Title 65, Public Utilities and Carriers

(a) Except as provided by subsection (b), each person responsible for any excavation or demolition operation described in § 65-31-104 that results in any damage to an underground utility shall, immediately upon discovery of the damage, submit a damage notice to the one-call servi…

(a) A person who violates this chapter, or the rules promulgated under this chapter, is subject to a civil penalty as follows:(1) The violator shall pay a civil penalty in an amount set by the executive committee, not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per incident. In addi…

If any provisions of this chapter or the applicability thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the chapter and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

(a) There is created within the Tennessee public utility commission, created by § 65-1-101, an underground utility damage enforcement board for the purpose of enforcing this chapter. (b) The Tennessee public utility commission will provide administrative and investigative support…

(a) The board has the power and authority to:(1) Promulgate rules in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, for the conduct of the affairs of the board;(2) Adopt a seal for the board, prescribe the style of the seal, and alter t…

(a) Upon receipt of a complaint of a violation of this chapter, the executive committee shall initiate an investigation of the complaint by requesting that the Tennessee public utility commission designate an employee of the commission who will investigate the complaint at the ex…

(a) There is created an underground damage prevention fund within the Tennessee public utility commission. All civil penalties collected pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited into the underground damage prevention fund. Any moneys remaining in the underground damage prevent…

(a) Any person may submit a design locate request to the one-call service. The design locate request shall:(1) Describe the tract or parcel of land for which the design locate request has been submitted with sufficient particularity, as defined by policies developed by the one-ca…

The administrative and investigative support provided by the Tennessee public utility commission is provided to the board in an advisory capacity only, and nothing in this chapter shall expand the jurisdiction of the Tennessee public utility commission in any way.

Engaging in the activities described in the definition of “excavate” or “excavation” in § 65-31-102 does not remove or impose liability per se for damage to underground utilities.

This chapter shall be cited as the “Utilities' Cut-Off Procedures Act.”

This chapter shall only apply to those counties having a metropolitan form of government with a population of more than five hundred thousand (500,000), according to the 2000 federal census or any subsequent federal census.

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, “utility” means any utility which furnishes electricity, gas or water, or converts solid waste into heat, fuel or energy.

The utility governing body, in conjunction with the utility management team, shall establish a policy governing the discontinuation of service for nonpayment of service. The policy must be in compliance with service practice standards and best practices for similarly situated uti…

Each utility company or service, serving over fifteen thousand (15,000) residential customers, providing electricity, natural gas, or other fuel to consumers in this state shall provide a method by which its customers may pay fuel bills monthly on an average basis.

Participation in any payment-averaging program shall be optional, but shall be offered to each residential customer of a utility who has been a customer for at least twelve (12) months unless otherwise mutually agreed by the company and the customer.

A customer may be required to pay all delinquent bills before participating in a payment-averaging program.

A participating customer may withdraw from the payment-averaging program at any time by giving notice to the utility. When a customer leaves the program, the actual use by that customer up to that point shall be determined and, at the next billing date, the customer shall receive…

A customer failing to make an average payment in any month may be subject to removal from the program in which case the computations required in § 65-33-104 will be made and the customer will resume being billed for actual use each billing period.

If the cost of power or fuel supplies to a utility increases or decreases significantly at any time and appears likely to remain at this new level so that the adjustment in the twelfth month would exceed the averaged monthly payment, the utility may adjust the averaged monthly pa…

(1) The general assembly hereby finds that:(1) Duplication of electric system facilities leads to excessive consumer costs and adverse environmental and aesthetic impacts;(2) The public health, safety, and welfare require that electric service to a particular geographic area be p…

(1) As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Current geographic territory” means the parcels of land, as such parcels are defined or designated by the assessor of property of the county in which the parcels are located, to which a public electric system…

No non-consumer owned electric system may construct, acquire, or maintain facilities, lines, poles, or other equipment used or useful for the distribution or sale of electricity outside its current geographic territory, nor may any non-consumer owned electric system provide, by s…

(a) Any non-consumer owned electric system owning any lines, poles, facilities, or other equipment used or useful for the distribution or sale of electricity located outside the non-consumer owned electric system's current geographic territory on any property or right-of-way owne…

The Tennessee public utility commission has jurisdiction to hear and resolve any disputes concerning the boundaries of the current geographic territories of nonconsumer owned electric systems. The commission may promulgate and enforce appropriate rules not inconsistent with this …

