PRINTER'S NO. 2342
No. 1907 Session of 1977
INTRODUCED BY F. TAYLOR, GARZIA, BENNETT, GATSKI, PRATT, SWEET,
C. GEORGE, FEE, ZELLER, STAIRS, DeWEESE, CASSIDY,
D. R. WRIGHT, FRYER, STAPLETON, DeMEDIO, DOMBROWSKI, COLE,
MILLIRON, SHUMAN, STUBAN, DIETZ, LEVI, YAHNER, MORRIS,
RUGGIERO, ABRAHAM, LAUGHLIN, VALICENTI, ZWIKL, TENAGLIO,
BITTINGER, COWELL, FLAHERTY, MILANOVICH, GRIECO, CALTAGIRONE,
DUMAS, O'KEEFE AND RITTER, NOVEMBER 22, 1977
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER AFFAIRS, NOVEMBER 22, 1977
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of May 28, 1937 (P.L.1053, No.286), entitled
2 "An act relating to the regulation of public utilities;
3 defining as public utilities certain corporations, companies,
4 associations, and persons; providing for the regulation of
5 public utilities, including, to a limited extent,
6 municipalities engaging in public utility business, by
7 prescribing, defining, and limiting their duties, powers, and
8 liabilities, and regulating the exercise, surrender or
9 abandonment of their powers, privileges, and franchises;
10 defining and regulating contract carriers by motor vehicle
11 and brokers in order to regulate effectively common carriers
12 by motor vehicle; conferring upon the Pennsylvania Public
13 Utility Commission the power and duty of supervising and
14 regulating persons, associations, companies, and
15 corporations, including, to a limited extent, municipal
16 corporations subject to this act, and administering the
17 provisions of this act; authorizing the commission to fix
18 temporary rates; placing the burden of proof on public
19 utilities to sustain their rates and certain other matters;
20 authorizing a permissive or mandatory sliding scale method of
21 regulating rates; providing for the supervision of financial
22 and contractural relations between public utilities and
23 affiliated interests, and supervision and regulation of
24 accounts and securities or obligations issued, assumed, or
25 kept by persons, associations, companies, corporations or
26 municipal corporations subject to this act; conferring upon
27 the commission power to vary, reform, or revise certain
28 contracts; conferring upon the commission the exclusive power
29 to regulate or order the construction, alteration,
1 relocation, protection, or abolition of crossings of
2 facilities of public utilities, and of such facilities by or
3 over public highways, to appropriate property for the
4 construction or improvement of such crossings, and to award
5 or apportion resultant costs and damages; authorizing owners
6 of such property to sue the Commonwealth for such damages;
7 providing for ejectment proceedings in connection with the
8 appropriation of property for crossings; conferring upon the
9 commission power to control and regulate budgets of public
10 utilities; imposing upon persons, associations, companies,
11 and corporations (except municipal corporations) subject to
12 regulation, the cost of administering this act; prescribing
13 and regulating practice and procedure before the commission
14 and procedure for review by the courts of commission action;
15 giving the court of common pleas of Dauphin County exclusive
16 original jurisdiction over certain proceedings; prescribing
17 penalties, fines, and imprisonment for violations of the
18 provisions of this act and regulations and orders of the
19 commission, and the procedure for enforcing such fines and
20 penalties; and repealing legislation supplied and superseded
21 by or inconsistent with this act," by eliminating provisions
22 for automatic adjustment of rates and further providing
23 rates.
24 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
25 hereby enacts as follows:
26 Section 1. Section 307, act of May 28, 1937 (P.L.1053,
27 No.286), known as the "Public Utility Law," is repealed.
28 Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
29 Section 307.1 Fuel Costs.--(a) Within thirty days following
30 the end of such twelve-month period as the commission shall
31 designate, each public utility shall submit a statement which
32 shall specify its fuel costs for such twelve-month period. Such
33 statement shall be a matter of public record and copies thereof
34 shall be made available to any person upon request to the
35 commission.
36 (b) Upon receipt of such statement the commission shall
37 conduct or cause to be conducted an audit of each public utility
38 which shall enable the commission to determine the propriety and
39 correctness of such statement. Whoever shall perform the audit
40 shall be a person knowledgeable in the subject matter
41 encompassed within the audit.
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1 (c) Within sixty days following the submission of such
2 statement, the commission shall hold a public hearing on the
3 substance of the statement, including, but not limited to, the
4 accuracy of the statement and the reasonableness of the fuel
5 costs.
6 (d) Within thirty days of such hearing, the commission shall
7 by order establish a new base rate for the public utility
8 reflecting such portion of the fuel costs contained in the
9 statement which the commission shall deem accurate and
10 reasonable.
11 (e) The commission shall have the right to require the
12 submission of any fuel cost data and contractual agreements
13 which it shall deem necessary to make the determinations
14 required under subsection (d). If a public utility shall fail or
15 refuse to submit any such information, the commission shall
16 order that the base rate of said public utility effective on the
17 date of the filing of the statement required by subsection (a)
18 remain in effect.
19 (f) Any person wilfully submitting false information under
20 this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first
21 degree.
22 (g) The provisions of sections 313 and 1312 establishing a
23 statute of limitation shall not apply to the right of
24 prosecution under subsection (f) nor to the right of the
25 commission to order refunds of any overcharges resulting from
26 the submission of such false information.
27 Section 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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