2009 California Public Utilities Code - Section 701-715 :: Article 1. Generally

701.  The commission may supervise and regulate every public utility
in the State and may do all things, whether specifically designated
in this part or in addition thereto, which are necessary and
convenient in the exercise of such power and jurisdiction.

701.1.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that, in addition to
other ratepayer protection objectives, a principal goal of electric
and natural gas utilities' resource planning and investment shall be
to minimize the cost to society of the reliable energy services that
are provided by natural gas and electricity, and to improve the
environment and to encourage the diversity of energy sources through
improvements in energy efficiency and development of renewable energy
resources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy.
   (b) The Legislature further finds and declares that, in addition
to any appropriate investments in energy production, electrical and
natural gas utilities should seek to exploit all practicable and
cost-effective conservation and improvements in the efficiency of
energy use and distribution that offer equivalent or better system
reliability, and which are not being exploited by any other entity.
   (c) In calculating the cost effectiveness of energy resources,
including conservation and load management options, the commission
shall include, in addition to other ratepayer protection objectives,
a value for any costs and benefits to the environment, including air
quality. The commission shall ensure that any values it develops
pursuant to this section are consistent with values developed by the
State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission
pursuant to Section 25000.1 of the Public Resources Code. However, if
the commission determines that a value developed pursuant to this
subdivision is not consistent with a value developed by the State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 25000.1 of the Public Resources Code, the
commission may nonetheless use this value if, in the appropriate
record of its proceedings, it states its reasons for using the value
it has selected.
   (d) In determining the emission values associated with the current
operating capacity of existing electric powerplants pursuant to
subdivision (c), the commission shall adhere to the following
protocol in determining values for air quality costs and benefits to
the environment. If the commission finds that an air pollutant that
is subject to regulation is a component of residual emissions from an
electric powerplant and that the owner of that powerplant is either
of the following:
   (1) Using a tradable emission allowance, right, or offset for that
pollutant, which (A) has been approved by the air quality district
regulating the powerplant, (B) is consistent with federal and state
law, and (C) has been obtained, authorized, or acquired in a
market-based system.
   (2) Paying a tax per measured unit of that pollutant.
   The commission shall not assign a value or cost to that residual
pollutant for the current operating capacity of that powerplant
because the alternative protocol for dealing with the pollutant
operates to internalize its cost for the purpose of planning for and
acquiring new generating resources.
   (e) (1) The values determined pursuant to subdivision (c) to
represent costs and benefits to the environment shall not be used by
the commission, in and of themselves, to require early
decommissioning or retirement of an electric utility powerplant that
complies with applicable prevailing environmental regulations.
   (2) Further, the environmental values determined pursuant to
subdivision (c) shall not be used by the commission in a manner
which, when such values are aggregated, will result in advancing an
electric utility's need for new powerplant capacity by more than 15
months.
   (f) This subdivision shall apply whenever a powerplant bid
solicitation is required by the commission for an electric utility
and a portion of the amount of new powerplant capacity, which is the
subject of the bid solicitation, is the result of the commission's
use of environmental values to advance that electric utility's need
for new powerplant capacity in the manner authorized by paragraph (2)
of subdivision (e). The affected electric utility may propose to the
commission any combination of alternatives to that portion of the
new powerplant capacity that is the result of the commission's use of
environmental values as authorized by paragraph (2) of subdivision
(c). The commission shall approve an alternative in place of the new
powerplant capacity if it finds all of the following:
   (1) The alternative has been approved by the relevant air quality
district.
   (2) The alternative is consistent with federal and state law.
   (3) The alternative will result in needed system reliability for
the electric utility at least equivalent to that which would result
from bidding for new powerplant capacity.
   (4) The alternative will result in reducing system operating costs
for the electric utility over those which would result from the
process of bidding for new powerplant capacity.
   (5) The alternative will result in equivalent or better
environmental improvements at a lower cost than would result from
bidding for new powerplant capacity.
   (g) No provision of this section shall be construed as requiring
an electric utility to alter the dispatch of its powerplants for
environmental purposes.
   (h) No provision of this section shall prelude an electric utility
from submitting to the commission any combination of alternatives to
meet a commission-identified need for new capacity, if such a
submission is otherwise authorized by the commission.
   (i) No provision of this section shall be construed to change or
alter any provision of commission decision 92-04-045, dated April 22,
1992.

701.3.  Until the commission completes an electric generation
procurement methodology that values the environmental and diversity
costs and benefits associated with various generation technologies,
the commission shall direct that a specific portion of future
electrical generating capacity needed for California be reserved or
set aside for renewable resources.

