CHAPTER E-4

ELECTRIC POWER AND TELEPHONE ACT

R.S.P.E.I. 1988, Cap. E-4

(b) "rate base" means the maximum valuation of assets fixed by the Commission pursuant to section 21 upon which a public utility may earn a percentage of return established by the Commission; or such other method of computing a maximum return as may be determined by the Commission;

(c) "electric energy" includes electric power that is produced, transmitted, distributed or furnished by a public utility;

(d) "Minister" means a Minister of the Crown designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council;

(e) "person" includes an individual, a partnership, corporation, and a municipal corporation;

(f) "public utility" means any person and the lessees, trustees, liquidators or receivers of any person that owns, operates, manages or controls, or is incorporated for the purpose of owning, operating, managing or controlling any plant or equipment,

(ii) for the production, transmission, distribution or furnishing of electric energy,

either directly or indirectly, to or for the public; unless the Lieutenant Governor in Council by proclamation otherwise declares, this clause does not apply to any city or town except insofar as the city or town furnishes electric energy to customers beyond its corporate limits;

(g) "service" includes the furnishing to or for a customer by a public utility for compensation of its equipment and facilities,

3. Every public utility shall

(a)  furnish at all times such reasonably safe and adequate service and facilities for services as changing conditions require;

5. (1) Before commencing to supply electric energy to any customer, the public utility supplying the electric energy, if required, shall declare to the customer, in writing under the hand of its officer or agent thereunto duly authorized, the constant voltage, or if from an alternating current source, the frequency at which it proposes to supply the electric energy at the customer's terminals.

6. (1) Notwithstanding any franchise or right conferred by its Act of incorporation or otherwise, no public utility shall, at a cost exceeding $5,000, commence the construction of any line, plant or system or make any extensions, improvements or additions thereto without first having obtained the approval of the Commission.

(2) Where a public utility proposes to construct or to extend, improve or add to any line, plant or system for which approval is required under subsection (1) it shall when directed by the Commission in addition to any other information required by the Commission, submit to the Commission an environmental impact statement indicating,

(a) the location of any lines, poles or other structures proposed to be erected;

(b) the total loss of agricultural land resulting from the project;

(c) the effects on existing land use in the locality;

(d) the effects on the natural environment.

(3) The Commission may adopt guidelines setting out matters to be addressed in an environmental impact statement.

(4) The Commission shall send copies of each environmental impact statement received under subsection (2) to the Lieutenant Governor in Council for consideration.

(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council, if he considers that the proposed project may have a detrimental impact on the environment, may direct the Commission to defer consideration of the application and to order that public hearings be held in the locality affected by the project.

(6) Notice of the public hearings shall be served on the public utility and shall be published in a newspaper published in the province having a general circulation in the area to be affected by the proposed project, at least ten days before the date fixed for the hearings.

(7) The Commission may grant its approval or refuse it or may grant it in respect of a portion of such proposed line, plant or system, subject to such terms and restrictions as the Commission may consider proper.

8. (1) Every public utility that furnishes telephone service or electric energy to the public and having conduits, poles, wires or other equipment shall, for reasonable compensation, permit the use of the same by any other public utility furnishing either of the services wherever public convenience and necessity requires the use, and when the use will not result in any detriment to the service already being rendered or in any danger to the safety of the public.

11. (1) Notwithstanding the provision of any statute of this province no franchise or any right under any franchise to own or operate any public utility shall be assigned, transferred or leased, nor shall any contract or agreement with reference to or affecting any such franchise or right be valid or of any force or effect whatsoever, unless the assignment, transfer, lease, contract or agreement has been made with the written approval of the Commission.

12. (1) No public utility shall issue stocks or shares or bonds, debentures, securities, or other evidence of indebtedness, payable in more than one year from the date thereof, unless it has first obtained approval by the Commission of the proposed issue.

(2) Upon application, if the Commission approves of the purpose of the proposed issue and is satisfied that the issue is to be made in accordance with every Act or regulation relating to the issue of securities, the Commission may grant its approval of the proposed issue.

