56-232 - Public utility and schedules defined.
§ 56-232. Public utility and schedules defined.
A. The term "public utility" as used in §§ 56-233 to 56-240 and 56-246 to56-250:
1. Shall mean and embrace every corporation (other than a municipality),company, individual, or association of individuals or cooperative, theirlessees, trustees, or receivers, appointed by any court whatsoever, that nowor hereafter may own, manage or control any plant or equipment or any part ofa plant or equipment within the Commonwealth for the conveyance of telephonemessages or for the production, transmission, delivery, or furnishing ofheat, chilled air, chilled water, light, power, or water, or seweragefacilities, either directly or indirectly, to or for the public.
2. Notwithstanding any provision of subdivision 1 of this subsection orsubsection G of § 13.1-620, shall also include any governmental entityestablished pursuant to the laws of any other state, corporation (other thana municipality established under the laws of this Commonwealth), company,individual, or association of individuals or cooperative, their lessees,trustees, or receivers, appointed by any court whatsoever, that at any timeowns, manages or controls any plant or equipment, or any part thereof,located within the Commonwealth, which plant or equipment is used in theprovision of sewage treatment services to or for an authority as defined in §15.2-5101; however, the Commission shall have no jurisdiction to regulate therates, terms and conditions of sewage treatment services that are provided byany such public utility directly to persons pursuant to the terms of afranchise agreement between the public utility and a municipality establishedunder the laws of this Commonwealth.
3. Except as provided in subdivision 2, shall not be construed to include anycorporation created under the provisions of Title 13.1 unless the articles ofincorporation expressly state that the corporation is to conduct business asa public service company.
B. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no person, firm,corporation, or other entity shall be deemed a public utility or publicservice company, solely by virtue of engaging in production, transmission, orsale at retail of electric power as a qualifying small power producer usingrenewable or nondepletable primary energy sources within the meaning ofregulations adopted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission inimplementation of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (P.L.95-617) and not exceeding 7.5 megawatts of rated capacity, nor solely byvirtue of serving as an aggregator of the production of such small powerproducers, provided that the portion of the output of any qualifying smallpower producer which is sold at retail shall not be sold to residentialconsumers.
C. No qualifying small power producer, within the meaning of regulationsadopted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, shall be deemed a publicutility within the meaning of Chapter 7 (§ 62.1-80 et seq.) of Title 62.1.
D. The term "public utility" as herein defined shall not be construed toinclude any chilled water air-conditioning cooperative serving residences inless than a one square mile area, or any company that is excluded from thedefinition of "public utility" by subdivision (b)(4), (b)(8), (b)(9), or(b)(10) of § 56-265.1.
E. Subject to the provisions of § 56-232.1, the term "schedules" as used in§§ 56-234 through 56-245 shall include schedules of rates and charges forservice to the public and also contracts for rates and charges in sales atwholesale to other public utilities or for divisions of rates between publicutilities, but shall not include contracts of telephone companies with thestate government or contracts of other public utilities with municipalcorporations or the federal or state government, or any contract executedprior to July 1, 1950.
(Code 1919, § 4067; 1918, p. 413; 1922, p. 887; 1942, p. 20; 1950, pp. 54,481; 1954, c. 525; 1956, c. 436; 1964, c. 195; 1966, c. 620; 1975, c. 358;1981, c. 385; 1984, c. 341; 1985, cc. 2, 41; 1990, c. 488; 1999, c. 419;2000, cc. 528, 543; 2002, c. 813; 2003, c. 172; 2006, c. 411; 2009, c. 746.)