Title 66, PUBLIC UTILITIES

(a) Appointment and terms of members.--The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, established by the act of March 31, 1937 (P.L.160, No.43), as an independent administrative commission, is hereby continued as such. Prior to the third Tuesday in January of 1987, the commission sh…

The Governor, by and with the consent of two-thirds of all of the members of the Senate, shall remove from office any commissioner who violates the provision of section 301(b) (relating to establishment, members, qualifications and chairman) requiring commissioners to devote full…

The commission shall adopt and use an official seal, by which the commission shall authenticate its proceedings, and of which seal the courts shall take judicial notice. A copy of any paper or document on file with the commission authenticated by any such seal shall be evidence e…

(a) General rule.--The office of administrative law judge to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is hereby created. The commission shall have the power to appoint as many qualified and competent administrative law judges as may be necessary for proceedings pursuant to this…

(a) Director of operations.--The commission may appoint a director of operations who shall serve at the pleasure of the commission and shall be responsible for the day-to-day administration and operation of the bureaus and offices of the commission, except that the director of op…

2008 Repeal. Section 306 was repealed October 15, 2008, P.L.1592, No.129, effective in 30 days.

The commission may employ such inspectors, as it may deem necessary, for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this part. Such inspectors are hereby declared to be police officers, and are hereby given police power and authority throughout this Commonwealth to arrest on view…

(a) Enumeration.--There shall be established within the commission the following bureaus and functions: (1) Law Bureau. (2) (Deleted by amendment). (3) Bureau of Consumer Services. (4) (Deleted by amendment). (b) Law Bureau.--The Law Bureau shall be a multifunction legal staff, c…

(a) Informal complaints.--The commission shall promulgate regulations by which a consumer may make informal complaints. A party may appeal a determination regarding the informal complaint and seek review by an administrative law judge or special agent subject to the procedures in…

(a) Establishment of other bureaus, offices and positions.--In addition to the specific bureaus established in this part, the commission may establish other bureaus, offices and positions to perform the following functions: (1) Review and provide advice regarding applications, pe…

The commission, or its representative, shall have the power, in any part of this Commonwealth, to subpoena witnesses, to administer oaths, to examine witnesses, or to take such testimony, or compel the production of such books, records, papers, and documents as it may deem necess…

The commission, or any commissioner, or any party to proceedings before the commission, may cause the deposition of witnesses residing within or without this Commonwealth to be taken in the manner prescribed by the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure for taking depositions in c…

Witnesses who are summoned before the commission shall be paid the same fees and mileage as are paid to witnesses in the courts of common pleas. Witnesses whose depositions are taken pursuant to the provisions of this part, and the officer taking the same, shall be entitled to th…

No person shall be excused from testifying or from producing any book, document, paper, or account in any investigation or inquiry by, or hearing before, the commission or its representative, when ordered to do so, upon the ground that the testimony or evidence, book, document, p…

(a) Joint hearings and investigations.--The commission shall have full power and authority to make joint investigations, hold joint hearings within or without this Commonwealth, and issue joint or concurrent orders in conjunction or concurrence with any official, board, commissio…

The commission may investigate the interstate rates, traffic facilities, or service of any public utility within this Commonwealth, and when such rates, facilities or service are, in the determination of the commission, unjust, unreasonable, discriminatory or in violation of any …

(a) Reasonableness of rates.--In any proceeding upon the motion of the commission, involving any proposed or existing rate of any public utility, or in any proceedings upon complaint involving any proposed increase in rates, the burden of proof to show that the rate involved is j…

Whenever the commission shall make any rule, regulation, finding, determination or order, the same shall be prima facie evidence of the facts found and shall remain conclusive upon all parties affected thereby, unless set aside, annulled or modified on judicial review. The issuin…

(a) General rule.--The commission shall by rule establish on a reasonable cost basis the fees to be charged and collected for the following services: (1) Copies of paper, testimony and records. (2) Certifying a copy of any paper, testimony or record. (3) (Repealed). (4) Filing of…

(a) Vehicle registration plates.--The Department of Transportation and the commission are hereby authorized and directed to cooperate in the issuance by the Department of Transportation, under the provisions of Title 75 (relating to vehicles), of registration plates for commercia…

(a) General rule.--Each commissioner and each administrative law judge shall conform to the following code of ethics for the Public Utility Commission. A commissioner and an administrative law judge must: (1) Avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities. …

The following sums, or as much thereof as may be necessary, are hereby specifically appropriated from the restricted revenue account within the General Fund to the Public Utility Commission to provide for the operation of the commission for the fiscal period July 1, 1982 to June …

The commission shall annually transmit, to the Governor and the General Assembly and shall make available to the public, a report on the conduct of the commission. The report shall include, but shall not be limited to, a summary of all rate proceedings completed within the report…

