704.040 - Charges for services must be just and reasonable; applicability; fair and impartial regulation of telecommunication providers; fund to maintain availability of telephone service.
704.040 Charges for services must be just and reasonable; applicability; fair and impartial regulation of telecommunication providers; fund to maintain availability of telephone service.
1. Every public utility shall furnish reasonably adequate service and facilities. Subject to the provisions of subsection 3, the charges made for any service rendered or to be rendered, or for any service in connection therewith or incidental thereto, must be just and reasonable.
2. Every unjust and unreasonable charge for service of a public utility is unlawful.
3. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 704.68861 to 704.68887, inclusive:
(a) A competitive supplier is exempt from any provision of this chapter governing the rates, prices, terms and conditions of any telecommunication service.
(b) A small-scale provider of last resort is subject to the provisions of this chapter, NRS 427A.797 and chapter 707 of NRS.
4. All telecommunication providers which offer the same or similar service must be subject to fair and impartial regulation, to promote adequate, economical and efficient service.
5. To maintain the availability of telephone service in accordance with the regulations adopted pursuant to NRS 704.6873, the Commission shall provide for the levy and collection of a uniform and equitable assessment, in an amount determined by the Commission, from all persons furnishing intrastate telecommunication service or the functional equivalent of such service through any form of telephony technology, unless the levy and collection of the assessment with regard to a particular form of technology is prohibited by federal law. Assessments levied and collected pursuant to this subsection must be maintained in a separate fund established by the Commission. The Commission shall contract with an independent administrator to administer the fund pursuant to open competitive bidding procedures established by the Commission. The independent administrator shall collect the assessments levied and distribute them from the fund pursuant to a plan which has been approved by the Commission. Money in the fund must be used for the sole purpose of maintaining the availability of telephone service.
[9:109:1919; 1919 RL p. 3157; NCL § 6108]—(NRS A 1985, 1018; 1989, 579; 1993, 2017; 1995, 402; 2003, 2638, 3037; 2007, 694; 2009, 2406)