66-1712. Notification to public utility of prohibited acts; costs incurred by public utility charged to person responsible for activity, disagreement, arbitration.
66-1712
66-1712. Notification to public utility of prohibited acts; costs incurredby public utility charged to person responsible for activity, disagreement,arbitration.(a) When any person desires to carry out temporarily anyfunction or activity in closer proximity to any high voltage overhead linethan is permitted by this act, the person or persons responsible for thefunction or activity shall notify the public utility which owns or operatesthe high voltage overhead line of the function or activity and shall makeappropriate arrangements with the public utility for temporarybarriers, temporary deenergization and grounding of the conductors,temporary rerouting of electric current or temporary relocating of theconductors before proceeding with any function or activity which wouldimpair the clearances required by this act.
(b) A person or persons requesting a public utility to provide temporaryclearances or other safety precautions shall be responsible for payment ofonly those costs incurred by such utility in the temporary rerouting ofelectric current or the temporary relocating of the conductors. Uponrequest, a public utility shall provide a written costs estimate for thework needed to provide temporary rerouting of electric current ortemporary relocating of the conductors. Unlessotherwise agreed to, or unless circumstances require a longer period oftime before work commences in order to assure continuity of service toelectric customers, a public utility shall commence work on such temporaryrerouting of electric current, temporary relocating of the conductors,temporary barriers or temporary deenergization and grounding of the conductorsas may be appropriate,within seven working days after such notification has been made inaccordance with subsection (a) of K.S.A. 66-1712.
(c) If a person requesting a public utility to provide temporaryrerouting of electric current or the temporary relocating of the conductorsdisagrees with the reasonableness ofthe written costs estimate or the description of the work to be performed,the following options are available to such person:
(1) Such person under protest may pay the utility for the work inaccordance with the written cost estimate, but shall be entitled to seekrecovery of all or any part of the money so paid in an arbitrationproceeding as hereinafter provided; or
(2) prior to directing the work to be performed, the person or personsmay submit to binding arbitration, as hereinafter provided, to resolve theissue of the reasonableness of the written cost estimate or thedescription or extent of the work to be performed by the public utilityunder such estimate.
(d) Disputes submitted to binding arbitration under this section shallbe submitted in accordance with the procedures set forth in K.S.A. 5-401et seq., and amendments thereto. The decision of the arbitrator orarbitrators as to the reasonableness of the costs or the necessity of thework to be performed shall be final and binding upon the parties.
History: L. 1993, ch. 119, § 4; July 1.