701.4.  It is the policy of the state and the intent of the
Legislature that state and municipal electric resource acquisition
programs recognize and include a value for the resource diversity
provided by renewable resources.

701.5.  With respect to financing arrangements which are established
after January 1, 1988, no electrical, gas, or telephone corporation,
whose rates are set by the commission on a cost-of-service basis,
shall issue any bond, note, lien, guarantee, or indebtedness of any
kind pledging the utility assets or credit for or on behalf of any
subsidiary or affiliate of, or corporation holding a controlling
interest in, the electrical, gas, or telephone corporation. The
commission may, however, authorize an electrical, gas, or telephone
corporation to issue any bond, note, lien, guarantee, or indebtedness
pledging the utility assets or credits as follows:
   (a) For or on behalf of a subsidiary if its revenues and expenses
are included by the commission in establishing rates for the
electrical, gas, or telephone corporation.
   (b)  For or on behalf of a subsidiary if it is engaged in a
regulated public utility business in this state or in any other
state.
   (c) For or on behalf of a subsidiary or affiliate if it engages in
activities which support the electric, gas, or telephone corporation
in its operations or service, these activities are, or will be,
regulated either by the commission or a comparable federal agency,
and the issuance of the bond, note, lien, guarantee, or indebtedness
is specifically approved in advance by the commission.
   The commission shall not approve the bond, note, lien, guarantee,
or indebtedness unless the commission finds and determines that the
proposed financing will benefit the interests of the utility and its
ratepayers.

701.6.  (a) The commission may authorize gas and electrical
corporations to include in ratepayer-supported research and
development programs, activities that relate to improving the energy
efficiency of manufactured housing and mobilehomes if those programs
are evaluated in accordance with the guidelines established by
Section 740.1. The commission may develop a program involving
utilities, representatives of the manufactured housing and mobilehome
industries, and organizations representing senior citizens and
consumers to increase the construction and marketing of energy
efficiency measures for mobilehomes and manufactured housing.
   (b) The commission may authorize gas and electrical corporations
to provide incentives to seniors, low-income households, and others
who buy new manufactured homes, or mobilehomes, which incorporate
energy efficient measures.
   (c) The commission may authorize gas and electrical corporations
to recover through rates the reasonable costs associated with the
programs specified in subdivisions (a) and (b).

701.8.  (a) To ensure that electrical corporations do not operate
their transmission and distribution monopolies in a manner that
impedes the ability of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit
District (BART District) to reduce its electricity cost through the
purchase and delivery of preference power, electrical corporations
shall meet the requirements of this section.
   (b) Any electrical corporation that owns and operates transmission
and distribution facilities that deliver electricity at one or more
locations to the BART District's system shall, upon request by the
BART District, and without discrimination or delay, use the same
facilities to deliver preference power purchased from a federal power
marketing agency or its successor, or electricity purchased from a
local publicly owned electric utility.
   (c) Where the BART District purchases electricity at more than one
location, at any voltage, from an electric utility under tariffs
regulated by the commission, the utility shall bill the BART District
for usage as though all the electricity purchased at transmission
level voltages were metered by a single meter at one location and all
the electricity purchased at subtransmission voltages were metered
by a single meter at one location, provided that any billing for
demand charges would be based on the coincident demand of
transmission and distribution metering.
   (d) If, on or after January 1, 1996, the BART District leases or
has agreed to lease, as special facilities, utility plants for the
purpose of receiving power at transmission level voltages, an
electrical corporation may not terminate the lease without
concurrence from the BART District.
   (e) When the BART District elects to have electricity delivered
pursuant to subdivision (b), neither Sections 365 and 366, and any
commission regulations, orders, or tariffs, that implement direct
transactions, are applicable, nor is the BART District an electricity
supplier. Neither the commission, nor any electrical corporation
that delivers the federal power or electricity purchased from a local
publicly owned electric utility to the BART District, shall require
that an electricity supplier be designated as a condition of the
delivery of that power.
   (f) The BART District may elect to obtain electricity from the
following multiple sources at the same time:
   (1) Electricity delivered pursuant to subdivision (b).
   (2) Electricity supplied by one or more direct transactions.
   (3) Electricity from any electrical corporation that owns and
operates transmission and distribution facilities that deliver
electricity at one or more locations to the BART District's system.

