Relating to powers and duties of PSC

SB 48 Text

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Senate Bill 48 History

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WEST virginia legislature
2026 regular session
Committee Substitute
for
Senate Bill 48
By Senators Phillips and Hart
[Reported February 3, 2026, from the Committee on Energy, Industry, and Mining]

A BILL to amend and reenact §24-2-3 and §24-2-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to modifying the powers and duties of the Public Service Commission;
prohibiting the commission from approving a new rate or fee or a rate or fee increase for certain electric utilities to take effect between November 20 in any year and April 1 of the following year; and prohibiting such rates or fees from taking effect in such time period.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 2. POWERS AND DUTIES OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.

§24-2-3. General power of commission with respect to rates.

(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 separate or combined services and having at least 4,500 customers and annual combined gross revenues of $3 million or more
: Provided, That the commission may exercise such rate authority over

any:
(1) Public utility;
(2)
Municipally owned natural gas
utilities or a

utility; and
(3)
Municipally owned water and/or sewer utility having less than 4,500 customers or annual combined gross revenues of less than $3 million only under the circumstances and limitations set forth in §24-2-4b of this code, and subject to the provisions set forth in §24-2-3(b) of this code.
And whenever the commission, after hearing,

(b)
When,
And whenever the commission,
after hearing,
the commission
finds any existing rates, tolls, tariffs, joint rates, or schedules enacted or maintained by a utility regulated under
the provisions of
this section to be unjust, unreasonable, insufficient,
or
unjustly discriminatory, or otherwise in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, the commission shall, by an order, fix reasonable rates, joint rates, tariffs, tolls, or schedules to be followed in the future in lieu
of those found to be unjust, unreasonable, insufficient, or unjustly discriminatory or otherwise in violation of any provisions of law, and the commission,

thereof.
In fixing the rate of any railroad company,
the commission
may fix a fair, reasonable, and just rate to be charged on any branch line thereof, independent of the rate charged on the main line of that railroad.
(c) The commission may not:
(1) Enforce, originate, establish, change, nor promulgate tariffs, rates, joint rates, tolls, or schedules for any municipal power system or water and/or sewer utility that is a political subdivision of this state, provides a separate service or combined services, has at least 4,500 customers, and has annual combined gross revenues of $3 million or more; nor
(2) Approve any new rate or fee or any rate or fee increase of an electric utility subject to this chapter to take effect between November 20 in any year and April 1 of the following year.
(b) Any complaint filed with the commission by

(d)
A resale or wholesale customer of a municipally owned water and/or sewer utility having less than 4,500 customers or annual combined gross revenue of less than $3 million
may file a complaint
concerning
utility
rates, fees, or charges
applicable to such resale or wholesale customer shall be filed
within 30 days of the enactment
by the governing body of the political subdivision
of an ordinance changing
the
rates, fees, or charges.
for such service.
The commission shall resolve
said

the
complaint within 120 days of filing. The
commission may toll the
120-day period
for resolution of the complaint may be tolled by the commission
until the necessary information
showing

is filed which shows
the basis of the rates, fees, charges, and other information as the commission considers necessary.
is filed: Provided, That

The
rates, fees, and charges so fixed by the political subdivision
providing separate or combined water and/or sewer services shall
remain in full force and effect until set aside, altered, or amended by
order of
the commission.
in an order to be followed in the future: Provided, however, That the commission shall have no authority to

The commission may not
order refunds for amounts collected during the pendency of the complaint proceeding unless the rates, fees, or charges
so enacted by the governing body
were enacted subject to refund under the provisions of §24-2-4b(d)(2) or §24-2-4b(g) of this code.
(c)
(e)
In determining just and reasonable rates, the commission:
(1)
May audit and investigate management practices and policies
, or have performed an audit and investigation of such practices and policies, in order
to determine whether the utility is operating with efficiency and is utilizing sound management practices. The commission shall adopt rules and regulations setting forth the scope, frequency, and application of such audits and investigations to the various utilities subject to its jurisdiction. The commission may include the cost of conducting the management audit in the cost of service of the utility;
and
(d) In determining just and reasonable rates, the commission

(2)
Shall investigate and review transactions between utilities and affiliates. The commission shall limit the total return of the utility to a level which
is just and reasonable
when considered with the level of profit or return the affiliate earns on transactions with the utility.
is just and reasonable.

§24-2-4. Procedure for changing rates.

(a) A
No
public utility subject to this chapter, except those utilities subject to the provisions of §24-2-4b of this article,
shall

may not
change, suspend, or annul any rate, joint rate, charge, rental, or classification except after 30 days' notice to the commission and the public.
which

The
notice shall plainly state the
changes proposed to be made in the schedule then in force

proposed modifications
and the time when the
changed rates or charges shall

modifications will
go into effect, but the commission may enter an order suspending the proposed
rate

modifications
as
hereinafter
provided
by this section
. The proposed
changes

modifications
shall be shown by printing new schedules, or shall be plainly indicated upon the schedules in force at the time, and kept open to public inspection.

