July 1, 1992, the commission shall hire a minimum
of six additional rail inspectors who are or shall become federally
certified, consisting of three additional motive power and equipment
inspectors, two signal inspectors, and one operating practices
inspector, for the purpose of enforcing compliance by railroads
operating in this state with state and federal safety regulations.
(d) On or before July 1, 1992, the commission shall establish, by
regulation, a minimum inspection standard to ensure, at the time of
inspection, that railroad locomotives, equipment, and facilities
located in class I railroad yards in California will be inspected not
less frequently than every 120 days, and inspection of all branch
and main line track not less frequently than every 12 months.
(e) Commencing July 1, 2008, in addition to the minimum
inspections undertaken pursuant to subdivision (d), the commission
shall conduct focused inspections of railroad yards and track, either
in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration, or as the
commission determines to be necessary. The focused inspection program
shall target railroad yards and track that pose the greatest safety
risk, based on inspection data, accident history, and rail traffic
density.
765.6. The commission shall report to the Legislature on the
compliance with the requirements of Section 765.5, as added by
Chapter 763 of the Statutes of 1991, on or before January 1, 1993,
and annually thereafter. Commencing in 1996, the report shall be
submitted on or before November 30 of each year. The annual report
shall include a determination by the commission of the impact on
competition, if any, of the regulatory fees assessed railroad
corporations and motor carriers for the support of the commission's
activities.
765.7. The commission, in conjunction with the California
Environmental Protection Agency, shall request, no later than July 1,
1992, the appropriate federal agencies to do all of the following:
(a) Investigate and review other chemical compounds not presently
considered to be hazardous or toxic for possible reclassification as
hazardous substances.
(b) Require the use of safer cars in rail transportation of all
hazardous materials.
(c) Increase the amount of information required on the manifest
with regard to any hazardous materials being transported so as to be
capable of being understood by personnel involved in emergency, and
include information on environmental effects.
(d) The commission shall report to the Legislature on the status
of its requests no later than September 30, 1992, and every six
months thereafter until September 30, 1995.
765.9. Federal funds available to the commission for rail safety
inspection and enforcement purposes shall be allocated to eligible
passenger and freight rail activities on a proportionate basis.
766. Whenever the commission, after a hearing finds that a physical
connection can reasonably be made between the lines of two or more
telephone corporations or two or more telegraph corporations whose
lines can be made to form a continuous line of communication, by the
construction and maintenance of suitable connections for the transfer
of messages or conversations, and that public convenience and
necessity will be served thereby, or finds that two or more telegraph
or telephone corporations have failed to establish joint rates,
tolls, or charges for service by or over their lines, and that joint
rates, tolls, or charges ought to be established, the commission may,
by its order, require that such connection be made on the payment of
such compensation, if any, as it finds to be just and reasonable,
except where the purpose of the connection is primarily to secure the
transmission of local messages or conversations between points
within the same city, or city and county. The commission may, by
order, require that conversations be transmitted and messages
transferred over such connection under such rules as it may
establish, and may prescribe through lines and joint rates, tolls,
and charges. If such telephone or telegraph corporations do not agree
upon the division between them of the cost of such physical
connection or connections or the division of such joint rates, tolls,
or charges established by the commission over such through lines,
the commission may after further hearing, establish such division by
supplemental order.
766.5. The commission shall investigate the practices of every
telephone corporation in billing its subscribers for telephone calls,
including, but not limited to, whether a corporation is unable to
determine whether any telephone call was not completed and as a
consequence may charge the subscriber for that uncompleted call. If
the commission finds that any corporation does not have the
capability of determining in every instance whether a call placed by
a subscriber was completed, the commission shall require the
corporation to furnish written notice, in a form and manner approved
by the commission, to its subscribers of its billing practices,
including, but not limited to, its practice of charging for calls
placed but not completed.
767. Whenever the commission, after a hearing had upon its own
motion or upon complaint of a public utility affected, finds that
public convenience and necessity require the use by one public
utility of all or any part of the conduits, subways, tracks, wires,
poles, pipes, or other equipment, on, over, or under any street or
highway, and belonging to another public utility, and that such use
will not result in irreparable injury to the owner or other users of
such property or equipment or in any substantial detriment to the
service, and that such public utilities have failed to agree upon
such use or the terms and conditions or compensation therefor, the
commission may by order direct that such use be permitted, and
prescribe a reasonable compensation and reasonable terms and
conditions for the joint use. If such use is directed, the public
utility to whom the use is permitted shall be liable to the owner or
other users for such damage as may result therefrom to the property
of the owner or other users thereof, and the commission may ascertain
and direct the payment, prior to such use, of fair and just
compensation for damage suffered, if any.
767.5. (a) As used in this section:
(1) "Public utility" includes any person, firm, or corporation,
except a publicly owned public utility, which owns or controls, or in
combination jointly owns or controls, support structures or
rights-of-way used or useful, in whole or in part, for wire
communication.
