Title 46, Chapter 3, Section 8
( 46-3-8)
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, but subject to
subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section, after March 29, 1973,
service to one or more new premises (but if more than one, such
premises must be located on the same tract or on contiguous tracts
of land), if utilized by one consumer and having single-metered
service and a connected load which, at the time of initial full
operation of the premises, is 900 kilowatts or greater (excluding
redundant equipment), may be extended and furnished, if chosen by
the consumer: (1) By the primary supplier within a municipality if the premises
are located anywhere within the limits of such municipality as
they existed on March 29, 1973; (2) By a secondary supplier within the limits of a municipality as
they existed on March 29, 1973, if the premises are located at
least partially within 300 feet of the lines of such secondary
supplier; (3) By any electric supplier if the premises are located within
the initial corporate limits of a wholly new municipality; (4) By any electric supplier owning lines in a municipality if the
premises are located in a geographic area annexed in any manner to
such municipality after March 29, 1973; and (5) By any electric supplier if the premises are located outside
the limits of a municipality. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, but subject to
subsections (c) and (h) of this Code section, every electric
supplier shall have the exclusive right to continue serving any
premises lawfully served by it on March 29, 1973, or thereafter
lawfully served by it pursuant to this part, including any premises
last and previously served by it which before or after March 29,
1973, have become disconnected from service for any reason, and
including premises which before or after March 29, 1973, have been
destroyed or dismantled and which are reconstructed after March 29,
1973, in substantial kind on approximately the same site. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part: (1) Upon its own complaint or the complaint of any other electric supplier or any other interested party, the commission shall have the authority and jurisdiction, after notice to all affected electric suppliers and after hearing, if a hearing is requested by any affected electric supplier or any other interested party, to find and determine that the service of an electric supplier then serving a premises or exclusively entitled under this part to serve such premises is not adequate or dependable or that such electric supplier's rates, charges, service rules and regulations, or the application thereof unreasonably discriminate in favor of or against the consumer utilizing such premises, or that an electric supplier is in violation of subsection (b) of Code Section 46-3-11. Upon such determination, the commission shall have the authority and jurisdiction to order such electric supplier within a reasonable time to make such improvements as will make its service adequate and dependable, or to order such electric supplier within not less than 30 days to cease employing such discriminatory rates, charges, service rules and regulations, or the application thereof or the practices prohibited by subsection (b) of Code Section 46-3-11 and to substitute in lieu thereof, subject to approval by the commission, rates, charges, service rules and regulations, and practices of application thereof which are not unreasonably discriminatory, or practices in conformity with subsection (b) of Code Section 46-3-11. If the commission finds and determines in its first consideration of the matter that such electric supplier is unwilling or unable within a reasonable time to make its service adequate and dependable, or is unwilling within 30 days to cease and correct such unreasonable discrimination or practices, or if it finds in a subsequent consideration of the matter that its order to improve service, its order to cease and correct the unreasonable discrimination, or its order to cease and correct such practices has not been timely and in good faith complied with, it may then order such electric supplier to cease or desist from serving such premises and order any other electric supplier which may reasonably do so to extend and furnish service to such premises; and (2) Upon the joint application of the affected electric suppliers,
the commission shall have the authority and jurisdiction, after
notice to all affected persons and after hearing, if a hearing is
requested, to find and determine that the public convenience and
necessity require, and thereupon to approve, the transfer of
service from one electric supplier to another electric supplier. (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, but subject to
subsection (b) of this Code section, the commission may: (1) If it determines that an assignee electric supplier has
breached the tenets of public convenience and necessity therein,
reassign all or any portion of an area assigned to that assignee
electric supplier to another electric supplier; and (2) If it determines that public convenience and necessity so
require, assign to any electric supplier all or any portion of a
geographic area which theretofore has been an unassigned area-A or
an unassigned area-B. (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part: (1) No portion of a line constructed after March 29, 1973, by an
electric supplier inside another electric supplier's assigned
area, inside an unassigned area-A, or inside a municipality to
serve premises which, but for the exception provided for in
subsection (a) of this Code section, it would not have had the
right to serve shall acquire any other service rights therein or
impair or diminish any service rights of an assignee electric
supplier or the service rights accruing to the lines of any
electric supplier inside any assigned area, unassigned area-A, or
municipality, provided that such electric supplier may extend and
furnish service from such line to any other premises which it
otherwise has the right to serve; (2) No portion of a line constructed after March 29, 1973, by an
electric supplier inside an unassigned area-B to serve premises