701.10.  The policy of the State of California is that rates and
charges established by the commission for water service provided by
water corporations shall do all of the following:
   (a) Provide revenues and earnings sufficient to afford the utility
an opportunity to earn a reasonable return on its used and useful
investment, to attract capital for investment on reasonable terms and
to ensure the financial integrity of the utility.
   (b) Minimize the long-term cost of reliable water service to water
customers.
   (c) Provide appropriate incentives to water utilities and
customers for conservation of water resources.
   (d) Provide for equity between present and future users of water
service.
   (e) Promote the long-term stabilization of rates in order to avoid
steep increases in rates.
   (f) Be based on the cost of providing the water service including,
to the extent consistent with the above policies, appropriate
coverage of fixed costs with fixed revenues.

702.  Every public utility shall obey and comply with every order,
decision, direction, or rule made or prescribed by the commission in
the matters specified in this part, or any other matter in any way
relating to or affecting its business as a public utility, and shall
do everything necessary or proper to secure compliance therewith by
all of its officers, agents, and employees.

703.  The commission may investigate all existing or proposed
interstate rates, fares, tolls, charges, and classifications, and all
rules and practices in relation thereto, for or in relation to the
transportation of persons or property or the transmission of messages
for conversations, where any act in relation thereto takes place
within this state and when they are, in the opinion of the
commission, in violation of federal law, or in conflict with the
rulings, orders, or regulations of the a federal agency, the
commission may apply for relief by petition or otherwise to the
federal agency that has jurisdiction over the alleged violation or to
any court of competent jurisdiction.

704.  Except as otherwise provided in this section, no foreign
corporation, other than those which by compliance with the laws of
this State are entitled to transact a public utility business within
this State, shall henceforth transact within this State any public
utility business, nor shall any foreign corporation which is at
present lawfully transacting business within this State henceforth
transact within this State any public utility business of a character
different from that which it is at present authorized by its charter
or articles of incorporation to transact. No license, permit, or
franchise to own, control, operate, or manage any public utility
business or any part or incident thereof shall be henceforth granted
or transferred, directly or indirectly, to any foreign corporation
which is not at present lawfully transacting within this State a
public utility business of like character.
   Foreign corporations engaging in commerce with foreign nations or
commerce among the several states may transact within this State such
commerce and intrastate commerce of a like character; provided,
however, that no such foreign corporation shall be permitted to
engage in intrastate commerce within this State until it shall have
first complied with the laws of this State respecting foreign
corporations. Any foreign corporation which complies with the laws of
this State respecting foreign corporations, and which owns at least
90 percent of the outstanding capital stock of any other foreign
corporation transacting a public utility business in this State, may
succeed to the public utility business, franchises, and rights of
such latter corporation and, thereafter continue and carry on such
public utility business.

705.  Whenever in Articles 2 (commencing with Section 726), 3
(commencing with Section 761), and 4 (commencing with Section 791) a
hearing by the commission is required, the hearing may be had either
upon complaint or upon motion of the commission.

708.  The commission shall require every electrical, gas, and
telephone corporation to prepare and issue to every employee who, in
the course of his or her employment, has occasion to enter the
premises of customers or subscribers of the corporation an
identification card in a distinctive format having a photograph of
the employee. The corporation shall require every employee to present
the card upon requesting entry into any building or structure on the
premises of a customer or subscriber.

708.3.  Whenever a business transaction of an electrical, gas, water
corporation with 10,000 or more service connections, or telephone
corporation is such that a personal appearance by a person is
required by the corporation and the person is unable to appear at the
corporation's place of business during the corporation's usual
business hours, then the corporation shall provide a reasonable and
convenient alternative to the person such as an appointment outside
the corporation's usual business hours or allowing the person to
conduct the transaction by telephone, or mail, or both.

709.  The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the policies
for telecommunications in California are as follows:
   (a) To continue our universal service commitment by assuring the
continued affordability and widespread availability of high-quality
telecommunications services to all Californians.
   (b) To focus efforts on providing educational institutions, health
care institutions, community-based organizations, and governmental
institutions with access to advanced telecommunications services in
recognition of their economic and societal impact.
   (c) To encourage the development and deployment of new
technologies and the equitable provision of services in a way that
efficiently meets consumer need and encourages the ubiquitous
availability of a wide choice of state-of-the-art services.
   (d) To assist in bridging the "digital divide" by encouraging
expanded access to state-of-the-art technologies for rural,
inner-city, low-income, and disabled Californians.
   (e) To promote economic growth, job creation, and the substantial
social benefits that will result from the rapid implementation of
advanced information and communications technologies by adequate
long-term investment in the necessary infrastructure.
   (f) To promote lower prices, broader consumer choice, and
avoidance of anticompetitive conduct.
   (g) To remove the barriers to open and competitive markets and
promote fair product and price competition in a way that encourages
greater efficiency, lower prices, and more consumer choice.
   (h) To encourage fair treatment of consumers through provision of
sufficient information for making informed choices, establishment of
reasonable service quality standards, and establishment of processes
for equitable resolution of billing and service problems.

