Chapter 24, Chapter 24

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that: (1) Presently, West Virginia’s available industrial sites lack competitiveness with industrial sites in surrounding states due in part to the lack of presently constructed, adequate utility infrastructure serving sites having industria…

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that: (1) West Virginia is rich in energy resources, which provide many advantages to the state, its economy and its citizens; (2) West Virginia’s abundant mineral reserves have created, and will continue to create, many benefits to the stat…

(a) Legislative findings. The Legislature finds: (1) That access to broadband services is of critical importance to and a necessary prerequisite for enabling economic development in the state and for improving education, health care, public safety and government services, among o…

Recognizing that coal inventories at coal-fired power plants may increase and decrease over time, in order to ensure grid resiliency and homeland security, each generating public utility shall plan incoming and outgoing coal so as to maintain an average annual minimum 30-day aggr…

The Legislature finds that it is in the public interest of the citizens of West Virginia for public water utilities to follow the National Fire Protection Association's Recommended Practice for Fire Flow Testing and Marking of Hydrants (Standard 291) and the American Water Works …

(a) There is hereby established a task force to study hydrogen-fueled energy in West Virginia's economy and energy infrastructure. Such study shall include, without limitation: (1) A review of regulations and legislation needed to guide the development and achievement of economie…

(a) The commission may investigate all rates, methods, and practices of public utilities subject to the provisions of this chapter; to require them to conform to the laws of this state and to all rules, regulations and orders of the commission not contrary to law; and to require …

In order to provide the special reduced rates mandated or authorized by sections one and five of this article and still maintain the integrity of the earnings of the utilities offering service under these rates, the commission shall each year, determine, upon application by any a…

During the period of temporary suspension of rates generally, as provided herein, the commission may upon petition by a utility allow an emergency rate to take effect, subject to future modification by the commission and subject to refund to the customers of such utility, if it i…

(a) For purposes of this article, "alternative fuel" shall mean natural gas, methanol, propane, and electricity, and "alternative fuel vehicles" shall mean motor vehicles whose primary source of fuel is natural gas, methanol, propane, or electricity. (b) Upon a finding that it is…

(a) Limitation on termination fees. -- On and after the effective date of this section, no telephone public utility may, in connection with its continued provision of landline telephone service pursuant to an automatic renewal provision contained in a customer service agreement w…

(a) Each public water utility, public service district or municipal water system, as set forth in section one of this article, shall provide testing for contamination of its water supply by the following contaminants: (1) Salts or ions; (2) Metals, including heavy metals; (3) Pol…

(a) The provision of safe drinking water and the collection and treatment of wastewater has resulted in a drastic reduction in the incidence of disease, increase in life expectancy, and other major public health advancements. (b) Development of water and wastewater infrastructure…

For purposes of this article, the following terms apply: (a) "Eligible telecommunications carrier" means a common carrier that offers telephone services that are supported by federal universal service support mechanism, advertises the availability of such services and the charges…

(a) The Legislature hereby finds that: (1) Consumers of natural gas with an annual gas usage of at least 100 million cubic feet are sophisticated users of natural gas capable of choosing their source of natural gas supply; (2) The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved…

(a) The Legislature hereby finds that: (1) Coal-fired power plants owned by public electric utilities in West Virginia provide electric utility customers in the state with reliable and affordable energy; (2) West Virginia’s access to coal reserves has provided the citizens of the…

(a) A public electric utility may not retire, abandon, close, or otherwise permanently render incapable of operating, any electric generating plant or unit without the prior consent and approval of the commission. No funds obtained from (1) the Grid Stabilization and Security Fun…

(a) Each utility shall have an outage communication plan in place to notify customers of any planned and any unexpected disruption of utility services. Such outage communication plan shall, at a minimum, include a methodology for advance notification to all affected customers for…

(a) A telephone public utility may not prohibit, either by contract or service tariff, a customer who has provided conduit or other underground construction provided at the customer’s expense from using the conduit or other underground construction for purposes other than service…

(a) A “distressed utility” is a water or wastewater utility that, for financial, operational, or managerial reasons: (1) (A) Is in continual violation of statutory or regulatory standards of the Bureau for Public Health, the Department of Environmental Protection, or the commissi…

(a) The commission may enforce, originate, establish, change, and promulgate tariffs, rates, joint rates, tolls, and schedules for all public utilities except for municipal power systems and water and/or sewer utilities that are political subdivisions of this state providing a se…

(a) Any municipality which presently or hereafter imposes a business and occupation or privilege tax under section five, article thirteen of chapter eight or a public utilities excise tax under section five-a, article thirteen of chapter eight shall be restricted, in the case of …

(a) The monthly rate for tel-assistance service shall be set initially by the commission at the lower of: (1) The lowest priced service available to the consumer at the time of his or her application; or (2) $7.50. All usage exceeding $2 in value shall be charged for at the other…

(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the Public Service Commission shall have no jurisdiction over the ultimate sale by nonutilities of alternative fuel to be utilized solely as fuel for motor vehicles. (b) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapt…

All public utilities subject to the provisions of section four or four-a of this article, intending to institute a general rate case, shall give the commission not less than thirty days' notice before proceeding under the provision of those sections unless the commission modifies…