(3) The Commission may grant its approval under this section for the proposed issue in the amount applied for, or in any lesser amount, and subject to such conditions as it considers reasonable and necessary to impose.

(a) no public utility shall make any material alteration in the characteristics of its stocks or shares, or its bonds, debentures, securities, or other evidence of indebtedness as such characteristics are described by the Commission in granting its approval of the issue of those securities; and

(b) no public utility that has, either with the approval of the Commission, or before the date such approval was required, issued stocks or shares, or bonds, debentures, securities, or other evidence of indebtedness payable in more than one year from the date thereof, shall increase a fixed dividend or interest rate or extend a maturity date pertaining to the issue, restrict the public utility's right to redeem the issue, or increase the premium to be paid on redemption of the issue.

13. (1) All rules and regulations of any public utility relating to the kind of service to be supplied to customers and the manner by which the service shall be supplied, shall be subject to approval by the Commission and after approval, those rules and regulations shall govern the service.

14. (1) Every public utility shall have its head office in the province, and shall keep therein all such books, accounts, papers or records as shall be required by the Commission to be kept.

15. (1) Every public utility shall make to the Commission an annual return in a form and at a time prescribed by the Commission; the return shall set forth the amount of such public utility's authorized and paid up capital, its assets and liabilities, its receipts and expenditures for the preceding year, its dividends paid or declared and such information showing its financial condition as may be required by the Commission.

16. (1) Every public utility shall at any time furnish to the Commission all such information as to its affairs which may be required by the Commission, and shall make specific answers to all specific questions submitted by the Commission.

(2) The Commission may prescribe the forms of all books, accounts, papers and records required to be kept by a public utility, and every public utility is required to keep and render its books, accounts, records and papers accurately and faithfully in the manner and form prescribed by the Commission and to comply with all directions of the Commission relating to such books, accounts, papers and records.

(3) The Commission may cause to be prepared suitable blank forms and shall, when necessary, furnish the forms to each public utility.

(4) Any public utility receiving from the Commission forms with directions to complete the same shall cause the forms to be properly filled out so as to answer fully and correctly each question therein propounded and in case it is unable to answer any question it shall give a good and sufficient reason for that failure.

(5) When required by the Commission, every public utility shall deliver to the Commission or make available to engineers, valuators or auditors, authorized or employed by it, any and all maps, profiles, contracts, reports of engineers and all documents, books, accounts, papers and records, or copies of any or all of the same, with a complete inventory of all its property, in such form as the Commission may direct.

17. (1) Every public utility shall, at such date as the Commission determines, submit to the Commission for its approval an annual capital budget of proposed improvements or additions to the property of the public utility for the ensuing calendar year, being property of the utility employed in the provision of a service that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission under this Act.

(2) The budget shall contain an estimate of future required expenditures on any improvements or additions to the property of the public utility that will not be completed in the ensuing calendar year.

(3) The Commission, after a hearing, may upon such terms and conditions as it may prescribe approve in whole or in part the annual capital budget of proposed improvements or additions to the property of the public utility.

(4) Every public utility shall submit a report on its actual expenditures on improvements or additions to its property in the prior calendar year together with an explanation as to expenditures in excess of those approved under subsection (1) within sixty days of the calendar year end.

20. (1) Whenever any public utility wishes to vary any existing rates, tolls or charges, or to establish any new rates, tolls or charges for any service, it shall submit for the approval of the Commission a schedule of such proposed rates, tolls and charges together with and appended thereto all rules and regulations which, in any manner, relate to the rates, tolls and charges; the Commission may approve the schedule of rates, tolls and charges and the rules and regulations either in whole or in part, or may amend or vary them as it sees fit.

(2) On any approval under subsection (1) the rates, tolls and charges are the lawful rates, tolls and charges of the public utility until altered or modified under this Act.

21. (1) The Commission may fix and determine a separate rate base for each type of service furnished, rendered or supplied to the public by a public utility.