709.2.  (a) The commission shall authorize fully open competition
for intrastate interexchange telecommunications service, otherwise
known as intrastate interLATA, or intrastate service between local
access and transport areas, in California if federal legislation or
court action amends the modification of final judgment entered by the
United States District Court for the District of Columbia in United
States v. Western Electric, Civil Action No. 82-0192, to allow open
competition in that service.
   (b) (1) If neither federal law nor court action has authorized
full intrastate interexchange competition, the commission shall order
the opening of all intrastate interexchange telecommunications
markets to full competition, and the commission shall order, no later
than October 1, 1995, all telephone corporations subject to the
restrictions in the modification of final judgment to offer full
intrastate interexchange service, and to seek a waiver of the
interexchange telecommunications service restriction from the federal
court overseeing the modification of final judgment. The service may
be offered through resale and through facilities owned by the
telephone corporations.
   (2) If the federal district court denies the waiver request, and
an appeal is taken and the federal Court of Appeals affirms the
denial and refuses to remand the waiver request to the federal
district court for further review, and review is sought in the United
States Supreme Court and that court refuses to review or reviews and
affirms the lower court decisions denying the waiver, and the
commission determines that all reasonable legal recourse has been
exhausted by the telephone corporation, the commission shall rescind
the order.
   (3) No order shall be implemented, nor services marketed by the
telephone corporations until a waiver is granted or until federal
legislation or court action amends the modification of final judgment
to allow open competition in intrastate interexchange
telecommunications service.
   (c) No commission order authorizing or directing competition in
intrastate interexchange telecommunications shall be implemented
until the commission has done all of the following, pursuant to the
public hearing process:
   (1) Determined that all competitors have fair, nondiscriminatory,
and mutually open access to exchanges currently subject to the
modified final judgment and interexchange facilities, including fair
unbundling of exchange facilities, as prescribed in the commission's
Open Access and Network Architecture Development Proceeding (I.
93-04-003 and R. 93-04-003).
   (2) Determined that there is no anticompetitive behavior by the
local exchange telephone corporation, including unfair use of
subscriber information or unfair use of customer contacts generated
by the local exchange telephone corporation's provision of local
exchange telephone service.
   (3) Determined that there is no improper cross-subsidization of
intrastate interexchange telecommunications service by requiring
separate accounting records to allocate costs for the provision of
intrastate interexchange telecommunications service and examining the
methodology of allocating those costs.
   (4)  Determined that there is no substantial possibility of harm
to the competitive intrastate interexchange telecommunications
markets.
   (d) The opening of intrastate interexchange telecommunications
markets to competition pursuant to this section shall not precede,
but may be coincident with, the opening of competition within the
local exchange markets, as expressly authorized by the commission,
subject to subdivision (c).
   (e) No part of this section shall be construed as constituting a
state action within the meaning of Parker v. Brown, 317 U.S. 341.
   (f) No part of this section shall be construed to preempt
application of the unfair practices or antitrust laws of this state.

709.5.  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that all
telecommunications markets subject to commission jurisdiction be
opened to competition not later than January 1, 1997. The commission
shall take steps to ensure that competition in telecommunications
markets is fair and that the state's universal service policy is
observed.
   (b) To the extent possible, competition in intraexchange
telecommunications markets shall be coincident with competition in
video markets.
   (c) The commission shall expedite its open network architecture
and network development, interconnection, universal service, and
other related dockets so that whatever additional rules and
regulations that may be necessary to achieve fair local exchange
competition shall be in place no later than January 1, 1997.
   (d) If any local exchange telephone company obtains the right to
offer cable television or video dialtone service within its service
territory from a regulatory body or court of competent jurisdiction,
any cable television corporation or its affiliates may immediately
have the right to enter into the intraexchange market within the
service territory of that local exchange carrier by filing for
approval of a certificate of public convenience and necessity, if
necessary, which shall be expeditiously reviewed by the commission.
   (e) If the local exchange corporation is subject to the commission'
s standards for the interconnection of networks, network unbundling,
and service quality, the cable television corporation or its
affiliates may be subject to the commission's standards for the
interconnection of networks, network unbundling, and service quality,
for that portion of their network dedicated to intraexchange
telecommunications service. In addition, all corporations offering
intraexchange telecommunications service shall be subject to the
commission's consumer protection regulations.

