Title 37 — Title 37

(a) No existing electric customer shall obtain electric service under a private contract for electric service without first giving written notice to the utility currently providing it retail electric service at least 45 days prior to the date on which the private contract for ele…

The directors of corporations which are utilities engaged in any intrastate business in this state shall not, in any manner, delegate or temporarily or permanently relinquish or surrender their duty or obligation while occupying said office. History: (Acts 1932, Ex. Sess., No. 23…

The property of a utility, together with its franchises, contracts, business, good will and other assets, may be lawfully sold and conveyed or leased to, and thereafter lawfully held, enjoyed and operated by, a purchaser then engaged or proposing to engage in the business conduct…

In cases other than those covered by Section 37-4-42, the question whether the proposed sale and conveyance or lease is consistent with the interests of the public shall be determined by the Public Service Commission, and if the commission determines that the proposed sale and co…

In cases where the property of the utility proposed to be sold and conveyed or leased lies within, and the franchises and public duties thereof relate to a single municipality, and in cases where such a utility is owned by a corporation, and its capital stock is proposed to be so…

Nothing in this division shall be construed to limit or restrict any right to sell, lease, hypothecate or mortgage any property, or to invalidate any legal sale, lease, hypothecation or mortgage thereof, where the same is legal without reference to the provisions of this division…

Authorized. Nothing contained in this division shall be construed to authorize the sale and conveyance of property employed in the business of commerce among or between the states and territories of the United States or District of Columbia contrary to the laws of the United Stat…

Corporation by Not-for-Profit Entity Without Necessity of Commission Approval. Any provision of this division to the contrary notwithstanding, any not-for-profit corporation or other not-for-profit entity owning, operating, leasing or controlling any plant, property or facility f…

No utility shall permit any employee to sell, offer for sale, or solicit the purchase of any security of any other person or corporation during such hours as such employee is engaged to perform any duty of such utility; nor shall any utility by any means or device whatsoever requ…

(a) No utility engaged in intrastate business in this state shall pay any dividend upon its common stock until: The utility’s earnings and earned surplus are sufficient to declare and pay same after provision is made for reasonable and proper reserves. The dividend then proposed …

Whenever any municipal corporation, county improvement authority, power district, federal or other governmental agency, sometimes called “agency” in this division, proposes to engage in the business of operating an electric light plant or distribution system, or of furnishing ele…

If within 30 days after receipt of such notice the owner shall propose voluntarily to sell and transfer such property to the agency upon terms and conditions to be mutually agreed upon between the owner and the agency and approved by the Alabama Public Service Commission, and ser…

If acquisition of the property sought to be acquired by the agency is not consummated under the provisions of Sections 37-4-60 and 37-4-61, the agency, before proceeding to engage in the proposed business, shall take such steps as may be provided in this division. If the agency a…

Any party shall have the right to appeal from the order of the commission, such appeal to be governed by existing provisions of law relating to appeals from final orders of the commission; except, that such appeal shall be taken to the circuit court of the judicial circuit contai…

Acceptance or Rejection. The owner shall have 30 days after a final determination by the commission or the courts to notify the agency of its acceptance of such determination and shall have a further period of 30 days to tender a good and sufficient deed of conveyance to the agen…

Nothing in this division shall be deemed to require the purchase of or payment of compensation for any existing plant or distribution system within the corporate limits of any agency in which the construction of any electric distribution system has been already authorized by an e…

Order of Commission. No utility shall issue any securities, or assume any obligation or liability, as lessor, lessee, guarantor, endorser, surety or otherwise, in respect to the securities of any other person unless and until, and then only to the extent that, upon application by…

Oath; Signatures; by Whom Filed. Every application for authority for such issue or assumption shall be made in such form and contain such matters as the commission may prescribe. Every such application and every certificate of notification provided for in this article shall be ma…

For the purposes of this article, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings, unless a different meaning is expressly stated or clearly indicated by the context: (1) PUBLIC UTILITY. Any person, firm, corporation or other legal entity of any kind engaged in th…

All pipeline systems used in this state for the transportation of gas shall be constructed, operated and maintained in such safe manner as at all times to be in compliance with the defined federal minimum safety standards. History: (Acts 1969, Ex. Sess., No. 204, p. 273, §2.)

The commission shall have the right, power and authority: To provide and make certifications, reports and information to the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation; to enter into agreements with said secretary to carry out the purposes of this article; to enf…

Inspections. In order to determine whether or not each such pipeline system is operating in compliance with the required safety standards and to enforce such compliance, the Alabama Public Service Commission shall have the right, power and authority to promulgate reasonable rules…

The Alabama Public Service Commission shall be authorized to employ, subject to the provisions of the Merit System Act, such inspectors or other qualified employees as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this article. History: (Acts 1969, Ex. Sess., No. 204, p. 273, §…

Nothing in this article shall be deemed to confer upon the commission any additional power and jurisdiction to supervise or regulate the rates, services, franchises or other matters pertaining to pipeline systems or transportation of gas except with respect to the enforcement of …

Upon petition of the commission, the circuit court in any county in which a violation of this article exists shall have jurisdiction to restrain such violations and to enforce compliance with the safety standards herein required. History: (Acts 1969, Ex. Sess., No. 204, p. 273, §…

(a) Any person who violates any provision of this article or of any regulation issued hereunder shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) for each violation for each day that the violation persists. However, the maximum civil penalt…

(a) Any gas system operated by any investor-owned company, city, county, municipality, or public gas district which comes under the supervision of the commission for the purpose of enforcing the gas pipeline safety requirements of this article, shall pay annually on October first…

Disposition by Commission. All applications for the issuance of securities or assumption of liability or obligation shall be placed at the head of the commission’s docket and disposed of promptly, and all such applications shall be disposed of in 60 days after the same are filed …

For the purposes of this article the following words and terms shall have the following meanings unless a different meaning is expressly stated or clearly indicated by the context: (1) PERSON. Any individual, firm, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association, or joint st…

All facilities used in this state for the transportation of hazardous liquids and the liquification of natural gas shall be constructed, operated and maintained in such safe manner as at all times to be in compliance with the defined federal minimum standards. History: (Acts 1988…

The commission shall have the right, power and authority: to provide and make certification, reports and information to the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation; to enter into agreements with said secretary to carry out the purposes of this article; to enfo…

In order to determine whether or not each such pipeline facility is operating in compliance with the required safety standards and to enforce such compliance, the Alabama Public Service Commission shall have the right, power and authority to promulgate reasonable rules and regula…

Upon petition of the commission, the circuit court in any county in which a violation of this article exists shall have jurisdiction to restrain such violations and to enforce compliance with the safety standards herein required. History: (Acts 1988, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 88-915, p.…

The Alabama Public Service Commission shall be authorized to employ, subject to the provisions of the Merit System Act, such inspectors or other qualified employees as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this article. History: (Acts 1988, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 88-915, p.…

(a) Any person who violates any provision of this article or any regulation issued hereunder shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) for each violation for each day that the violation persists. However, the maximum civil penalty s…

Nothing in this article shall be deemed to confer upon the commission any additional power or jurisdiction to supervise or regulate the rates, services, franchises, or other matters pertaining to pipeline facilities or transportation of hazardous liquids except with respect to th…