Title 61 — PUBLIC UTILITY REGULATION

61-501. Investment of authority. The public utilities commission is hereby vested with power and jurisdiction to supervise and regulate every public utility in the state and to do all things necessary to carry out the spirit and intent of the provisions of this act.

61-502. Determination of rates. Whenever the commission, after a hearing had upon its own motion or upon complaint, shall find that the rates, rentals, charges or classifications, or any of them, demanded, observed, charged or collected by any public utility for any service or pr…

61-502A. Restriction on rates authorizing return on property not providing utility service. Except upon its explicit finding that the public interest will be served thereby, the commission is hereby prohibited in any order issued after the effective date of this act, from setting…

61-502B. Allocation of gain upon sale of water right. The gain upon sale of a public utility’s water right used for the generation of electricity shall accrue to the benefit of the ratepayers.

61-503. Power to investigate and fix rates and regulations. The commission shall have power, upon a hearing, had upon its own motion or upon complaint, to investigate a single rate, rental, charge, classification, rule, regulation, contract or practice, or any number thereof, or …

61-505. Joint hearings and investigations — Reciprocity — Contracts with regulatory agencies of neighboring states. (1) The commission shall have full power and authority to make joint investigations, hold joint hearings within or without the state of Idaho with any official, boa…

61-506. Interstate rates. The commission shall have the power to investigate all existing or proposed interstate rates, rentals, charges and classifications, and all rules and regulations and practices in relation thereto, for or in relation to property or the transmission of mes…

61-507. Determination of rules and regulations. The commission shall prescribe rules and regulations for the performance of any service or the furnishings of any commodity of the character furnished or supplied by any public utility, and, on proper demand and tender of rates, suc…

61-508. Improvements may be ordered — Cost. Whenever the commission, after a hearing had upon its own motion or upon complaint, shall find that additions, extensions, repairs or improvements to or changes in the existing plant, scales, equipment, apparatus, facilities or other ph…

61-509. Regulation of train and street car service. Whenever the commission, after a hearing had upon its own motion or upon complaint, shall find that any railroad corporation or street railroad corporation does not run a sufficient number of trains or cars, or possess or operat…

61-510. Railroad service — Physical connections. Whenever the commission, after a hearing had upon its own motion or upon complaint, shall find that the public convenience and necessity would be subserved by having connections made between the tracks of any two (2) or more railro…

61-511. Railroad service — Spurs and switch connections. Whenever the commission, after a hearing had upon its own motion or upon complaint, shall find that application has been made by any corporation or person to a railroad corporation for a connection or spur as provided in se…

61-512. Railroad service — Cars of connecting railroad. The commission shall likewise have the power to require any railroad corporation to switch to private spurs and industrial tracks upon its own railroad the cars of a connecting railroad corporation and to prescribe reasonabl…

61-513. Telephone companies — Physical connections. Whenever the commission, after a hearing had upon its own motion or upon complaint, shall find that a physical connection can reasonably be made between the lines of two (2) or more telephone corporations whose lines can be made…

61-514. Joint use of plant and equipment. Whenever the commission, after a hearing had upon its own motion or upon complaint of a public utility affected, shall find that public convenience and necessity require the use by one (1) public utility of the conduits, subways, tracks, …

61-515. Safety regulations. The commission shall have the power, after a hearing had upon its own motion or upon complaint, by general or special orders, or regulations, or otherwise, to require every public utility to maintain and operate its line, plant, system, equipment, appa…

61-515A. Safety and sanitary equipment and conditions. Every person operating a common carrier railroad in this state shall equip each locomotive and caboose used in train or a yard switching service and every car used in passenger service with a first aid kit of a type approved …

61-516. priority designation for electric transmission projects. (1) The legislature finds that the timely review and permitting of electric transmission facilities is critical to the well-being of the citizens and the economy of this state and the region. The legislature further…

61-517. Accidents — Investigation — Order or recommendation of commission — Report by utility. The commission shall investigate the cause of all accidents occurring within this state upon the property of any public utility or directly or indirectly arising from or connected with …

61-518. Railroad service — Furnishing cars. Every railroad company shall, upon reasonable notice, furnish to all persons or corporations who may apply therefor and offer property for transportation, sufficient and suitable cars for the transportation of such property in carload l…

61-519. Express service — Delivery of telephone messages. The commission shall also have power to provide the time within which express packages shall be received, gathered, transported and delivered at destination and the limits within which express packages shall be gathered an…

