77-3-203 - Property owners' remedies upon utility's failure or refusal to provide service.
§ 77-3-203. Property owners' remedies upon utility's failure or refusal to provide service.
If any public utility, other than a municipality, shall fail or refuse to construct within its certificated area any facilities necessary to provide public utility service, or shall fail or refuse to make written commitment to do so, within a reasonable time after written request for such service by any owner of property, which request shall specify with reasonable particularity the type of service desired, such owner may, in addition to any other legal or administrative remedy provided by law and either separately or jointly with any other owner or owners in the area affected, pursue either of the following alternatives or a combination thereof:
(a) In the name of such owner or jointly with any other person, firm or corporation, pursuant to the provisions of Section 77-3-13, apply to the Mississippi Public Service Commission for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to construct the appropriate facilities for furnishing such service or services and to furnish the same within the area affected, and, provided the commission finds that the cancellation of the outstanding certificate would be in the best interest of the consuming public as provided by Section 77-3-21, the fact that a certificate for the same type service or services may have been previously issued to the public utility failing or refusing to furnish such service shall not be prejudicial to such application; or
(b) File with the Mississippi Public Service Commission a set of proposed plans for construction of such facilities and connection of the same with the system or systems of the utility or utilities affected, such plans to conform in all respects to all reasonable requirements of said commission and any other public body having lawful authority to establish standards of construction. The owner shall give twenty (20) days' notice of such filing to said commission and any other public bodies aforesaid and to the public utility or utilities holding a certificate for the area affected. If, after such notice and opportunity for protest and hearing thereon, the commission shall approve such plans or any modification thereof as being supported by present or future public convenience and necessity, the owner may give notice as hereinafter provided and then proceed to let contracts for the construction of the same or to construct the same and, upon proper completion thereof and conveyance or assignment of such facilities and easements to the utility, the holder of the certificate for the area and service affected shall be obliged promptly to connect the same to its systems and provide such service.
Sources: Codes, 1942, § 7716-51; Laws, 1968, ch. 504, § 1, eff from and after passage (approved July 4, 1968).