(a) include all or any of

(ii) any other fair and reasonable expenditure which the Commission thinks proper and basic to the public utility's operation;

(b) exclude all or any of

(iii) any other expenditure which the Commission considers it fair and just to exclude.

26. (1) The Commission has general supervision of all public utilities and may make such regulations and orders respecting equipment, appliances, safety devices, extension of works or systems, filing of schedules of rates, reporting, and other matters as it considers necessary or advisable for the safety, convenience, or service of the public, or for the proper carrying out of this Act or of any contract, charter, or franchise involving the use of public property or rights.

(2) Subject to this Act, the Commission may make regulations requiring a public utility to conduct its operations in such a manner that it does not unnecessarily interfere with, or cause unnecessary damage or inconvenience to, the public.

(3) For the purposes of its supervision of public utilities and to enable the Commission to fulfil its functions, the Commission may make such examinations and conduct such inquiries as are necessary to keep itself informed respecting

(a) the manner in which the business of a public utility is conducted;

(b) compliance by public utilities with the provisions of this Act and the regulations; and

28. (1) Upon a complaint made in writing to the Commission, against any public utility, by any municipal corporation or by any five persons, firms or corporations, that any of the rates, tolls, charges, or schedules, whether fixed by or the subject of a signed contract or agreement or otherwise, are, in any respect, unreasonable or unjustly discriminatory, or that any regulation, measurement, practice or act affecting or relating to the transmission, delivery or furnishing of electric energy or the conveyance of telephone messages, or any service in connection therewith is, in any respect, unreasonable, insufficient or unjustly discriminatory or that the service is inadequate or unobtainable, the Commission shall make an investigation, and may order such rates, tolls, charges or schedules, modified or altered, and may make an order as to the modification or change of the regulation, measurement, practice or acts, and may order, on such terms and subject to such conditions as may seem just, that the public utility furnish reasonably adequate service and facilities, and make such alterations, extensions and additions as may be required; but before proceeding to make an investigation, the Commission shall require proof that a copy of the said complaint together with a notice of the time and place of such investigation has been served on the public utility at least fifteen days before the date fixed for the investigation, and, if the public utility is unable or unwilling to satisfy the complaint, it may within eight days after the service of the complaint file its answer with the Commission, and the public utility shall be given an opportunity of being heard and of adducing evidence at the investigation.

(2) If it is made to appear to the Commission that the time given is insufficient for the proper preparation of the case of any party, the Commission may order the postponement of the investigation for a reasonable time.

(3) No order under subsection (1) shall be made without a public hearing or inquiry as aforesaid, nor shall an order be issued by the Commission without reasonable notice to all parties to settle the minutes thereof.

29. (1) When the Commission believes that any of the grounds mentioned in section 28 exist for complaint by any person against any public utility, or that an investigation of any matter relating to any public utility should, for any reason, be made, it may, on its own motion, summarily investigate the same with or without notice.

(2) If, after the making of a summary investigation, the Commission is satisfied that sufficient grounds exist to warrant a formal hearing being ordered as to the matter so investigated, it shall notify the public utility of the matter under investigation; eight days after the notice has been given the Commission may fix a time and place for a formal hearing and investigation of such matter.

30. (1) If, upon any investigation, the rates, tolls, charges or schedules, whether fixed by or the subject of a signed contract or agreement or otherwise, are found to be unjust, unreasonable, insufficient or unjustly discriminatory, or to be preferential or otherwise in violation of this Act, the Commission may cancel the rates, tolls, charges or schedules, and declare void all contracts or agreements in writing or otherwise touching the same, and may determine and fix by order and order substituted therefor such other rates, tolls, charges and schedules as to the Commission may seem just and reasonable.