which, but for the exception provided for in subsection (a) of
this Code section, it would not have had the right to serve shall
impair or diminish any service rights accruing to the lines of any
other electric supplier inside such unassigned area-B, provided
that such electric supplier may extend and furnish service from
such line to any other premises which it otherwise has the right
to serve; (3) No portion of a line constructed after March 29, 1973, by an
electric supplier for the initial sole purpose of furnishing
service at wholesale shall acquire any other service rights or
impair or diminish the service rights of any assignee electric
supplier or the service rights accruing to the lines of any
electric supplier, provided that such electric supplier may extend
and furnish service from such line to any other premises which it
otherwise has the right to serve; (4) No electric supplier shall, after March 29, 1973, construct
its lines to serve new premises except in accordance with sound
electric utility standards. If, after a hearing involving the
affected electric suppliers and any other interested party, the
commission determines that an electric supplier is about to
violate, is violating, or has violated such standards so as
arbitrarily to preempt areas or arbitrarily to gain service rights
for such a line, the commission is authorized and directed: (A) To order the offending electric supplier to cease and desist
such construction or to alter and relocate the same; or (B) To declare that such line or any offending portion thereof
shall not be taken into account in assigning an area or in
locating an assigned area boundary or shall not acquire any
service rights that would otherwise accrue thereto or impair or
diminish any service rights accruing to the lines of any other
electric supplier; (5) Any electric supplier may extend and furnish service to any of
its own premises devoted to public service, whether the same shall
have already been served by another electric supplier, but no line
constructed for such purpose after March 29, 1973, shall acquire
any other service right or impair or diminish the service rights
of any assignee electric supplier or the service rights accruing
to the lines of any electric supplier, provided that such electric
supplier may extend and furnish service from such line to other
premises which it otherwise has the right to serve; (6) No line of a secondary supplier constructed prior to March 29,
1973, which on that date is not providing retail service to one or
more premises within the limits of the municipality as they exist
on that date shall acquire any service rights to provide retail
service to any premises located within such municipal limits as
they exist on that date. (f) The time at which an electric supplier, based upon the location
or proximity of electric suppliers' lines as in this part provided
for, shall be considered as having the right to extend and furnish,
or as being restricted from extending and furnishing, service to new
premises shall be the time at which written application for
temporary construction or permanent service is made to any electric
supplier by the consumer utilizing such premises or the time at
which construction of such premises is commenced, whichever first
occurs. The location of a premises for temporary construction
service shall be deemed to be the same as the location of the
premises which shall require permanent service after construction.
If temporary construction service is required at one site for the
purpose of beginning the construction of premises at two or more
sites, this subsection shall not preclude an electric supplier, if
chosen by the builder and having the right to serve at least one of
the premises to be constructed, from furnishing all of such
temporary construction service, notwithstanding the fact that one or
more other electric suppliers may have and may exercise the
exclusive right thereafter to extend and furnish the permanent
service to one or more of the premises being constructed. (g) Whenever, after March 29, 1973, any new premises requiring
service are so sited as to be located partially within an assigned
area, an unassigned area-A, or an unassigned area-B and also
partially within any other assigned area, unassigned area-A, or
unassigned area-B, such premises may be served by that electric
supplier chosen by the consumer utilizing such premises from among
the electric suppliers which are eligible under this part to extend
and furnish such service within any of such areas. (h) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this part, if a majority
of those voters of a municipality which was not rendering electric
service on March 29, 1973, approve, by means of referendum vote, the
purchase, construction, extension, operation, and maintenance of an
electric distribution system by that municipality, such municipality
is granted the right of eminent domain to condemn all of the lines
and other facilities of the primary supplier within such
municipality and any secondary supplier located within the corporate
limits of such municipality and used to serve customers therein at
retail. This right shall expire, with respect to each such
municipality, one year after the date the results of such referendum
are declared unless, before that date, such municipality institutes
proceedings to acquire such lines and other facilities under any of
the statutory methods provided for the condemnation of private
property. Upon a final order of condemnation of such lines and other
facilities, such municipality shall become the primary supplier
therein, the rights of the former primary supplier and any such
secondary suppliers under subsection (b) of this Code section shall
cease, and the consumers served thereby within such corporate limits
shall be thereafter served by the municipality as the new primary
supplier. The transfer of service shall be accomplished as nearly as
practicable without interruption of service to the consumers.
Electric suppliers are authorized to negotiate the sale and purchase
of all or any part of any such lines and other facilities, and upon
the transfer of title thereto the rights of the selling supplier
under subsection (b) of this Code section shall cease. |