2011 Vermont Code
Title 30 Public Service
Chapter 3 PUBLIC SERVICE CORPORATIONS, OTHER THAN RAILROADS;
§ 109 Sales and leases; hearings

§ 109. Sales and leases; hearings

(a) Except in connection with replacement or exchange, a corporation or a foreign corporation subject to the jurisdiction of the public service board, shall not make a sale or lease or series of sales or leases in any one calendar year constituting 10 percent or more of the company's property located within this state and actually used in or required for public service operations nor merge nor consolidate pursuant to the provisions of sections 301-307 of this title, nor after any such sale, lease, consolidation, or merger shall any subsequent like action be taken, except after opportunity for hearing by the public service board and a finding by such board that the same will promote the general good of the state. Such notice of the hearing shall be given as the board directs. A certificate of consent of the public service board shall be filed with the secretary of state.

(b) No company owning or operating an electric generating plant in this state with a capacity of 80 megawatts, or greater, may sell or lease any real property or transmission facilities located at that plant that are required or may be required to generate electricity, interconnect generation facilities with electric transmission facilities, or transmit electricity from the plant, without first obtaining a certificate of consent from the public service board.

(c) No company owning or operating an electric transmission facility located in this state that is capable of operating at 100 kilovolts or greater may sell or lease any real property or equipment that is required or may be required to transmit electricity using that facility without first obtaining a certificate of consent from the public service board.

(d) To obtain a certificate of consent pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) of this section, the company shall notify the board and department in writing of its intention to enter into such a sale or lease at least 45 days before the effective date of the proposed transaction. Within 30 days of receiving this notice, the department shall file a written recommendation with the board as to whether it should consent to the proposed sale or lease, and whether further inquiry or hearing is warranted. Within 15 days of receiving the department's recommendation, and after considering the company's notice and the department's recommendation, the board shall determine whether further inquiry into the proposed sale or lease is warranted and, if so, shall so proceed. If the department recommends approval of the proposed transaction without further inquiry or opportunity for hearing, and if the board takes no further action within 15 days after the department has filed such a recommendation, then

the proposed transaction shall be deemed approved as consistent with the general good of the state.

(e) The public service board shall issue a certificate of consent under this section only if it determines that the proposed transaction shall promote the general good of the state.

(f) Any notice provided by a company pursuant to subsection (d) of this section shall be accompanied by a statement containing the material terms of the proposed transaction and such further explanation of the proposed transaction as the board may prescribe. The board may adopt such rules as it deems appropriate for determining the necessity for and scope of any inquiry or hearing concerning a request for board consent to a sale or lease under subsection (b) or (c) of this section. In developing these rules, the board shall ensure that due consideration is given to issues such as potential ratepayer impacts of the transactions to be reviewed and least-cost integrated planning principles as defined in subdivision 218c(a)(1) of this title. The board's rulemaking authority under this section shall include the discretion to:

(1) decrease to no less than 50 megawatts the threshold for review under subsection (b) of this section;

(2) establish a minimum value threshold to trigger review under subsection (b) or (c) of this section; and

(3) adopt or amend other rules appropriately to minimize duplicative regulatory review under this title. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), { 39(b), eff. March 1, 1961; 1993, No. 21, { 8, eff. May 12, 1993; 2007, No. 93 (Adj. Sess.), { 1, eff. March 21, 2008.)