709.6.  Not later than January 1, 2000, the commission shall
commence a proceeding to consider whether to establish a new
regulatory framework that does all of the following:
   (a) Ensures that the public has universally available access to
basic local exchange service.
   (b) Applies appropriate rules to all telecommunications service
providers.
   (c) Encourages the provision of advanced, high-speed digital
telecommunications services to the public.

709.7.  (a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the
California High Speed Internet Access Act of 1999.
   (b) The Public Utilities Commission shall monitor and participate
in the proceeding of the Federal Communications Commission, entitled
"In the Matters of Deployment of Wireline Services Offering Advanced
Telecommunications Capability," CC Docket No. 98-147, adopted March
18, 1999, addressing whether to require incumbent local exchange
carriers to permit interconnection by competitive data local exchange
carriers at any technically feasible point to permit those
competitive local exchange carriers to provide high bandwidth data
services over telephone lines with voice services provided by
incumbent local exchange carriers.
   (c) If the Federal Communications Commission adopts an order on or
before January 1, 2000, with regard to the proceeding described in
subdivision (b), the Public Utilities Commission shall comply with,
and implement, in a manner that the Public Utilities Commission
determines to be appropriate, that order, as it pertains to loop
access, pricing, and cost allocation in the provision of broadband
data services over telephone lines provided by an incumbent local
exchange carrier, consistent with state and federal law, within 90
days from the date that the rules adopted by that order are published
in the Federal Register. If the Federal Communications Commission
does not adopt an order on or before January 1, 2000, with regard to
the proceeding described in subdivision (b), the Public Utilities
Commission shall expeditiously examine the technical, operational,
economic, and policy implications of interconnection as described in
subdivision (b) and, if the Public Utilities Commission determines it
to be appropriate, adopt rules to require incumbent local exchange
carriers in this state to permit competitive local exchange carriers
to provide high bandwidth data services over telephone lines with
voice services provided by incumbent local exchange carriers.
   (d) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (1) "Incumbent local exchange carrier" has the same meaning as
that term is defined in Section 251(h)(1) of Title 47 of the United
States Code.
   (2) "Competitive local exchange carrier" has the same meaning as
the term "local exchange carrier," as defined in Section 153(26) of
Title 47 of the United States Code.

715.  (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (1) "Comparative energy usage disclosure program" means a program
pursuant to which an electrical corporation or gas corporation
discloses information to residential subscribers relative to the
amount of energy used by the metered residence compared to similar
residences in the subscriber's geographical area.
   (2) "Experimental design" with respect to an energy efficiency
evaluation has that meaning as described on pages 30 and 31 of the
commission's publication titled "California Energy Efficiency
Evaluation Protocols: Technical, Methodological, and Reporting
Requirements for Evaluation Professionals," dated April 2006.
   (b) In order for the commission to evaluate potential energy
savings that can be achieved through behavioral change, on or before
March 15, 2010, or within 90 days of having collected a year's worth
of data, and each March 15, or one year from the last reporting date,
thereafter, up to and including March 15, 2014, each electrical
corporation and gas corporation having a comparative energy usage
disclosure program shall report to the commission the nature of the
utility's program and the energy savings resulting from that program.
   (c) (1) The commission shall, using an experimental design,
evaluate the information supplied by electrical corporations and gas
corporations relative to their comparative energy usage disclosure
programs and determine the net energy savings that are currently
being achieved and which could be achieved through expansion of
comparative energy usage disclosure programs.
   (2) The commission may request additional information from an
electrical corporation or gas corporation that the commission
determines is needed to perform the evaluation pursuant to paragraph
(1). An electrical corporation or gas corporation from which the
commission requests additional information shall timely provide the
commission with the information requested if it is reasonably
available. The commission may, for comparison purposes, additionally
request that the Energy Commission supply the commission with that
information supplied by a local publicly owned electric utility
pursuant to Section 9615.5.
   (d) The commission shall report to the Energy Commission and the
Legislature on the results of its evaluation and any action
undertaken by the commission in response to the evaluation.
   (e) Nothing in this section limits the authority of the
commission, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (e) of Section
739, to require an electrical corporation or gas corporation to
disclose comparative energy usage information on the billing
statement of a residential customer.
   (f) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2015, and, as
of January 1, 2016, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2016, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.