Provided,
That
The commission,
may
in its discretion and for good cause shown,
allow changes

may allow modifications
upon less time than the notice herein specified, or may modify the requirements of this section
in

with
respect to publishing, posting, and filing
of
tariffs, either by particular instructions or by general order.
Whenever there shall be filed with the commission any schedule stating a change in the rates or charges, or

(b) For any schedule filed with the commission which states individual
or joint rates or charges,
or stating
a new individual or joint rate or charge,
or

a new
joint classification, or
any

a
new individual or joint regulation or practice affecting any rate or charge, the commission:
shall have authority, either upon complaint or upon its own initiative without complaint, to
(1) May
enter upon a hearing concerning the propriety of
such

the
rate, charge, classification, regulation, or practice;
(2) May enter upon the hearing either upon complaint or upon its own initiative without complaint;
and
if the commission so orders, it
(3)
May proceed without answer or other form of pleading by the interested parties.
but upon reasonable notice, and, pending such hearing and the decision thereon, the commission, upon filing with such schedule and delivering to the public utility affected thereby a statement in writing of its reasons for such suspension
(c) Pending any hearing and related decision pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the commission
may suspend
the
operation of
such

the
schedule and defer
the
use of
such

the
rate, charge, classification, regulation, or practice
but not for a longer period than

for up to
120 days beyond the time when
such rate, charge, classification, regulation or practice

it
would otherwise go into effect.
and after full hearing, whether completed before or after the rate, charge, classification, regulation, or practice goes into effect,

(1) The commission shall provide reasonable notice of the hearing to the public utility and a written statement of reasons for any suspension.
(2)
The commission may
make such

render an
order
in reference to such rate, charge, classification, regulation or practice
as would be proper in a proceeding initiated after the rate, charge, classification, regulation, or practice
had become effective:
Provided
, That

becomes effective, regardless of whether the hearing was completed before or after it has gone into effect.

Provided,
That

(3)
If any such hearing and decision
thereon
cannot be concluded within the period of suspension,
as above stated, such

the
rate, charge, classification, regulation, or practice shall go into effect at the end of
such

the suspension
period. In such case, the commission may require
such

the
public utility to enter into a bond in an amount deemed by the commission to be reasonable,
plus interest,
and conditioned for
the
refund to
the persons or parties entitled thereto of the amount of the excess, plus interest at the rate of not less than seven percent per annum, as may be specified by the commission, if such rate so

any entitled party, if the rate
put into effect is subsequently determined to be higher than
those

that
finally fixed for
such

the
utility.
In specifying the applicable interest rate,
The commission
shall determine the interest rate, which shall be at seven percent or higher. In determining the rate, the commission
shall be guided by the interest rate which:
such

(A) The
public utility would in all probability have to agree to pay if,
such public utility
at that time,
the public utility
borrowed in the marketplace a sum of money equivalent to the amount of money the commission estimates the increase in rates will produce between the effective date of
such

the
increase and the anticipated date the rates will be finally fixed;
for such public utility, it being

and
(B) Is
intended
that

to discourage
a public utility
should be discouraged
from imposing higher rates than it should reasonably anticipate will be finally fixed as a means
of,
in effect,
of
borrowing money at a rate of interest less than
such

the
public utility would have to agree to pay if it borrowed money in the marketplace.
No such accrued interest paid on any such refund shall be deemed

(4) Interest paid pursuant to this section is not considered
part of the cost of doing business in a subsequent application for changing rates or any
related
decision.
thereon

(5)
At any hearing involving a rate sought to be increased or involving the change of any fare, charge, classification, regulation, or practice, the burden of proof
is on the public utility
to show that the
increased rate or proposed increased rate, or the proposed change of fare, charge, classification, regulation or practice

proposed increase or change
is just and reasonable.
shall be upon the public utility making application for such change. When in any case pending before the commission all evidence shall have been taken, and the hearing completed

(6)
The commission shall
within three months,
render a decision in
such

any pending
case
within three months of gathering all evidence and completing the hearing
.
(d)
Where more than 20 members of the public are affected by a proposed change in rates, it
shall be a

is
sufficient notice to the public
within the meaning of

for purposes of
this section if
such

the
notice is published as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with
the provision of
§59-3-1,
et seq.
, of this code.
and
The publication area for
such

the
publication
shall be

is
the community where the majority of the resident members of the public affected by
such

the
change reside or, in case of nonresidents, have their principal place of business within this state.
The provisions of this section
shall
expire on and
be

are
of no further force and effect after June 30, 1981, except that
as to
any case pending on
said

that
date, in which the suspension period has expired and rates are in effect under bond,
such case shall be proceeded with

shall proceed
in accordance with this section. As to any other case pending on
said

that
date, the commission shall treat the case as filed anew on July 1, 1981, except that it
shall not be

is not
necessary for any new process or notice to be served or published.
(e) Notwithstanding any provision in this chapter to the contrary, a new rate or fee or a rate or fee increase of an electric utility subject to this chapter may not take effect between November 20 in any year and April 1 of the following year.

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