Electric and community service cooperatives and municipal electric systems may in the exercise of their powers of eminent domain acquire facilities, equipment, and service areas of non-consumer owned electric systems, notwithstanding the fact that such facilities and equipment sh…

(a) Nothing in this chapter shall impair the right and power of municipalities to operate or authorize the operation of municipal electric systems or electric and community service cooperatives within their municipal boundaries consistent with § 6-51-112. (b) The provisions of § …

Two (2) or more public electric systems serving adjacent current geographic territories may enter into an agreement by which their current geographic territories are modified and by which equipment, facilities, and the right to serve specified parcels of land are transferred from…

(1) As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Owner” means the owner of any property, any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, joint tenant or tenant by the entirety of the whole or a part of any structure which is capable of receiving service by a…

(1) It is unlawful for a person to:(1) (A) Knowingly tap, cut, burn, break down, injure, destroy or otherwise interrupt or interfere with the current, lines, cables, poles, towers, fixtures or appliances utilized to furnish service to the general public by any telephone or telegr…

(a) Any property on which it is found to have telephone, electric, gas, sanitary sewer, or water utilities tampered with in violation of § 65-35-102, and capable of receiving telephone, electricity, gas, sanitary sewer, or water service as a result of the use of any method of div…

(a) Any person violating § 65-35-102 is liable civilly for damages resulting from such violation, including actual, compensatory, incidental and punitive damages. (b) The damages shall be three (3) times the utility's estimated loss of revenue, plus reasonable attorneys' fees and…

(a) A violation of § 65-35-102 is also a violation of § 39-14-104 and § 65-35-103 applies to any proceeding brought to impose the penalties for a violation of § 39-14-104. (b) In all criminal proceedings brought to impose penalties under § 39-14-104 for violation of this chapter,…

It is the intent of the general assembly that the civil remedies of this chapter and the criminal penalties imposed by any other act of the general assembly are mutually exclusive methods for the prosecution of the unlawful activities described in the respective statutes.

Nothing in this chapter confers upon the Tennessee public utility commission the jurisdiction to regulate any utility not expressly subject to regulation by other provision of state law.

The title of this chapter is, and may be cited as the “Electric Utility Comprehensive Equal Power and Authority Act of 1997.”

(1) As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Electric cooperative” means an electric cooperative or electric membership corporation, whether organized or operating under chapter 25 of this title or similar statutes of any other state, which, as of June …

The general assembly hereby finds and determines that participating in interlocal agreements by electric cooperatives and municipal utilities, as authorized by this chapter, provides a mutual benefit by reducing the expense of operations of municipal utilities and electric cooper…

Every municipal electric utility and every electric cooperative are hereby authorized to enter into and to fulfill the terms of interlocal cooperation agreements under the authority of title 12, chapter 9, whether or not the parties of such agreements share equal powers with resp…

Every municipal electric utility and every electric cooperative are hereby authorized to use surplus revenues in connection with the exercise of any power or authority they may exercise under any law; provided, that the exercise of that power or authority is not a violation of th…

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter or other law to the contrary, if the exercise of power or authority granted by this chapter involves any system, plant, or equipment for the provision of telephone, telegraph, telecommunications services or any other like syste…

In the exercise of their respective powers and authority, jointly and severally, under interlocal cooperation agreements entered into under the authority of this chapter and title 12, chapter 9, electric cooperatives and municipal utilities and any separate entity or body created…

(a) Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to be an implied repeal of the service area limitations established in § 6-51-112 or chapter 34 of this title. (b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to change the requirements of title 7, chapter 82, with respect to the merger …

(a) It is the policy of the general assembly to encourage and not prohibit or delay attractive discount pricing and special promotional offers for telecommunications services. (b) To implement the policy articulated in this section and to encourage low prices, notwithstanding any…

(a) Price differences among retail telecommunications customers shall be strictly prohibited, to the extent that such differences are attributable to race, creed, color, religion, sex or national origin. All other differences in pricing among retail telecommunications customers, …

(a) (1) The Tennessee public utility commission shall retain regulatory jurisdiction established in this title for specific, individual telecommunications services. Except as provided in this section, the commission shall not assert regulatory jurisdiction over the retail offerin…