61-520. Service of electric, gas, and water corporations — Determination of standards. The commission shall have power, after hearing had upon its own motion or upon complaint, to ascertain and fix just and reasonable standards, classifications, regulations, practices, measuremen…

61-521. Authority to enter premises. The commissioners and their officers and employees shall have power to enter upon any premises occupied by any public utility, for the purpose of making the examinations and tests and exercising any of the other powers provided for in this act…

61-522. Consumer may have commodity or appliance tested. Any consumer or user of any product, commodity or service of a public utility may have any appliance used in the measurement thereof tested upon paying the fees fixed by the commission. The commission shall establish and fi…

61-523. Valuation. The commission shall have power to ascertain the value of the property of every public utility in this state and every fact which, in its judgment, may or does have any bearing on such value. The commission shall have power to make revaluations from time to tim…

61-524. System of accounts. The commission shall have power to establish a system of accounts to be kept by the public utilities subject to its jurisdiction, or to classify said public utilities and to establish a system of accounts for each class and to prescribe the manner in w…

61-525. Depreciation account. The commission shall have power, after hearing, to require any or all public utilities, except such as are subject to the act of congress entitled "An act to regulate commerce," approved February 4, 1887, and the acts amendatory thereof and supplemen…

61-526. Certificate of convenience and necessity. No street railroad corporation, gas corporation, electrical corporation, telephone corporation or water corporation, shall henceforth begin the construction of a street railroad, or of a line, plant, or system or of any extension …

61-527. Certificate of convenience and necessity — Exercise of right or franchise. No public utility of a class specified in the foregoing section shall henceforth exercise any right or privilege, or obtain a franchise, or permit, to exercise such right or privilege, from a munic…

61-528. Certificate of convenience and necessity — Conditions. Before any certificate of convenience and necessity may issue a certified copy of its articles of incorporation, or charter, if the applicant be a corporation, shall be filed in the office of the commission. The commi…

61-529. Certificate of convenience and necessity — Electricity exclusively for mines excepted. No certificate of convenience and necessity shall be required under any provision of this act where the electricity is to be used exclusively in operations incident to the working of me…

61-531. Plan for curtailment of electric or gas consumption. The Idaho public utilities commission shall forthwith direct and require all suppliers of electric power and energy, or natural or manufactured gas, including those otherwise excepted under section 61-104, Idaho Code, e…

61-532. Adoption or rejection of plans — Procedure. The commission, after notice and hearing pursuant to its rules of practice and procedure, shall consider and act upon the plan or plans submitted and may adopt or reject such plan or plans, or adopt other plan or plans, for such…

61-533. Authority to declare emergency. The commission shall have authority to declare an emergency, with or without notice, upon finding that an inadequacy or insufficiency of electric power and energy, or natural or manufactured gas threatens the health, safety and welfare of t…

61-534. Curtailment of service by suppliers in accordance with plans. Upon declaration that such an emergency exists, the commission shall have authority to require all suppliers of electric power and energy, or natural or manufactured gas, except agencies of the federal governme…

61-535. Order for curtailment of consumption by consumers. The commission, in addition to the powers herein granted, upon the declaration of an emergency, may order the curtailment of electric power and gas consumption by consumers as the commission finds reasonable and necessary…

61-536. Liability of suppliers. No supplier of electric power or gas shall be liable for (a) actions taken pursuant to an order of the commission, or by reason of curtailment of such electric or gas service pursuant to such order or its curtailment plan on file with and approved …

61-537. Contracts of suppliers subject to provisions of law. All contracts of suppliers shall be subject to actions taken and the immunities provided hereunder.

61-538. POLE ATTACHMENTS — REGULATION. (1) As used in this section: (a) "Broadband" has the same meaning as that term is defined in section 40-517, Idaho Code. (b) "Cable services company" means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association, or joint-stock …

61-539. Water rights of an electrical corporation — No commission jurisdiction. The commission shall have no power or jurisdiction to make any determination, decision, rule, demand, requirement, or issue any order or decree involving or related to the failure or refusal of an ele…

61-540. Authorizing negotiation and execution of contracts by the state of Idaho with electrical corporations regarding certain water rights identified in section 61-539, Idaho Code. The governor of the state of Idaho or his designee is hereby empowered to negotiate and the gover…

61-541. Binding ratemaking treatments applicable when costs of a new electric generation facility are included in rates. (1) As used in this section, "certificate" means a certificate of convenience and necessity issued under section 61-526, Idaho Code. (2) A public utility that …