Title 49 — PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS

There is a rebuttable presumption that a tenant or occupant of any premises where bypassing, tampering or unauthorized metering is proven to exist, caused or had knowledge of such bypassing, tampering or unauthorized metering, if the tenants or occupant had controlled access to t…

It is the purpose of this section and §§ 49-34-18 to 49-34-20 , inclusive, to provide additional remedies to avoid the wrongful use of the facilities of utilities; and nothing in this section and §§ 49-34-18 to 49-34-20 , inclusive, abridges or alters those rights of action or re…

The board of county commissioners, the governing body of any municipal corporation, the board of trustees or directors of any religious, fraternal, or benevolent society, association, or corporation shall have power and authority to enter into a contract with a central heating co…

Any corporation organized under chapter 49-33 may acquire by purchase, grant, or condemnation and hold and use such real and other property as may be necessary for the construction and operation of its business, including powerhouses, carbarns, stations, machine and repair shops,…

Nothing contained in this chapter or chapter 49-33 shall be construed to authorize the condemnation of any part of any public park or boulevard in any municipality. Source: SDC 1939, § 52.1511; SL 1992, ch 60 , § 2.

Any corporation organized under chapter 49-33 may extend its railroad, electric light or power line from any point named in its charter or articles of incorporation and may build branch lines either from any point on its line or from any point on the line of any other company con…

Every corporation organized under chapter 49-33 may build, maintain, and operate branch or spur tracks, electric light or power lines from its main line or any branch thereof to and upon the grounds of any mill, elevator, storehouse, warehouse, or manufacturing establishment with…

Any street railway, gas, electric light, or power company incorporated or existing under the laws of the United States, or any state or territory of the United States, may construct, extend, maintain, and operate its tracks, power powerhouses, or lines, or any portion or branch t…

Any corporation organized under the provisions of chapter 49-33 may, from time to time, borrow such sums of money at such rates of interest and upon such terms as the corporation or board of directors shall agree and authorize, and shall have power to execute trust deeds or mortg…

Pursuant to rules promulgated under chapter 1-26 by the Public Utilities Commission, every public utility shall file with the commission, within such time and in such form as the commission may designate, tariffs and schedules showing the terms and conditions of service and all r…

Upon receiving filing under § 49-34A-99 for a rate adjustment pursuant to the tariff established in § 49-34A-98 , the commission may approve, reject, or modify the annual rate adjustment after notice and opportunity for hearing. In making its decision, the commission shall consid…

There is hereby established a state renewable, recycled, and conserved energy objective that ten percent of all electricity sold at retail within the state by the year 2015 be obtained from renewable, recycled, and conserved energy sources. In the case of renewable and recycled e…

Electricity qualifies for meeting the state renewable, recycled, and conserved energy objective if the source meets the requirements of §§ 49-34A-94 to 49-34A-96 , inclusive, and the commission's rules for tracking, recording, and verifying renewable energy certificates. Electric…

For the purpose of calculating the amount of electricity from a renewable, recycled, and conserved energy source needed to meet the state renewable and recycled energy objective, a retail provider may deduct from the provider's baseline of total retail sales the proportion of ele…

Before using new renewable, recycled, and conserved energy after July 1, 2008, to meet the objective, the retail provider or the provider's generation supplier shall make an evaluation to determine if the use of new renewable, recycled, and conserved energy is reasonable and cost…

Beginning on July 1, 2009, each retail provider shall annually report to the commission on the provider's energy sales during the twelve month period ending on the preceding December thirty-first. This report shall include information regarding qualifying electricity delivered an…

A portion or all of the renewable energy and recycled energy objective may be met by the purchase and retirement of renewable energy and recycled energy certificates representing credits from a qualified source and facility pursuant to §§ 49-34A-101 to 49-34A-106 , inclusive. Ren…

Unless the commission otherwise orders: (1) A public utility shall hold all owned or operated public utility assets in one or more legal entities separate and segregated from the legal entities of any nonutility subsidiaries or affiliates; (2) All secured debt of a public utility…

Each electric utility shall file with the commission the electric utility's minimum rates for purchases of electricity generated from renewable resources, as defined by § 49-34A-94 , and produced by a small renewable power facility that has a capacity of one hundred kilowatts or …

Terms used in §§ 49-7A-15 , 43-13-25 , and 49-34A-109 to 49-34A-111 , inclusive, mean: (1) "Farm tap," a natural gas piping connection to an interstate or intrastate transmission pipeline, that is made available to a farm tap customer; (2) "Farm tap customer," a person who receiv…

The burden of proof to show that any rate filed is just and reasonable shall be upon the public utility filing same. Source: SL 1975, ch 283 , § 10.

The farm tap customer is responsible for the safety and reliability of the farm tap distribution system, unless the farm tap customer has contracted with or transferred ownership of his farm tap distribution system to a farm tap service provider pursuant to a written agreement wh…

The farm tap service provider is not liable for damages related to or arising out of a farm tap or a farm tap distribution system, unless the damages are solely caused by the negligence of the farm tap service provider. Source: SL 2017, ch 197 , § 4.

