Title 23, Public Utilities and Regulated Industries

(a) (1) Except for persons exempted as provided in subsection (c) of this section and § 23-18-504(a) and § 23-18-508, a person shall not begin construction of a major utility facility in the state without first obtaining a certificate of environmental compatibility and public nee…

(1) An applicant for a certificate shall file with the Arkansas Public Service Commission a verified application in the form required by the commission and containing the following information:(1) A general description of the location and type of the major utility facility propos…

An initial filing fee of five hundred dollars ($500) shall accompany each application for a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need.

(a) Each public utility filing an application for a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need shall provide notice of its application as the Arkansas Public Service Commission may require. (b) Each application submitted under subsection (a) of this section shall …

(a) Upon application by an applicant, a certificate issued under this subchapter may be amended as provided in this section or in accordance with such simplified procedures as the Arkansas Public Service Commission may establish by reasonable rules. (b) An application for an amen…

(a) (1) Upon receipt of an application complying with §§ 23-18-511 — 23-18-513, the Arkansas Public Service Commission shall promptly fix a date for the commencement of a public hearing thereon, which date shall be not more than ninety (90) days after the receipt of the applicati…

(a) The parties to a certification proceeding shall include:(1) The applicant; or(2) A person as defined under § 23-1-101(8) that has petitioned the commission for leave to intervene as a party within thirty (30) days after the date given in the public notice as the date of filin…

(a) The Arkansas Public Service Commission shall hold a hearing, unless waived by the parties, on an application filed under § 23-18-511. (b) A record shall be made of the hearing and of all testimony taken and the cross-examination thereon. (c) Rules of the commission shall appl…

(a) (1) The Arkansas Public Service Commission shall render a decision upon the record either granting or denying the application as filed or granting it upon such terms, conditions, or modifications of the location, financing, construction, operation, or maintenance of the major…

(a) In rendering a decision on the application for a certificate, the Arkansas Public Service Commission shall issue and serve an order upon all parties. This order shall include or be accompanied by findings of fact stating its reasons for the action taken. (b) If the commission…

(a) A certificate to construct and operate a major utility facility may be issued only under this subchapter unless a certificate is not required under § 23-18-510(c) or § 23-18-510(e). (b) (1) A certificate issued under this subchapter to an applicant is in lieu of and exempts t…

Any facility, with respect to which a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need is required, shall thereafter be located, financed, constructed, operated, and maintained in conformity with the certificate and any terms, conditions, and modifications contained the…

Subject to the approval of the Arkansas Public Service Commission, a certificate may be transferred to a person who agrees to comply with the terms, conditions, and modifications contained therein. It shall also be transferable by operation of law to any receiver, trustee, or oth…

(a) Any party aggrieved by any decision issued on an application for a certificate may apply for a rehearing as provided in §§ 23-2-401 and 23-2-421 — 23-2-424. (b) Any party aggrieved by the final decision of the Arkansas Public Service Commission on rehearing may obtain judicia…

(1) Except as stated in §§ 23-18-505, 23-18-506, and 23-18-524, a court of this state does not have jurisdiction to:(1) Hear or determine an issue, case, or controversy concerning a matter that was or could have been determined in a proceeding under this subchapter before the Ark…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no municipality, local government unit, or state department or agency, except the Division of Environmental Quality as set out in § 23-18-506, may require any approval, consent, permit, certificate, or other condition for the constructi…

All state agencies and departments entitled to service under § 23-18-513(a) and (b) are directed to cooperate with and render assistance to the Arkansas Public Service Commission in discharging its responsibilities under this subchapter.

(a) (1) As used in this section, the word “land” shall include any estate or interest therein.(2) Whenever a certificate has been issued to an applicant for the construction of any major utility facility under the provisions of this subchapter and the applicant is unable to reach…

(a) (1) Each public utility shall annually furnish to the Arkansas Public Service Commission for its review a report containing a forecast of loads and resources and describing the major utility facilities which, in the judgment of the utility, will be required to supply system d…

Except as provided under § 23-18-504(a), electric utility systems or facilities owned by a municipal electric consolidated authority created under the Arkansas Municipal Electric Utility Interlocal Cooperation Act of 2003, § 25-20-401 et seq., shall be subject to this subchapter.

This subchapter shall be known and cited as the “Arkansas Cost-Shifting Prevention Act of 2023”.