(2) "Support structure" includes, but is not limited to, a utility
pole, anchor, duct, conduit, manhole, or handhole.
(3) "Pole attachment" means any attachment to surplus space, or
use of excess capacity, by a cable television corporation for a wire
communication system on or in any support structure located on or in
any right-of-way or easement owned, controlled, or used by a public
utility.
(4) "Surplus space" means that portion of the usable space on a
utility pole which has the necessary clearance from other pole users,
as required by the orders and regulations of the commission, to
allow its use by a cable television corporation for a pole
attachment.
(5) "Excess capacity" means volume or capacity in a duct, conduit,
or support structure other than a utility pole or anchor which can
be used, pursuant to the orders and regulations of the commission,
for a pole attachment.
(6) "Usable space" means the total distance between the top of the
utility pole and the lowest possible attachment point that provides
the minimum allowable vertical clearance.
(7) "Minimum allowable vertical clearance" means the minimum
clearance for communication conductors along rights-of-way or other
areas as specified in the orders and regulations of the commission.
(8) "Rearrangements" means work performed, at the request of a
cable television corporation, to, on, or in an existing support
structure to create such surplus space or excess capacity as is
necessary to make it usable for a pole attachment. When an existing
support structure does not contain adequate surplus space or excess
capacity and cannot be so rearranged as to create the required
surplus space or excess capacity for a pole attachment,
"rearrangements" shall include replacement, at the request of a cable
television corporation, of the support structure in order to provide
adequate surplus space or excess capacity.
(9) "Annual cost of ownership" means the sum of the annual capital
costs and annual operation costs of the support structure which
shall be the average costs of all similar support structures owned by
the public utility. The basis for computation of annual capital
costs shall be historical capital costs less depreciation. The
accounts upon which the historical capital costs are determined shall
include a credit for all reimbursed capital costs of the public
utility. Depreciation shall be based upon the average service life of
the support structure. As used in this paragraph, "annual cost of
ownership" shall not include costs for any property not necessary for
a pole attachment.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares that public utilities have
dedicated a portion of such support structures to cable television
corporations for pole attachments in that public utilities have made
available, through a course of conduct covering many years, surplus
space and excess capacity on and in their support structures for use
by cable television corporations for pole attachments, and that the
provision by such public utilities of surplus space and excess
capacity for such pole attachments is a public utility service
delivered by public utilities to cable television corporations.
The Legislature further finds and declares that it is in the
interests of the people of California for public utilities to
continue to make available such surplus space and excess capacity for
use by cable television corportions.
(c) Whenever a public utility and a cable television corporation
or association of cable television corporations are unable to agree
upon the terms, conditions, or annual compensation for pole
attachments or the terms, conditions, or costs of rearrangements, the
commission shall establish and enforce the rates, terms, and
conditions for pole attachments and rearrangements so as to assure a
public utility the recovery of both of the following:
(1) A one-time reimbursement for actual costs incurred by the
public utility for rearrangements performed at the request of the
cable television corporation.
(2) An annual recurring fee computed as follows:
(A) For each pole and supporting anchor actually used by the cable
television corporation, for a period of four years following the
effective date of this section, the annual fee shall be two dollars
and fifty cents ($2.50). Thereafter, the annual fee shall be two
dollars and fifty cents ($2.50) or 7.4 percent of the public utility'
s annual cost of ownership for the pole and supporting anchor,
whichever is greater, except that if a public utility applies for
establishment of a fee in excess of two dollars and fifty cents
($2.50) under this section, the annual fee shall be 7.4 percent of
the public utility's annual cost of ownership for the pole and
supporting anchor.
(B) For support structures used by the cable television
corporation, other than poles or anchors, a percentage of the annual
cost of ownership for the support structure, computed by dividing the
volume or capacity rendered unusable by the cable television
corporation's equipment by the total usable volume or capacity. As
used in this paragraph, "total usable volume or capacity" means all
volume or capacity in which the public utility's line, plant, or
system could legally be located, including the volume or capacity
rendered unusable by the cable television corporation's equipment.
(d) In the event that it becomes necessary for the public utility
to use space or capacity on or in a support structure occupied by the
cable television corporation's equipment, the cable television
corporation shall either (1) pay all costs for rearrangements
necessary to maintain the pole attachment or (2) remove its cable
television equipment at its own expense.
767.7. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) The Legislature has encouraged, and continues to encourage,
the rapid and economic development of telecommunications services to
all Californians.
(2) Pursuant to Section 767.5, public utilities have dedicated a
portion of their support structures to cable television corporations
which have been increasingly attaching fiber optic cable that is
capable of a variety of telecommunications uses. Other utilities not
under the jurisdiction of the commission have also made the same
dedication.
(3) Public utility and publicly owned utility support structures
are also used by entities, other than cable television corporations,
with the acquiescence of the public utility and voluntary permission
of the publicly owned utility, for the purpose of installing fiber
optic cable in order to provide various telecommunications services.