31. (1) When an inquiry or investigation is made under this Act, upon complaint or otherwise, the Commission may order that all expenses in connection therewith, including costs and expenses of counsel, engineers, valuators, auditors, clerks, stenographers and other assistants, retained and employed by the Commission, as well as the expenses of the Commissioners while employed in and about the making of the inquiry or investigation, shall be paid by the public utility whose affairs are being inquired into or whose assets or property are the subject of such inquiry or investigation; and the Commission may in its discretion order that the payments by the public utility be entered as current operating expenses or as a charge to capital account or to be amortized and retired over a period of time; but if as a result of the inquiry or investigation it is found that the rates charged by the public utility have been excessive or that the inquiry or investigation has been rendered necessary by some act, neglect or omission on the part of the public utility, the Commission may order that the payments by the public utility shall be deducted from the amount which, otherwise, the public utility would be entitled to earn as a just and reasonable return upon its undertaking.

32. (1) If it is brought to the attention of the Commission that the supply of electric energy or any service rendered by any public utility has been interrupted or is likely to be interrupted to such an extent as to be likely to cause hardship or inconvenience to consumers of electricity or other customers of any public utility, the Commission may investigate the matter summarily, and, if on the making of any such investigation it is of the opinion that the provisions of this Act are inadequate to effectively deal with the matter, it shall forthwith certify its findings to the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and the Lieutenant Governor in Council may thereupon declare that a condition of emergency exists with respect to the supply of electric energy by any or all public utilities or with respect to any other service rendered by any or all public utilities.

(3) If after an investigation carried out under subsections (1) and (2) it appears to the Commission that any public utility is capable of adequately supplying the quantity of electric energy reasonably required, or of efficiently supplying such other service, the Commission may make an order, on such terms as it sees fit, compelling the public utility to supply electric energy or provide such other service in such quantities or in such manner as may be required.

(5) Every order of the Commission made under this section shall have the force of law, and any public utility that fails to comply with an order shall incur the penalties prescribed by section 36.

(6) If any person other than a public utility fails to comply with any order of the Commission made under this section he is liable to the penalty prescribed by section 36, and the Commission may also order the public utility supplying the electric energy or rendering such other service to deprive the person of the supply of electric energy or other service in such manner as the Commission may determine; every public utility is hereby authorized and empowered, by its servants and agents, to do and perform all acts necessary to carry out any order.

(7) Every order of the Commission made under this section is deemed to have been duly served upon every public utility or person affected thereby on the day following the day on which a copy of the order has been published in a newspaper in Prince Edward Island having a general circulation in the area in which the public utility operates or the other person operates or lives.

33. (1) Subject to this Act no person shall knowingly solicit, accept or receive any rebate, concession or discrimination in respect to any service or affecting or relating to any public utility whereby any service is, by any device whatsoever, or otherwise, rendered free or at a less rate than named in the schedules in force, as provided herein, or whereby any service or advantage is received other than as is herein specified.

(3) Any grant, rebate or concession made pursuant to subsection (2) is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission.

34. (1) If any person supplied with electric energy or telephone service by any public utility neglects or refuses to pay the amount due for the same, or for the rent of the meter or other articles hired by him, the public utility may discontinue the service and stop the supply; in that case the officers or agents of the public utility may, after forty-eight hours notice, enter the premises of that person, between the hours of nine o'clock in the forenoon and four o'clock in the afternoon, and separate and take away the meter, appliance or other property belonging to the public utility, and disconnect any wires or fitting or other works, whether its property or not, from the main wires of the public utility.

38. (1) If it is made to appear to the Commission that because of the faulty construction of the plant or lines of any public utility or other person, or the faulty installation of the equipment of the public utility or other person, or because of the neglect of any public utility or other person to maintain or repair its or his plant, lines or equipment, life or property is or may become endangered, the Commission may order such action to be taken with respect to the plant, lines or equipment of the public utility or other person as it may consider necessary for the public safety.