(1) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Arkansas has an established process for the billing option that enables customer-owned net-metering facilities to offset part or all of a net-metering customer's electric consumption;(2) This billing option should continue subject to certai…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Avoided cost” means:(A) For an electric utility other than a municipal utility, the twelve-month average for the prior calendar year of the applicable Locational Marginal Price associated with the electric utility's load zone in the following a…

(a) (1) An electric utility shall allow net-metering facilities to be interconnected using, at a minimum, a single standard two-channel digital meter that separately measures the electric energy in kilowatt hours that is:(A) Supplied by an electric utility to the net-metering cus…

(a) A municipal utility shall allow net-metering facilities to be interconnected according to the ordinances, rules, or regulations established by the governing body of the municipal utility. (b) The governing body of a municipal utility may elect to follow procedures under § 23-…

(a) At its discretion, an electric utility may elect to use one (1) of the following rate structures to develop rates for net-metering customers:(1) A rate structure in which the electric utility:(A) Separately meters the electric energy, measured in kilowatt hours:(i) Supplied b…

(a) (1) If an electric utility follows the rate structure in § 23-18-606(a)(2), the electric utility shall apply a monthly grid charge to:(A) Collect any of the fixed charges that are collected through volumetric charges, including without limitation any riders and surcharges; an…

(a) The General Assembly finds that it is in the public interest to require all electric and natural gas public utilities subject to the jurisdiction of the Arkansas Public Service Commission to consider clean energy and the use of renewable energy resources as part of any resour…

All electric and natural gas public utilities subject to the jurisdiction of the Arkansas Public Service Commission shall consider clean energy and the use of renewable resources as part of any resource plan or natural gas procurement plan.

(a) (1) The Arkansas Public Service Commission may consider, propose, develop, solicit, approve, implement, and monitor measures by electric and natural gas public utilities subject to its jurisdiction that cause the electric and natural gas public utilities to incur costs of ser…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Broadband Over Power Lines Enabling Act”.

(1) As used in this subchapter and §§ 14-200-101, 18-15-503, 18-15-504, and 18-15-507:(1) “Broadband affiliate” or “affiliate” means an entity that is at least ten percent (10%) owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the electric utility formed to provide regulated or no…

(a) An electric utility, an affiliate of an electric utility, or a person unaffiliated with an electric utility may own, construct, maintain, and operate a broadband system and provide broadband services on an electric utility's electric delivery system consistent with the requir…

(a) An electric utility may:(1) Own or operate a broadband system on the electric utility's electric delivery system;(2) Allow an affiliate to own or operate a broadband system on the electric utility's electric delivery system;(3) Allow an unaffiliated entity to own or operate a…

(a) Except as provided in this subchapter, neither the state nor any agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision of the state has jurisdiction over:(1) An electric utility's ownership or operation of a broadband system; or(2) The provision of broadband services by the elect…

(a) An electric utility may charge a broadband affiliate, an unaffiliated broadband Internet service provider, or a broadband operator for the costs of the construction, installation, operation, and maintenance of the broadband system of the broadband affiliate, unaffiliated broa…

(a) An electric utility that installs or operates or permits the installation or operation of a broadband system on its electric delivery system shall employ all reasonable measures to ensure that the operation of the broadband system does not interfere with or diminish the relia…

(a) A broadband operator shall comply with all applicable federal laws, including those protecting licensed spectrum users from interference by broadband systems. (b) To the extent required by Federal Communications Commission rules, the operator of a radio frequency device shall…

(a) This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Arkansas Electric Utility and Gas Utility Storm Recovery Securitization Act”. (b) (1) The purpose of this subchapter is to enable Arkansas electric utilities and gas utilities, if authorized by a financing order issued b…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Ancillary agreement” means any bond, insurance policy, letter of credit, reserve account, surety bond, swap arrangement, hedging arrangement, liquidity or credit support arrangement, or other financial arrangement entered into in connection wit…

(a) (1) A utility may petition the Arkansas Public Service Commission for a financing order.(2) For each petition as described in subdivision (a)(1) of this section, the utility shall:(A) Describe the storm recovery activities that the utility has undertaken or proposes to undert…

(a) If the Arkansas Public Service Commission issues a financing order to a utility pursuant to this section, the commission shall not:(1) Consider the storm recovery bonds issued pursuant to the financing order to be the debt of the utility other than for federal and state incom…

(a) (1) All storm recovery property that is specified in a financing order shall constitute an existing, present intangible property right or interest therein, notwithstanding that the imposition and collection of storm recovery charges depend on the utility to which the financin…

(a) The sale, assignment, or transfer of storm recovery property is governed by this section. (b) All of the following apply to a sale, assignment, or transfer under this section:(1) (A) The sale, conveyance, assignment, or other transfer of storm recovery property by a utility t…

(a) (1) The Uniform Commercial Code — Secured Transactions, § 4-9-101 et seq., does not apply to storm recovery property or any right, title, or interest of a utility, assignee, or financing party therein except to the extent specified in this subchapter.(2) In addition, the righ…

(a) (1) The law governing the validity, enforceability, attachment, perfection, priority, exercise of remedies, and venue with respect to the sale, assignment, or transfer of an interest or right or the creation of a security interest in any storm recovery property shall be exclu…