Source: SL 2019, ch 19 , § 1, eff. Jul. 1, 2020.

Source: SL 2019, ch 19 , § 2, eff. Jul. 1, 2020.

Source: SL 2019, ch 19 , § 3, eff. Jul. 1, 2020.

Source: SL 2019, ch 19 , § 4, eff. Jul. 1, 2020.

A person that owns or operates an electric vehicle charging station to resell or provide electricity to the public exclusively for electric vehicle charging is not an electric utility if the person has purchased the electricity from an electric utility that is engaging in the ret…

Unless the Public Utilities Commission otherwise orders, no public utility shall change any rate which has been duly established under this chapter, except after thirty days' notice to the commission, which notice shall include statements of facts, expert opinions, substantiating…

Whenever there is filed with the Public Utilities Commission any schedule modifying or resulting in a change in any rates then in force, together with the filed statements of facts, expert opinions, substantiating documents, and exhibits, supporting the changes requested, the com…

Any person may appear before the commission and present comments regarding the proceeding or submit written comments to the commission. The person shall fully and fairly make a full disclosure of identity, the interest of the person in the proceeding, and the position to be taken…

Pending a hearing pursuant to § 49-34A-13 and the decision thereon, the commission may, by order, suspend the operation of the proposed rate or practice. The suspension may not last longer than one hundred eighty days after the proposed rate or practice was filed. Source: SL 1975…

49-34A-16 Delay in effectuation of suspended rate schedule pending disposition of previously filed changes--Time--Violation as petty offense--Separate offenses. 49-34A-17 Implementation of proposed practice, proposed rate, or lower rate--Rate design--Accounts of customer payments…

No public utility may put a suspended rate schedule into effect until at least forty - five days after the Public Utilities Commission has made a determination concerning any previously filed change of the rate schedule. An intentional violation of this section is a petty offense…

The public utility may implement the proposed practice, the proposed rate, or a rate lower than the proposed rate if: (1) The proposed rate or practice has not been suspended or is no longer subject to suspension; (2) The commission has not issued a final decision; and (3) Thirty…

49-34A-19 Costs and revenue considered in determining rates--Acquisition cost of property as alternative--Projected income and expenses. 49-34A-19.1 Separate accounts required for nonutility business--Profits and losses considered by commission. 49-34A-19.2 Disallowance for rate …

In determining the rate base upon which the utility is to be allowed to earn a fair rate of return, the Public Utilities Commission shall use the depreciated original cost of the property. However, the commission may alternatively use the full acquisition cost of any property acq…

Each public utility engaged directly or indirectly in any other business than that of the production, transmission or furnishing of gas or electricity to the public shall, if required by the commission, keep and render separately to the commission the accounts of all such other b…

The Public Utilities Commission, in determining the allowance for materials or services to be included in costs of operations for rate - making purposes, may disallow any unreasonable profit made in the sale of materials to or service supplied for any public utility by any firm o…

Every public utility shall furnish adequate, efficient, and reasonable service. Source: SL 1970, ch 261 , § 32; SDCL Supp, § 49-41-9.1; SL 1975, ch 283 , § 2.

No public utility may, except in cases of emergency, fail to provide, discontinue, reduce or impair service to a community, or a part of a community, except for nonpayment of account or violation of rules and regulations, unless permission has been first obtained from the Public …

No public utility shall be required to generally increase its rates as to customers of an entire class for the purpose of preventing competition between two public utilities. Source: SL 1975, ch 283 , § 5.

If, after the hearing, the Public Utilities Commission fails to find the rates to be just and reasonable or if the commission finds the rate to be discriminatory, the commission shall determine the level of rates to be charged or applied by the utility for the service in question…

If, after a suspended schedule has been put into effect pursuant to § 49-34A-17 , the rates are finally determined to be excessive, the commission may, as an alternative to ordering an immediate refund, reduce future rates that would otherwise be charged to offset such excessive …

If, after a suspended schedule has been put into effect pursuant to § 49-34A-17 , the rates are finally determined to be excessive but the public utility fails to make refunds within the period of time prescribed by the Public Utilities Commission, the commission shall sue theref…

If any municipal corporation imposes a sales tax or non ad valorem tax on revenues collected or earnings by any public utility, such public utility shall add the tax collected on to the respective bills to be paid by the various persons purchasing electricity or natural, manufact…

The commission shall permit a public utility to file rate schedules containing provisions for the automatic adjustment of charges for public utility service in direct relation to changes in wholesale rates for energy delivered, the delivered costs of fuel used in generation of el…

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the commission may approve a tariff mechanism for the automatic annual adjustment of charges for the jurisdictional costs of new or modified transmission facilities with a design capacity of thirty-four and one-half kilovolts o…

Upon filing of an application consistent with rules promulgated by the commission by any public utility providing transmission service, the commission may approve, reject, or modify, after notice, hearing, and comment, a tariff that: (1) Allows the public utility to recover on a …

A public utility may file annual rate adjustments to be applied to customer bills paid under the tariff approved pursuant to §