39. (1) If the supply of electric energy from any public utility to its customers is interrupted for any continuous period exceeding fifteen minutes, except in any case approved by the Commission, and the Commission upon investigation, finds that the interruption of supply or service was due to circumstances which the public utility, by the exercise of reasonable care and foresight, could have avoided, the Commission may impose upon the public utility a penalty not exceeding $5,000 for each interruption, and if the penalty is not paid within fifteen days after the imposition thereof, the Commission may proceed to collect the penalty in the manner prescribed for the recovery of amounts assessed under the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission Act; but the imposition of any penalty by the Commission shall not be deemed to affect any right of action which any person might have for loss or damage sustained by reason of the interruption of the supply of electric energy.

(2) Subject to the right of appeal to the Appeal Division provided by the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission Act, the decision or award made under subsection (1) shall be binding upon both the claimant and the public utility.

43. Whenever it is necessary for the erection, construction, operation or maintenance of the plant, lines or other installations or works of a public utility, that the public utility be vested with lands or any interest therein, or any rights, privileges or easements in respect thereof, the public utility may by its servants or agents, with the written permission of the Commission to be applied for without notice, enter upon the lands for the purpose of preliminary surveys and examinations without liability other than for actual damage, and if after the survey and examination, no agreement can be made for its purchase, the public utility may acquire it in the following manner:

(a) the public utility may apply by petition to the Commission showing the situation of the land affected, the description thereof by metes and bounds, the names of the owners or occupiers thereof, and any encumbrances thereon that may be known to the public utility, the property, rights, easements or privileges sought to be expropriated and the amount which the public utility has offered to pay the person owning or occupying the lands;

(b) upon the presentation of a petition, the Commission shall forthwith at the expense of the public utility, publish the same in the Gazette, and in a newspaper published in the Province of Prince Edward Island in two weekly issues thereof, and in the same issue of the Gazette, and the newspaper in which the Commission publishes the petition, the Commission shall publish a notice, that at the time and place therein named, which shall not be earlier than thirty days after the date of such publication and notice, the Commission will hear any and all objections to said proposed expropriation and a copy of such petition and notice shall forthwith be served on the owners of the lands affected, unless the service is dispensed with as hereinafter provided, and the Commission, for the purpose of the hearing, may summon before it any persons, and may require them to give evidence on oath, and to produce such documents or things as the Commission considers requisite;

(c) at the time and place so named, the Commission shall hear all parties interested and take such evidence as may be adduced, and, if satisfied that the property, rights, easements or privileges proposed to be expropriated are necessary for any of the purposes mentioned in this section, and are not more extensive than are reasonably necessary, it shall thereupon by order declare the same, or such portion thereof as may be found reasonably necessary, to be vested in the public utility, in fee simple, or in such other estate as may be sought by the said petition, or as may be considered advisable by the Commission, free from encumbrances, subject to the payment of damages as hereinafter provided for;

(d) upon the making of the order, the public utility shall cause a certified copy thereof to be filed in the office of the Registrar of Deeds for each county in which the lands or any part thereof are situated, together with a plan of the lands affected by the order, and a description of them;

(e) before the fixing of the time and place for hearing as aforesaid, the Commission may require the public utility to deposit with it a sum not exceeding $1,000, to reimburse any expenditure made by the owner or occupier on account of the petition, and in case the application for the order mentioned in clause (c) is refused, then the Commission may order that a reasonable sum may be allowed out of the deposit to defray the expenses of the owner or occupier of the property sought to be expropriated;

(f) the Commission shall, without delay, proceed to assess the damages for said property so expropriated and on payment thereof to the owner or occupier, the public utility shall have a title in fee simple and clear of encumbrances to the property so expropriated;

46. (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may by regulation exempt the Town of Summerside Electric Utility from this Act, or any of its provisions, and may set the terms and conditions of such exemption.

(2) Where regulations are made pursuant to subsection (1),

(a) notwithstanding sections 6 and 15 of the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission Act, the Commission shall not issue an assessment to the City of Summerside electric utility, and the Lieutenant Governor in Council shall determine the annual assessment to be paid by the City of Summerside electric utility to the Commission, which shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars;