H. B. 4099
(By Delegates Love and Thomas)
[Introduced January 17, 1996; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article two, chapter
twenty-four of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the powers and
duties of the public service commission; and authorizing the
public service commission to require all public and private
water companies to provide water for emergency flow testing
and to maintain fire hydrants at no cost.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article two, chapter twenty-four of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. POWERS AND DUTIES OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.
§24-2-2. General power of commission to regulate public
utilities.
The commission is hereby given power to investigate all rates, methods and practices of public utilities subject to the
provisions of this chapter; to require them to conform to the
laws of this state and to all rules, regulations and orders of
the commission not contrary to law; and to require copies of all
reports, rates, classifications, schedules and timetables in
effect and used by such utility or other person, to be filed with
the commission, and all other information desired by the
commission relating to such investigation and requirements,
including inventories of all property in such form and detail as
the commission may prescribe. The commission may compel
obedience to its lawful orders by mandamus or injunction or other
proper proceedings in the name of the state in any circuit court
having jurisdiction of the parties or of the subject matter, or
the supreme court of appeals direct, and such proceedings shall
have priority over all pending cases. The commission may change
any intrastate rate, charge or toll which is unjust or
unreasonable or any interstate charge with respect to matters of
a purely local nature which have not been regulated by or
pursuant to act of Congress and may prescribe such rate, charge
or toll as would be just and reasonable, and change or prohibit
any practice, device or method of service in order to prevent
undue discrimination or favoritism between persons and between
localities and between commodities for a like and contemporaneous
service. But in no case shall the rate, toll or charge be more than the service is reasonably worth, considering the cost
thereof. The commission shall require all public and private
water companies to provide, at no cost to the consumer, water for
emergency flow testing and to maintain fire hydrants. Every
order entered by the commission shall continue in force until the
expiration of the time, if any, named by the commission in such
order, or until revoked or modified by the commission, unless the
same be suspended, modified or revoked by order or decree of a
court of competent jurisdiction.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the Public
Service Commission to require all public and private water
companies to provide water for emergency flow testing and to
maintain fire hydrants, at no cost to the consumer.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.