Session of 1999
HOUSE BILL No. 2119
By Committee on Utilities
1-26
9 AN ACT concerning the state corporation commission; amending K.S.A.
10 1998 Supp. 66-117 and repealing the existing section.
11
12 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
13 Section 1. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 66-117 is hereby amended to read as
14 follows: 66-117. (a) Unless the state corporation commission otherwise
15 orders, no common carrier or public utility over which the commission
16 has control shall make effective any changed rate, joint rate, toll, charge
17 or classification or schedule of charges, or any rule or regulation or prac-
18 tice pertaining to the service or rates of such public utility or common
19 carrier except by filing the same with the commission at least 30 days
20 prior to the proposed effective date. The commission, for good cause,
21 may allow such changed rate, joint rate, toll, charge or classification or
22 schedule of charges, or rule or regulation or practice pertaining to the
23 service or rates of any such public utility or common carrier to become
24 effective on less than 30 days' notice. If the commission allows a change
25 to become effective on less than 30 days' notice, the effective date of the
26 allowed change shall be the date established in the commission order
27 approving such change, or the date of the order if no effective date is
28 otherwise established. Any such proposed change shall be shown by filing
29 with the state corporation commission a schedule showing the changes,
30 and such changes shall be plainly indicated by proper reference marks in
31 amendments or supplements to existing tariffs, schedules or classifica-
32 tions, or in new issues thereof.
33 (b) Whenever any common carrier or public utility governed by the
34 provisions of this act files with the state corporation commission a sched-
35 ule showing the changes desired to be made and put in force by such
36 public utility or common carrier, the commission either upon complaint
37 or upon its own motion, may give notice and hold a hearing upon such
38 proposed changes. Pending such hearing, the commission may suspend
39 the operation of such schedule and defer the effective date of such change
40 in rate, joint rate, toll, charge or classification or schedule of charges, or
41 any rule or regulation or practice pertaining to the service or rates of any
42 such public utility or common carrier by delivering to such public utility
43 or common carrier a statement in writing of its reasons for such
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1 suspension.
2 (c) The commission shall not delay the effective date of the proposed
3 change in rate, joint rate, toll, charge or classification or schedule of
4 charges, or in any rule or regulation or practice pertaining to the service
5 or rates of any such public utility or common carrier, more than 240 180
6 days beyond the date the public utility or common carrier filed its appli-
7 cation requesting the proposed change. If the commission does not sus-
8 pend the proposed schedule within 30 days of the date the same is filed
9 by the public utility or common carrier, such proposed schedule shall be
10 deemed approved by the commission and shall take effect on the pro-
11 posed effective date. If the commission has not issued a final order on
12 the proposed change in any rate, joint rate, toll, charge or classification
13 or schedule of charges, or any rule or regulation or practice pertaining to
14 the service or rates of any such public utility or common carrier, within
15 240 180 days after the carrier or utility files its application requesting the
16 proposed change, then the schedule shall be deemed approved by the
17 commission and the proposed change shall be effective immediately, ex-
18 cept that: (1) For purposes of the foregoing provisions regarding the pe-
19 riod of time within which the commission shall act on an application, any
20 amendment to an application for a proposed change in any rate, which
21 increases the amount sought by the public utility or common carrier or
22 substantially alters the facts used as a basis for such requested change of
23 rate, shall, at the option of the commission, be deemed a new application
24 and the 240-day 180-day period shall begin again from the date of the
25 filing of the amendment,; and (2) if hearings are in process before the
26 commission on a proposed change requested by the public utility or com-
27 mon carrier on the last day of such 240-day 180-day period, such period
28 shall be extended to the end of such hearings plus 20 30 days to allow
29 the commission to prepare and issue its final order, and, (3) nothing in
30 this subsection shall preclude the public utility or common carrier and
31 the commission from agreeing to a. No waiver or an extension of the 240-
32 day 180-day period shall be allowed.
33 (d) Except as provided in subsection (c), no change shall be made in
34 any rate, toll, charge, classification or schedule of charges or joint rates,
35 or in any rule or regulation or practice pertaining to the service or rates
36 of any such public utility or common carrier, without the consent of the
37 commission. Within 30 days after such changes have been authorized by
38 the state corporation commission or become effective as provided in sub-
39 section (c), copies of all tariffs, schedules and classifications, and all rules
40 and regulations, except those determined to be confidential under rules
41 and regulations adopted by the commission, shall be filed in every station,
42 office or depot of every such public utility and every common carrier in
43 this state, for public inspection.
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1 (e) Upon a showing by a public utility before the state corporation
2 commission at a public hearing and a finding by the commission that such
3 utility has invested in projects or systems that can be reasonably expected
4 (1) to produce energy from a renewable resource other than nuclear for
5 the use of its customers, (2) to cause the conservation of energy used by
6 its customers, or (3) to bring about the more efficient use of energy by
7 its customers, the commission may allow a return on such investment
8 equal to an increment of from 12% to 2% plus an amount equal to the
9 rate of return fixed for the utility's other investment in property found
10 by the commission to be used or required to be used in its services to the
11 public. The commission may also allow such higher rate of return on
12 investments by a public utility in experimental projects, such as load man-
13 agement devices, which it determines after public hearing to be reason-
14 ably designed to cause more efficient utilization of energy and in energy
15 conservation programs or measures which it determines after public hear-
16 ing provides a reduction in energy usage by its customers in a cost-effec-
17 tive manner.
18 (f) Whenever, after the effective date of this act, an electric public
19 utility, a natural gas public utility or a combination thereof, files tariffs
20 reflecting a surcharge on the utility's bills for utility service designed to
21 collect the annual increase in expense charged on its books and records
22 for ad valorem taxes, such utility shall report annually to the state cor-
23 poration commission the changes in expense charged for ad valorem taxes.
24 For purposes of this section, such amounts charged to expense on the
25 books and records of the utility may be estimated once the total property
26 tax payment is known. If found necessary by the commission or the utility,
27 the utility shall file tariffs which reflect the change as a revision to the
28 surcharge. Upon a showing that the surcharge is applied to bills in a
29 reasonable manner and is calculated to substantially collect the increase
30 in ad valorem tax expense charged on the books and records of the utility,
31 or reduce any existing surcharge based upon a decrease in ad valorem tax
32 expense incurred on the books and records of the utility, the commission
33 shall approve such tariffs within 30 days of the filing. Any over or under
34 collection of the actual ad valorem tax increase charged to expense on
35 the books of the utility shall be either credited or collected through the
36 surcharge in subsequent periods. The establishment of a surcharge under
37 this section shall not be deemed to be a rate increase for purposes of this
38 act. The net effect of any surcharges established under this section shall
39 be included by the commission in the establishment of base rates in any
40 subsequent rate case filed by the utility.
41 (g) Except as to the time limits prescribed in subsection (c), pro-
42 ceedings under this section shall be conducted in accordance with the
43 provisions of the Kansas administrative procedure act.
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1 Sec. 2. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 66-117 is hereby repealed.
2 Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
3 publication in the statute book.