Senate Bill No.278

(By Senator Dittmar)

____________

[Introduced February 7, 1994; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization.]

____________




A BILL to amend article two, chapter twenty-four of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section four-e, relating to authorizing public service districts to follow an abbreviated rate-setting procedure upon customer notice in order to increase rates once in a three-year period by no more than three percent.

 Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article two, chapter twenty-four of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section four- e, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. POWERS AND DUTIES OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.

§24-2-4e. Abbreviated procedures for certain rate changes by public service district.

In recognition of the cost and delay involved in obtaining rate relief through the procedure established by section four-aof this article, the Legislature finds that public service districts created under the provisions of article thirteen-a, chapter sixteen of this code, shall be permitted to raise their rates up to three percent one time within a three year period without obtaining commission approval: Provided, That any public service district desiring to take advantage of this section shall provide notice to its customers not less than thirty days in advance of instituting such increase and shall file revised tariff sheets reflecting such increases with the commission.
Rates changed under this section shall become effective immediately at the expiration of the required notice period and shall remain in effect until (1) changed pursuant to section four-a of this article, (2) a subsequent rate change under this provision or (3) after the opportunity for a hearing at which alternative rates, based upon a fully allocated cost of service, are established by the commission.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow public service districts to follow an abbreviated rate change procedure, which requires public notice to customers but does not require public service commission approval, when such districts increase rates once in a three year period in an amount not to exceed three percent.

Section four-e is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.