The Legislature finds that in anticipation of the operative date of the provisions of section four-a of this article, certain regulated utilities have presented to the Public Service Commission a large number of proceedings pursuant to section four of this article. In the public …

(a) Upon the application of any telephone utility, the commission shall, unless it finds that the continued availability of adequate, economical and reliable local exchange telephone service will be adversely affected thereby, permanently cease its regulation of the rates charged…

As used in this article, the term: (a) "Billing cycle" shall mean a period of time during the course of which a utility either bills for or measures, by meter- reading or any other means, the usage of its utility services by all of its customers a single time. A utility may elect…

Annually, at least by November 1, the commission shall prepare a list of water and wastewater utilities that appear to be financially unstable by reviewing annual reports, rate case filings and other financial data available to it. Commission staff shall contact each utility plac…

(a) All eligible telecommunications carriers shall make tel-assistance services available to qualified low-income consumers pursuant to tariffs or agreements filed with and approved by the Public Service Commission. (b) Insofar as permitted under federal law, eligible telecommuni…

No public utility subject to this chapter, except those utilities subject to the provisions of section four-b of this article, shall change, suspend or annul any rate, joint rate, charge, rental or classification except after thirty days' notice to the commission and the public, …

(a) After June 30, 1981, no public utility subject to this chapter, except for those entities subject to the provisions of §24A-5-2a of this code and water and/or sewer utilities that are political subdivisions of the state providing separate or combined services and having at le…

(a) The rates and charges of electric cooperatives, natural gas cooperatives and municipal water and/or sewer utilities that are political subdivisions of the state having less than 4,500 customers or annual combined gross revenues of less than $3 million, except for municipally …

(a) Before granting any rate increase to a natural gas public utility the commission must determine that dependable lower-priced supplies of natural gas are not readily available to the applicant from other sources. (b) At any hearing involving a rate increase for a natural gas p…

Inasmuch as the commission retains authority over intrastate rail rates and complaints pursuant to 49 United States Code §11501 and other federal law, and inasmuch as the commission's procedures are subject to periodic review and certification by the interstate commerce commissio…

(a) Legislative findings. -- The Legislature hereby finds and declares: (i) That electric utilities in the state face the need to install and construct emission control equipment at existing generating facilities in the state in order to meet the requirements of existing and anti…

(a) Legislative findings. - The Legislature hereby finds and declares as follows: (1) That some electric utilities in the state have experienced expanded net energy costs of a magnitude problematic to recover from their customers through the commission's traditional cost recovery…

(a) The Legislature finds that: (1) Many West Virginia publicly owned municipal, public service district-owned, and investor-owned water and wastewater utilities face substantial capital investment needs to replace aging utility infrastructure and to maintain compliance with regu…

(a) Legislative findings. — The Legislature hereby finds and declares as follows: (1) That alternative financing mechanisms, as authorized in §24-2-4e and §22-2-4f of this code have heretofore been narrow exceptions to the general rate-making mechanisms available to the commissio…

(a) The commission may authorize a privately owned water, sewer or combined water and sewer utility to voluntarily implement a rate design featuring reduced rates and charges for service for residential utility customers receiving: (1) Social Security Supplemental Security Income…

(a) In order to provide the special reduced rate mandated by section one of this article and still maintain the integrity of the earnings of the eligible telecommunications carriers offering tel-assistance service, the commission shall determine, upon application by any affected …

(a) In determining whether a utility is distressed or failing, the commission shall consider the following factors: (1) The financial, managerial, and technical ability of the utility; (2) The level of expenditures necessary to make improvements to the water or wastewater utility…

The commission shall have general supervision of all public utilities having authority under any charter or franchise of any city, town or municipality, county court, or tribunal in lieu thereof, or otherwise, to lay down and maintain wires, pipes, conduits, ducts or other fixtur…

(a) A proceeding under this article may be initiated by the commission on its own motion, or by the staff of the commission, or any other person or entity having a legal interest in the financial, managerial, or operational condition of the utility, by filing a petition with the …

Whenever, after hearing, upon notice, the Public Service Commission shall determine that public convenience or necessity requires that conduits, subways, poles or other equipment on, over or under any street or highway belonging to or used by any public utility should be used in …

(a) Following the evidentiary hearing, the commission shall enter a final order stating whether the utility is a distressed or failing utility and identifying the capable proximate utilities, if any, as defined in §24-2H-3 of this code. If the commission determines that a utility…

(a) Whenever, under the provisions of this chapter, the commission shall find any regulations, measurements, practices, acts or service to be unjust, unreasonable, insufficient or unjustly discriminatory, or otherwise in violation of any provisions of this chapter, or shall find …

(a) "Net metering" means measuring the difference between electricity supplied by an electric utility and electricity generated from a facility owned or leased and operated by a customer generator when any portion of the electricity generated from the facility is used to offset p…

(a) The commission may establish a system of accounts to be kept by public utilities or classify public utilities and establish a system of accounts for each class, and prescribe the manner in which such accounts shall be kept. It may also in its discretion prescribe the forms of…

(a) After an order has been entered pursuant to §24-2H-7 of this code, the distressed utility and another acquiring public utility shall file a petition with the commission under §24-2-12 of this code to approve the necessary operating agreement if such alternative is directed by…