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The Florida Senate

2020 Florida Statutes

Title XXVII RAILROADS AND OTHER REGULATED UTILITIES
Chapter 367 WATER AND WASTEWATER SYSTEMS Entire Chapter
SECTION 121
Powers of commission.
F.S. 367.121
367.121 Powers of commission.—
(1) In the exercise of its jurisdiction, the commission shall have power:
(a) To prescribe fair and reasonable rates and charges, classifications, standards of quality and measurements, and to prescribe service rules to be observed by each utility, except to the extent such authority is expressly given to another state agency.
(b) To prescribe, by rule, a uniform system and classification of accounts for all utilities, which rules, among other things, shall establish adequate, fair, and reasonable depreciation rates and charges.
(c) To require such regular or emergency reports from a utility, including, but not limited to, financial reports, as the commission deems necessary and, if the commission finds a financial report to be incomplete, incorrect, or inconsistent with the uniform system and classification of accounts, to require a new report or a supplemental report, either of which the commission may require to be certified by an independent certified public accountant licensed under chapter 473.
(d) To require repairs, improvements, additions, and extensions to any facility, or to require the construction of a new facility, if reasonably necessary to provide adequate and proper service to any person entitled to service or if reasonably necessary to provide any prescribed quality of service, except that no utility shall be required to extend its service outside the geographic area described in its certificate of authorization, or make additions to its plant or equipment to serve outside such area, unless the commission first finds that the utility is financially able to make such additional investment without impairing its capacity to serve its existing customers.
(e) To employ and fix the compensation for such examiners and technical, legal, and clerical employees as it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
(f) To adopt, by affirmative vote of a majority of the commission, rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement and enforce the provisions of this chapter.
(g) To exercise all judicial powers, issue all writs, and do all things necessary or convenient to the full and complete exercise of its jurisdiction and the enforcement of its orders and requirements.
(h) To order interconnections of service or facilities between utilities, and to approve any plant capacity charges or wholesale service charges or rates related thereto, provided the commission first finds that the utility is financially able to make such additional investment as is required without impairing its capacity to serve its existing customers.
(i) To require the filing of reports and other data by a public utility or its affiliated companies, including its parent company, regarding transactions or allocations of common costs, among the utility and such affiliated companies. The commission may also require such reports or other data necessary to ensure that a utility’s ratepayers do not subsidize nonutility activities.
(j) To seek relief in circuit court including temporary and permanent injunctions, restraining orders, or any other appropriate order, because the Legislature finds that violations of commission orders or rules, in connection with the impairment of a utility’s operations or service, constitute irreparable harm for which there is no adequate remedy at law. Such remedies shall be in addition to and supplementary to any other remedies available for enforcement of agency action under s. 120.69 or the provisions of this chapter. The commission shall establish procedures implementing this section by rule.
(k) To assess a utility for reasonable travel costs associated with reviewing the records of the utility and its affiliates when such records are kept out of state. The utility may bring the records back into the state for review.
(2) The commission or its duly authorized representatives may, during all reasonable hours, enter upon any premises occupied by any utility and set up and use thereon any necessary apparatus and appliance for the purpose of making investigations, inspections, examinations, and tests and exercising any power conferred by this chapter. Such utility shall have the right to be notified of and be represented at the making of such investigations, inspections, examinations, and tests.
History.—s. 1, ch. 71-278; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; s. 53, ch. 78-95; ss. 15, 25, 26, ch. 80-99; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 16, 26, 27, ch. 89-353; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 11, ch. 93-35; s. 73, ch. 98-200.