(4) Electric public utilities are currently installing fiber optic
cables on their systems to enhance their operations and better serve
their customers. Fiber optic cables installed by telephone, cable,
and other telecommunications corporations may be accessed by electric
public utilities and publicly owned utilities to enhance their
operations and better serve their customers. The access may be
accomplished by contract or through the purchase of tariffed
services.
(b) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature that public
utilities and publicly owned utilities be fairly and adequately
compensated for the use of their rights-of-way and easements for the
installation of fiber optic cable, and that electric public utilities
and publicly owned utilities have the ability, if they so desire, to
negotiate a purchase, lease, or rent of access to those fiber optic
cables for their own use.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to change existing law
with respect to Section 767.5.
768. The commission may, after a hearing, require every public
utility to construct, maintain, and operate its line, plant, system,
equipment, apparatus, tracks, and premises in a manner so as to
promote and safeguard the health and safety of its employees,
passengers, customers, and the public. The commission may prescribe,
among other things, the installation, use, maintenance, and operation
of appropriate safety or other devices or appliances, including
interlocking and other protective devices at grade crossings or
junctions and block or other systems of signaling. The commission may
establish uniform or other standards of construction and equipment,
and require the performance of any other act which the health or
safety of its employees, passengers, customers, or the public may
demand. The Department of the California Highway Patrol shall have
the primary responsibility for the regulation of the safety of
operation of passenger stage corporations. The commission shall
cooperate with the Department of the California Highway Patrol to
ensure safe operation of these carriers.
768.5. The commission may, after a hearing, by general or special
orders, rules, or otherwise, require every cable television
corporation to construct, maintain, and operate its plant, system,
equipment, apparatus, and premises in such manner as to promote and
safeguard the health and safety of its employees, customers, and the
public, and may prescribe, among other things, the installation, use,
maintenance, and operation of appropriate safety or other devices or
appliances, establish uniform or other standards of construction and
equipment, and require the performance of any other act which the
health or safety of its employees, customers, or the public may
demand.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to either grant or deny
a cable antenna television corporation the right to use the easement
of a public utility.
770. The commission may after hearing:
(a) Ascertain and fix just and reasonable standards,
classifications, regulations, practices, measurements, or service to
be furnished, imposed, observed, and followed by all electrical, gas,
water, and heat corporations.
(b) Ascertain and fix adequate and serviceable standards for the
measurement of quantity, quality, pressure, or other condition
pertaining to the supply of the product, commodity, or service
furnished or rendered by any such public utility. No standard of the
commission applicable to any water corporation shall be inconsistent
with the regulations and standards of the State Department of Health
pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 116275) of Part 12 of
Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code.
(c) Prescribe reasonable regulations for the examination and
testing of the product, commodity, or service and for the measurement
thereof.
(d) Establish reasonable rules, specifications, and standards to
secure the accuracy of all meters and appliances for measurements.
The commission shall require a public utility that estimates meter
readings to so indicate on its billings, and shall require any
estimate that is incorrect to be corrected by the next billing
period, except that for reasons beyond its control due to weather, or
in cases of unusual conditions, corrections for any overestimate or
underestimate shall be reflected on the first regularly scheduled
bill and based on an actual reading following the period of
inaccessibility.
(e) Provide for the examination and testing of any and all
appliances used for the measurement of any product, commodity, or
service of any such public utility.
771. The commissioners and their officers and employees may enter
upon any premises occupied by any public utility, for the purpose of
making the examinations and tests and exercising any of the other
powers provided for in this part, and may set up and use on such
premises any apparatus and appliances necessary therefor. The agents
and employees of the public utility may be present at the making of
such examinations and tests.
772. Any consumer or user of any product, commodity, or service of
a public utility may have any appliance used in the measurement
thereof tested upon paying the fees fixed by the commission. The
commission shall establish and fix reasonable fees to be paid for
testing such appliances on the request of the consumer or user. The
fee shall be paid by the consumer or user at the time of his request,
but if the appliance is found defective or incorrect to the
disadvantage of the consumer or user, the fee shall be paid by the
public utility and repaid to the consumer or user under such rules as
the commission prescribes.
773. Section 4200 of the Government Code shall not apply to a
public utility under the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities
Commission of the State of California.
774. No water corporation which has undertaken to provide fire
protection service, nor any employee of such corporation acting in
the course and scope of his employment, shall be liable for any death
or injury to a person or damage to or loss of property resulting
from a failure to provide or maintain an adequate water supply or
pressure, or any equipment or other fire protection facility or
service; provided, that such immunity from liability shall not exceed
that of a public agency or any of its employees, as the case may be,
under similar circumstances. Nothing in this section shall preclude
the enforcement of any rule, regulation, or order of the commission.
775. Whenever an electric or gas corporation sells fuel oil which
is, or is reasonably expected to be, useful in the performance of its
public utility function, at a price higher than the electric or gas
corporation's purchase cost, the commission shall, in any rate
proceeding, require that the amount higher than the purchase cost be
credited with interest against the expense claimed by the electric or
gas corporation.
776. (a) The commission shall, in a single rulemaking or other
appropriate proceeding, not to exceed 18 months in duration, consider
the need for performance reliability standards and, upon making the
determination pursuant to subdivision (c), develop and implement
performance reliability standards, for all backup power systems
installed on the property of residential and small commercial
customers by a facilities-based provider of telephony services. Those
standards shall do all the following:
(1) Establish minimum operating life.
(2) Establish minimum periods of time during which a telephone
system with a charged backup power system will provide the customer
with sufficient electricity for emergency usage.
(3) Establish means to warn a customer when the backup power
system's charge is low or when the system can no longer hold a
charge.
(b) The commission, in developing and implementing any standards
in accordance with subdivision (a), shall consider current best
practices and technical feasibility for establishing battery backup
requirements.
(c) The commission shall not implement standards in accordance
with this section unless it determines that the benefits of the
standards exceed the costs.
(d) Before January 1, 2008, the commission shall prepare and
submit to the Legislature a report on the results of the proceeding.
777. (a) This section applies if there is a landlord-tenant
relationship between the residential occupants and the owner,
manager, or operator of the dwelling.
(b) If an electrical, gas, heat, or water corporation furnishes
individually metered residential service to residential occupants of
a detached single-family dwelling, a multiunit residential structure,
mobilehome park, or permanent residential structure in a labor camp,
as defined in Section 17008 of the Health and Safety Code, and the
owner, manager, or operator of the dwelling, structure, or park is
the customer of record, the corporation shall make every good faith
effort to inform the residential occupants, by means of written
notice, when the account is in arrears, that service will be
terminated at least 10 days prior to termination. The written notice
shall further inform the residential occupants that they have the
right to become customers, to whom the service will then be billed,
without being required to pay any amount which may be due on the
delinquent account. The notice shall be in English and in the
languages listed in Section 1632 of the Civil Code.
(c) The corporation is not required to make service available to
the residential occupants unless each residential occupant agrees to
the terms and conditions of service and meets the requirements of law
and the corporation's rules and tariffs. However, if one or more of
the residential occupants are willing and able to assume
responsibility for the subsequent charges to the account to the
satisfaction of the corporation, or if there is a physical means,
legally available to the corporation, of selectively terminating
service to those residential occupants who have not met the
requirements of the corporation's rules and tariffs, the corporation
shall make service available to those residential occupants who have
met those requirements.
(d) If prior service for a period of time is a condition for
establishing credit with the corporation, residence and proof of
prompt payment of rent or other credit obligation acceptable to the
corporation for that period of time is a satisfactory equivalent.
(e) Any residential occupant who becomes a customer of the
corporation pursuant to this section whose periodic payments, such as
rental payments, include charges for residential electrical, gas,
heat, or water service, where those charges are not separately
stated, may deduct from the periodic payment each payment period all
reasonable charges paid to the corporation for those services during
the preceding payment period.
(f) In the case of a detached single-family dwelling, the
corporation may do any of the following:
(1) Give notice of termination at least seven days prior to the
proposed termination, notwithstanding the notice period specified in
subdivision (a).
(2) In order for the amount due on the delinquent account to be
waived, require an occupant who becomes a customer to verify that the
delinquent account customer of record is or was the landlord,
manager, or agent of the dwelling. Verification may include, but is
not limited to, a lease or rental agreement, rent receipts, a
government document indicating that the occupant is renting the
property, or information disclosed pursuant to Section 1962 of the
Civil Code.
(g) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2010.
777.1. (a) If an electrical, gas, heat, or water corporation
furnishes residential service to residential occupants through a
master meter in a multiunit residential structure, mobilehome park,
or permanent residential structure in a labor camp, as defined in
Section 17008 of the Health and Safety Code, and the owner, manager,
or operator of the structure or park is listed by the corporation as
the customer of record, the corporation shall make every good faith
effort to inform the residential occupants, by means of a written
notice posted on the door of each residential unit at least 15 days
prior to termination, when the account is in arrears, that service
will be terminated on a date specified in the notice. If it is not
reasonable or practicable to post the notice on the door of each
residential unit, the corporation shall post two copies of the notice
in each accessible common area and at each point of access to the
structure or structures. The notice shall further inform the
residential occupants that they have the right to become customers,
to whom the service will then be billed, without being required to
pay any amount which may be due on the delinquent account. The notice
also shall specify, in plain language, what the residential
occupants are required to do in order to prevent the termination of,
or to reestablish service; the estimated monthly cost of service; the
title, address, and telephone number of a representative of the
corporation who can assist the residential occupants in continuing
service; and the address and telephone number of a qualified legal
services project, as defined in Section 6213 of the Business and
Professions Code, which has been recommended by the local county bar
association. The notice shall be in English and the languages listed
in Section 1632 of the Civil Code.
(b) The corporation is not required to make service available to
the residential occupants unless each residential occupant or a
representative of the residential occupants agrees to the terms and
conditions of service and meets the requirements of law and the
corporation's rules and tariffs. However, if one or more of the
residential occupants or the representative of the residential
occupants are willing and able to assume responsibility for
subsequent charges to the account to the satisfaction of the
corporation, or if there is a physical means, legally available to
the corporation, of selectively terminating service to those
residential occupants who have not met the requirements of the
corporation's rules and tariffs or for whom the representative of the
residential occupants is not responsible, the corporation shall make
service available to those residential occupants who have met those
requirements or on whose behalf those requirements have been met.
(c) If prior service for a period of time or other demonstration
of credit worthiness is a condition for establishing credit with the
corporation, residence and proof of prompt payment of rent or other
credit obligation during that period of time acceptable to the
corporation is a satisfactory equivalent.
(d) Any residential occupant who becomes a customer of the
corporation pursuant to this section whose periodic payments, such as
rental payments, include charges for residential electrical, gas,
heat, or water service, where those charges are not separately
stated, may deduct from the periodic payment each payment period all
reasonable charges paid to the corporation for those services during
the preceding payment period.
(e) If a corporation furnishes residential service subject to
subdivision (a), the corporation shall not terminate that service in
any of the following situations:
(1) During the pendency of an investigation by the corporation of
a customer dispute or complaint.
(2) If the customer has been granted an extension of the period
for payment of a bill.
(3) For an indebtedness owed by the customer to any other person
or corporation or if the obligation represented by the delinquent
account or other indebtedness was incurred with a person or
corporation other than the electrical, gas, heat, or water
corporation demanding payment therefor.
(4) If a delinquent account relates to another property owned,
managed, or operated by the customer.
(5) If a public health or building officer certifies that
termination would result in a significant threat to the health or
safety of the residential occupants or the public.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and in addition to
any other remedy provided by law, if the owner, manager, or
operator, by any act or omission, directs, permits, or fails to
prevent a termination of service while any residential unit receiving
that service is occupied, the residential occupant or the
representative of the residential occupants may commence an action
for the recovery of all of the following:
(1) Reasonable costs and expenses incurred by the residential
occupant or the representative of the residential occupants related
to restoration of service.
(2) Actual damages related to the termination of service.
(3) Reasonable attorney's fees of the residential occupants, the
representative of the residential occupants, or each of them,
incurred in the enforcement of this section, including, but not
limited to, enforcement of a lien.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and in addition to
any other remedy provided by law, if the owner, manager, or
operator, by any act or omission, directs, permits, or fails to
prevent a termination of service while any residential unit receiving
that service is occupied, the corporation may commence an action for
the recovery of all of the following:
(1) Delinquent charges accruing prior to the expiration of the
notice prescribed by subdivision (a).
(2) Reasonable costs incurred by the corporation related to the
restoration of service.
(3) Reasonable attorney's fees of the corporation incurred in the
enforcement of this section or in the collection of delinquent
charges, including, but not limited to, enforcement of a lien.
If the court finds that the owner, manager, or operator has paid
the amount in arrears prior to termination, the court shall allow no
recovery of any charges, costs, damages, expenses, or fees under this
subdivision from the owner, manager, or operator.
An abstract of any money judgment entered pursuant to subdivision
(f) or (g) of this section shall be recorded pursuant to Section
697.310 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(h) No termination of service subject to this section may be
effected without compliance with this section, and any service
wrongfully terminated shall be restored without charge to the
residential occupants or customer for the restoration of the service.
In the event of a wrongful termination by the corporation, the
corporation shall, in addition, be liable to the residential
occupants or customer for actual damages resulting from the
termination and for the costs of enforcement of this section,
including, but not limited to, reasonable attorney's fees, if the
residential occupants or the representative of the residential
occupants made a good faith effort to have the service continued
without interruption.
(i) The commission shall adopt rules and orders necessary to
implement this section and shall liberally construe this section to
accomplish its purpose of ensuring that service to residential
occupants is not terminated due to nonpayment by the customer unless
the corporation has made every reasonable effort to continue service
to the residential occupants. The rules and orders shall include, but
are not limited to, reasonable penalties for a violation of this
section, guidelines for assistance to residents in the enforcement of
this section, and requirements for the notice prescribed by
subdivision (a), including, but not limited to, clear wording, large
and boldface type, and comprehensive instructions to ensure full
notice to the resident.
(j) Nothing in this section broadens or restricts any authority of
a local agency that existed prior to January 1, 1989, to adopt an
ordinance protecting a residential occupant from the involuntary
termination of residential public utility service.
(k) This section preempts any statute or ordinance permitting
punitive damages against any owner, manager, or operator on account
of an involuntary termination of residential public utility service
or permitting the recovery of costs associated with the formation,
maintenance, and termination of a tenants' association.
(l) For purposes of this section, "representative of the
residential occupants" does not include a tenants' association.
778. The commission shall adopt rules and regulations, which shall
become effective on July 1, 1977, relating to safety appliances and
procedures for rail transit services operated at grade and in
vehicular traffic. The rules and regulations shall include, but not
be limited to, provisions on grade crossing protection devices,
headways, and maximum operating speeds with respect to the speed and
volume of vehicular traffic within which the transit service is
operated.
The commission shall submit the proposed rules and regulations to
the Legislature not later than April 1, 1977.
779. (a) No electrical, gas, heat, or water corporation may
terminate residential service for nonpayment of a delinquent account
unless the corporation first gives notice of the delinquency and
impending termination, as provided in Section 779.1.
(b) No electrical, gas, heat, or water corporation may terminate
residential service for nonpayment in any of the following
situations:
(1) During the pendency of an investigation by the corporation of
a customer or subscriber dispute or complaint.
(2) When a customer has been granted an extension of the period
for payment of a bill.
(3) On the certification of a licensed physician and surgeon that
to do so will be life threatening to the customer and the customer is
financially unable to pay for service within the normal payment
period and is willing to enter into an amortization agreement with
the corporation pursuant to subdivision (e) with respect to all
charges that the customer is unable to pay prior to delinquency.
(c) Any residential customer who has initiated a complaint or
requested an investigation within five days of receiving the disputed
bill, or who has, before termination of service, made a request for
extension of the payment period of a bill asserted to be beyond the
means of the customer to pay in full within the normal period for
payment, shall be given an opportunity for review of the complaint,
investigation, or request by a review manager of the corporation. The
review shall include consideration of whether the customer shall be
permitted to amortize any unpaid balance of the delinquent account
over a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 12 months. No
termination of service shall be effected for any customer complying
with an amortization agreement, if the customer also keeps the
account current as charges accrue in each subsequent billing period.
(d) Any customer whose complaint or request for an investigation
pursuant to subdivision (c) has resulted in an adverse determination
by the corporation may appeal the determination to the commission.
Any subsequent appeal of the dispute or complaint to the commission
is not subject to this section.
(e) Any customer meeting the requirements of paragraph (3) of
subdivision (b) shall, upon request, be permitted to amortize, over a
period not to exceed 12 months, the unpaid balance of any bill
asserted to be beyond the means of the customer to pay within the
normal period for payment.
779.1. (a) Every electrical, gas, heat, or water corporation shall
allow every residential customer at least 19 days from the date of
mailing its bill for services, postage prepaid, for payment of the
charges demanded. No corporation subject to this section may
terminate residential service for nonpayment of a delinquent account
unless the corporation first gives notice of the delinquency and
impending termination, at least 10 days prior to the proposed
termination, by means of a notice mailed, postage prepaid, to the
customer to whom the service is billed, not earlier than 19 days from
the date of mailing the corporation's bill for services, and the
10-day period shall not commence until five days after the mailing of
the notice.
(b) Every corporation shall make a reasonable attempt to contact
an adult person residing at the premises of the customer by telephone
or personal contact at least 24 hours prior to any termination of
service, except that, whenever telephone or personal contact cannot
be accomplished, the corporation shall give, either by mail or in
person, a notice of termination of service at least 48 hours prior to
termination.
(c) Every corporation shall make available to its residential
customers who are 65 years of age or older, or who are dependent
adults as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section
15610 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, a third-party
notification service, whereby the corporation will attempt to notify
a person designated by the customer to receive notification when the
customer's account is past due and subject to termination. The
notification shall include information on what is required to prevent
termination of service. The residential customer shall make a
request for third-party notification on a form provided by the
corporation, and shall include the written consent of the designated
third party. The third-party notification does not obligate the third
party to pay the overdue charges, nor shall it prevent or delay
termination of service.
(d) Every notice of termination of service pursuant to subdivision
(a) or (b) shall include all of the following information:
(1) The name and address of the customer whose account is
delinquent.
(2) The amount of the delinquency.
(3) The date by which payment or arrangements for payment is
required in order to avoid termination.
(4) The procedure by which the customer may initiate a complaint
or request an investigation concerning service or charges.
(5) The procedure by which the customer may request amortization
of the unpaid charges.
(6) The procedure for the customer to obtain information on the
availability of financial assistance, including private, local,
state, or federal sources, if applicable.
(7) The telephone number of a representative of the corporation
who can provide additional information or institute arrangements for
payment.
(8) The telephone number of the commission to which inquiries by
the customer may be directed.
All written notices shall be in a clear and legible format.
(e) Any residential customer whose complaint or request for an
investigation has resulted in an adverse determination by the
corporation may appeal the determination to the commission. Any
subsequent appeal of the dispute or complaint to the commission is
not subject to this section.
(f) If a residential customer fails to comply with an amortization
agreement, the corporation shall not terminate service without
giving notice to the customer at least 48 hours prior to termination
of the conditions the customer is required to meet to avoid
termination, but this notice does not entitle the customer to further
investigation by the corporation.
(g) No termination of service may be effected without compliance
with this section. Any service wrongfully terminated shall be
restored without charge for the restoration of service, and a
notation thereof shall be mailed to the customer at his or her
billing address.
779.2. (a) No electrical, gas, heat, telephone, or water
corporation may terminate residential service for nonpayment of any
delinquent account or other indebtedness owed by the customer or
subscriber to any other person or corporation or when the obligation
represented by the delinquent account or other indebtedness was
incurred with a person or corporation other than the electrical, gas,
heat, telephone, or water corporation demanding payment therefor.
(b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to a telephone corporation
operating within service areas which furnishes billing services to
the subscribers of a telephone corporation operating between service
areas pursuant to tariffs on file with the commission providing for
the furnishing of those billing services. The commission shall
require that these tariffs also provide for adequate subscriber
notice, review, and appeal procedures prior to any termination of
service for nonpayment of a delinquent account.
(c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to any privately owned or
publicly owned public utility which collects sanitation or sewerage
charges for a public agency pursuant to agreement under Section
54346.2 of the Government Code or Section 5472.5 of the Health and
Safety Code.
779.5. The decision of an electrical, gas, heat, telephone, or
water corporation to require a new residential applicant to deposit a
sum of money with the corporation prior to establishing an account
and furnishing service shall be based solely upon the credit
worthiness of the applicant as determined by the corporation.
780. No electrical, gas, heat, or water corporation shall, by
reason of delinquency in the payment of its charges, terminate
service on any Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or at any time during
which the business offices of the corporation are not open to the
public.
780.5. The commission shall require every residential unit in an
apartment house or similar multiunit residential structure,
condominium, and mobilehome park for which a building permit has been
obtained on or after July 1, 1982, other than a dormitory or other
housing accommodation provided by any postsecondary educational
institution for its students or employees and other than farmworker
housing, to be individually metered for electrical and gas service,
except that separate metering for gas service is not required for
residential units which are not equipped with gas appliances
requiring venting or are equipped with only vented decorative
appliances or which receive the majority of energy used for water or
space heating from a solar energy system or through cogeneration
technology.
781. (a) (1) Each water corporation with 500 or more service
connections that is not subject to the requirements of Section 525,
526, 527, or 528 of the Water Code shall install, on and after
January 1, 2010, a water meter on each new service connection.
(2) Each water corporation with 500 or more service connections as
of January 1, 2010, that is not subject to the requirements of
Section 526, 527, or 528 of the Water Code, shall install a water
meter upon each unmetered service connection by January 1, 2025.
(3) Each water corporation with less than 500 service connections
as of January 1, 2010, that thereafter reaches 500 or more service
connections and that is not subject to the requirements of Section
526, 527, or 528 of the Water Code, shall, within 10 years of
attaining that threshold, install a water meter upon each unmetered
service connection.
(4) Each water corporation that is subject to the requirements of
Section 525, 526, 527, or 528 of the Water Code shall install water
meters pursuant to those sections.
(b) (1) Each water corporation that has installed water meters, or
caused water meters to be installed, that is not subject to Section
525, 526, 527, or 528 of the Water Code, shall, on and after January
1, 2015, charge customers for potable water based on the actual
volume of deliveries, as measured by the water meter. This paragraph
does not limit the authority of the commission to authorize a water
corporation that promotes conservation through volumetric water
pricing to determine and impose a rate, fee, or charge in addition to
the charge for the actual volume of metered water delivered.
(2) Each water corporation that is subject to Section 525, 526,
527, or 528 of the Water Code shall charge customers for potable
water based on the actual volume of deliveries, as measured by the
water meter, consistent with the requirements of those sections.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in order to provide customers
with experience in volume-based water service charges, a water
corporation that is subject to paragraph (1) may delay, for one
annual seasonal cycle of water use, the use of meter-based charges
for service connections that are being converted from nonvolume-based
billing to volume-based billing.
(c) A water corporation shall recover the cost of providing
services related to the purchase, installation, operation, and
maintenance of water meters in rates, fees, or charges. Rates, fees,
or charges recovered by the water corporation pursuant to this
section are subject to approval by the commission pursuant to Article
1 (commencing with Section 451) of Chapter 3 and Article 2
(commencing with Section 727) of this chapter.
(d) The commission shall ensure that each water corporation that
is subject to the requirements of this section or the requirements of
the Water Measurement Law (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 500)
of Division 1 of the Water Code) comply with those requirements.
781.5. The commission may require a water corporation that
furnishes potable water for residential, commercial, industrial, or
institutional use through less than 500 service connections that is
not subject to the requirements of Section 526, 527, or 528 of the
Water Code, or a residential, commercial, industrial, or
institutional customer of the corporation, to install a water meter
at any water service connection between the water system of the
corporation and the customer if after a public hearing held within
the service area of the corporation, the commission finds, based upon
the evidence presented at that hearing, that any of the following
are true:
(a) Metering will be cost effective within the service area of the
corporation.
(b) Metering will result in a reduction in water consumption
within the service area of the corporation.
(c) The costs of metering will not impose an unreasonable
financial burden on customers within the service area of the
corporation unless it is found to be necessary to ensure continuation
of an adequate water supply within the service area of the
corporation.
782. In order to encourage the development of geothermal resources
in the State of California, the commission may, upon a complaint by a
geothermal energy producer, prohibit any electrical corporation from
curtailing the generation, production, or transmission of
electricity from a geothermal powerplant operated by such
corporation, if the commission deems that such curtailment is not in
the public interest.
783. (a) The commission shall continue to enforce the rules
governing the extension of service by gas and electrical corporations
to new residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial
customers in effect on January 1, 1982, except that the commission
shall amend the existing rules to permit applicants for service to
install extensions in accordance with subdivision (f). Except for
periodic review provisions of existing rules, and amendments to
permit installations by an applicant's contractor, the commission
shall not investigate amending these rules or issue any orders or
decisions which amend these rules, unless the investigation or
proceeding for the issuance of the order or decision is conducted
pursuant to subdivision (b).
(b) Whenever the commission institutes an investigation into the
terms and conditions for the extension of services provided by gas
and electrical corporations to new or existing customers, or
considers issuing an order or decision amending those terms or
conditions, the commission shall make written findings on all of the
following issues:
(1) The economic effect of the line and service extension terms
and conditions upon agriculture, residential housing, mobilehome
parks, rural customers, urban customers, employment, and commercial
and industrial building and development.
(2) The effect of requiring new or existing customers applying for
an extension to an electrical or gas corporation to provide
transmission or distribution facilities for other customers who will
apply to receive line and service extensions in the future.
(3) The effect of requiring a new or existing customer applying
for an extension to an electrical or gas corporation to be
responsible for the distribution of, reinforcements of, relocations
of, or additions to that gas or electrical corporation.
(4) The economic effect of the terms and conditions upon projects,
including redevelopment projects, funded or sponsored by cities,
counties, or districts.
(5) The effect of the line and service extension regulations, and
any modifications to them, on existing ratepayers.
(6) The effect of the line and service extension regulations, and
any modifications to them, on the consumption and conservation of
energy.
(7) The extent to which there is cost-justification for a special
line and service extension allowance for agriculture.
(c) The commission shall request the assistance of appropriate
state agencies and departments in conducting any investigation or
proceeding pursuant to subdivision (b), including, but not limited
to, the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, the Department
of Food and Agriculture, the Department of Consumer Affairs, the
Department of Real Estate, the Department of Housing and Community
Development, and the Department of Economic and Business Development.
(d) Any new order or decision issued pursuant to an investigation
or proceeding conducted pursuant to subdivision (b) shall become
effective on July 1 of the year which follows the year when the new
order or decision is adopted by the commission, so as to ensure that
the public has at least six months to consider the new order or
decision.
(e) The commission shall conduct any investigation or proceeding
pursuant to subdivision (b) within the commission's existing budget,
and any state agency or department which is requested by the
commission to provide assistance pursuant to subdivision (c) shall
also provide the assistance within the agency's or department's
existing budget.
(f) An electrical or gas corporation shall permit any new or
existing customer who applies for an extension of service from that
corporation to install a gas or electric extension in accordance with
the regulations of the commission and any applicable specifications
of that electrical or gas corporation.
785. (a) To the extent consistent with federal law and regulation
and contractual obligations regarding other available gas, the
commission shall, in consultation with the Division of Oil and Gas of
the Department of Conservation and with the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission, encourage, as a first
priority, the increased production of gas in this state, including
gas produced from that area of the Pacific Ocean along the coast of
California commonly known as the outer continental shelf, and shall
require, after a hearing, every gas corporation to purchase that gas
which is compatible with the corporation's gas plant and which is
produced in this state having an actual delivered cost, measured in
equivalent heat units, equal to or less than other available gas,
unless this requirement will result in higher overall costs of gas or
other consequences adverse to the interests of gas customers.
(b) The commission shall annually report to the Legislature on its
implementation of this section.
785.1. (a) The commission shall require, after a hearing, every gas
corporation to revise its transportation tariffs and conditions of
service to eliminate all components that assess shippers of gas
produced in California for the costs of interstate transmission of
gas produced outside of this state. These revisions shall eliminate
direct or indirect charges for the interstate transportation of gas
produced outside of this state, commonly referred to as "double
demand" charges.
(b) The commission shall consider and approve tariffs consistent
with subdivision (a) on or before October 1, 1994.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the
commission from approving intrastate transmission tariffs which
include interstate transition cost surcharges, as described in
commission decisions 91-11-025 and 92-07-025, in an appropriate
manner.
785.2. The commission shall investigate, as part of the rate
proceeding for any gas corporation, impediments to the in-state
production and storage of natural gas. The commission may adopt a
tariff that encourages in-state production or storage of natural gas,
including, but not limited to, r