(a) General rule.--The commission may, on its own motion and whenever it may be necessary in the performance of its duties, investigate and examine the condition and management of any public utility or any other person or corporation subject to this part. In conducting the invest…

(a) Burden of proof.--Except as may be otherwise provided in section 315 (relating to burden of proof) or other provisions of this part or other relevant statute, the proponent of a rule or order has the burden of proof. (b) Admissibility of evidence.--Any oral or documentary evi…

(a) Conferences.--The presiding officer shall have the authority to hold one or more prehearing conferences during the course of the proceeding on his own motion or at the request of a party to the proceeding. The presiding officer shall normally hold at least one prehearing conf…

(a) Presiding officers to decide.--The same presiding officer shall to the fullest extent possible preside at all the reception of evidence in a particular case to which he has been assigned. The same presiding officer who presides at the reception of evidence shall make the reco…

(a) Procedures.--When the commission does not preside at the reception of evidence, the presiding officer shall initially decide the case, unless the commission requires, either in specific cases or by general rule, the entire record to be certified to it for decision. When the p…

(a) Enforcement of provisions of part.--In addition to any powers expressly enumerated in this part, the commission shall have full power and authority, and it shall be its duty to enforce, execute and carry out, by its regulations, orders, or otherwise, all and singular, the pro…

Whenever the commission shall be of opinion that any person or corporation, including a municipal corporation, is violating, or is about to violate, any provisions of this part; or has done, or is about to do, any act, matter, or thing herein prohibited or declared to be unlawful…

The Chief Counsel, in addition to the exercise of the powers and duties now conferred upon him by law, shall also, upon request of the commission proceed in the name of the Commonwealth, by mandamus, injunction, or quo warranto, or other appropriate remedy at law or, in equity, t…

The commission may require any public utility to file periodical reports, at such times, and in such form, and of such content, as the commission may prescribe, and special reports concerning any matter whatsoever about which the commission is authorized to inquire, or to keep it…

Every public utility shall furnish to the commission, from time to time, and as the commission may require, all accounts, inventories, appraisals, valuations, maps, profiles, reports of engineers, books, papers, records, and other documents or memoranda, or copies of any and all …

The commission shall have full power and authority, either by or through its members, or duly authorized representatives, whenever it shall deem it necessary or proper in carrying out any of the provisions of, or its duties under this part, to enter upon the premises, buildings, …

Except for a contract between a public utility and a municipal corporation to furnish service at the regularly filed and published tariff rates, no contract or agreement between any public utility and any municipal corporation shall be valid unless filed with the commission at le…

The commission shall have power and authority to vary, reform, or revise, upon a fair, reasonable, and equitable basis, any obligations, terms, or conditions of any contract heretofore or hereafter entered into between any public utility and any person, corporation, or municipal …

It is unlawful for any public utility engaged in the manufacture, sale, or lease of any appliance or equipment offered by such public utility for sale to the public to: (1) Discontinue service to any consumer for failure of such consumer to pay the whole, or any installment, of t…

(a) Determination of assessment.--Before November 1 of each year, the commission shall estimate its total expenditures in the administration of this part for the fiscal year beginning July of the following year, which estimate shall not exceed three-tenths of 1% of the total gros…

(a) Payment into General Fund.--All assessments and fees received, collected or recovered under this chapter shall be paid by the commission into the General Fund of the State Treasury through the Department of Revenue. (b) Use and appropriation of funds.--All such assessments an…

(a) General rule.--The commission is authorized to apply for and, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly, use Federal funds pursuant to the National Energy Act which is composed of: (1) The "National Energy Conservation Policy Act," Public Law 95-619. (2) The "Powerplan…

The commission may, as to motor carriers, prescribe, by regulation or order, such requirements as it may deem necessary for the protection of persons or property of their patrons and the public, including the filing of surety bonds, the carrying of insurance, or the qualification…

(a) Authorization.--The commission is empowered to confiscate a vehicle and impound and sell a vehicle if the vehicle is used to provide a prearranged ride following disqualification under section 2609(b) (relating to fines and penalties) or suspension or revocation of a transpor…

Whenever the commission deems that the public interest so requires, it may direct, by regulation or order, that any public utility shall award contracts or agreements for the construction, improvement, or extension, of its plant or system to the lowest responsible bidder, after a…

(a) Upgrading capability to use coal.--The commission shall promulgate regulations which require utilities to uprate their electric power production by increasing the capability to use coal in existing coal-fueled plants where economically feasible and where the uprate is benefic…

(a) Submission of estimate.--No later than 30 days after construction of an electric generating unit is begun, either in this Commonwealth or in some other state, any public utility operating in this Commonwealth and owning any share in that unit shall submit to the commission an…

(a) General rule.--The commission shall provide for audits of any electric, gas, telephone or water utility whose plant in service is valued at not less than $10,000,000. The audits shall include an examination of management effectiveness and operating efficiency. The commission …