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The Florida Senate

2020 Florida Statutes

Title XXVII RAILROADS AND OTHER REGULATED UTILITIES
Chapter 366 PUBLIC UTILITIES Entire Chapter
SECTION 04
Jurisdiction of commission.
F.S. 366.04
366.04 Jurisdiction of commission.—
(1) In addition to its existing functions, the commission shall have jurisdiction to regulate and supervise each public utility with respect to its rates and service; assumption by it of liabilities or obligations as guarantor, endorser, or surety; and the issuance and sale of its securities, except a security which is a note or draft maturing not more than 1 year after the date of such issuance and sale and aggregating (together with all other then-outstanding notes and drafts of a maturity of 1 year or less on which such public utility is liable) not more than 5 percent of the par value of the other securities of the public utility then outstanding. In the case of securities having no par value, the par value for the purpose of this section shall be the fair market value as of the date of issue. The commission, upon application by a public utility, may authorize the utility to issue and sell securities of one or more offerings, or of one or more types, over a period of up to 12 months; or, if the securities are notes or drafts maturing not more than 1 year after the date of issuance and sale, the commission, upon such application, may authorize the utility to issue and sell such securities over a period of up to 24 months. The commission may take final action to grant an application by a public utility to issue and sell securities or to assume liabilities or obligations after having given notice in the Florida Administrative Register published at least 7 days in advance of final agency action. In taking final action on such application, the commission may deny authorization for the issuance or sale of a security or assumption of a liability or obligation if the security, liability, or obligation is for nonutility purposes; and shall deny authorization for the issuance or sale of a security or assumption of a liability or obligation if the financial viability of the public utility is adversely affected such that the public utility’s ability to provide reasonable service at reasonable rates is jeopardized. Securities issued by a public utility or liabilities or obligations assumed by a public utility as guarantor, endorser, or surety pursuant to an order of the commission, which order is certified by the clerk of the commission and which order approves or authorizes the issuance and sale of such securities or the assumption of such liabilities or obligations, shall not be invalidated by a modification, repeal, or amendment to that order or by a supplemental order; however, the commission’s approval of the issuance of securities or the assumption of liabilities or obligations shall constitute approval only as to the legality of the issue or assumption, and in no way shall it be considered commission approval of the rates, service, accounts, valuation, estimates, or determinations of cost or any other such matter. The jurisdiction conferred upon the commission shall be exclusive and superior to that of all other boards, agencies, political subdivisions, municipalities, towns, villages, or counties, and, in case of conflict therewith, all lawful acts, orders, rules, and regulations of the commission shall in each instance prevail.
(2) In the exercise of its jurisdiction, the commission shall have power over electric utilities for the following purposes:
(a) To prescribe uniform systems and classifications of accounts.
(b) To prescribe a rate structure for all electric utilities.
(c) To require electric power conservation and reliability within a coordinated grid, for operational as well as emergency purposes.
(d) To approve territorial agreements between and among rural electric cooperatives, municipal electric utilities, and other electric utilities under its jurisdiction. However, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to alter existing territorial agreements as between the parties to such agreements.
(e) To resolve, upon petition of a utility or on its own motion, any territorial dispute involving service areas between and among rural electric cooperatives, municipal electric utilities, and other electric utilities under its jurisdiction. In resolving territorial disputes, the commission may consider, but not be limited to consideration of, the ability of the utilities to expand services within their own capabilities and the nature of the area involved, including population, the degree of urbanization of the area, its proximity to other urban areas, and the present and reasonably foreseeable future requirements of the area for other utility services.
(f) To prescribe and require the filing of periodic reports and other data as may be reasonably available and as necessary to exercise its jurisdiction hereunder.

No provision of this chapter shall be construed or applied to impede, prevent, or prohibit any municipally owned electric utility system from distributing at retail electrical energy within its corporate limits, as such corporate limits exist on July 1, 1974; however, existing territorial agreements shall not be altered or abridged hereby.

(3) In the exercise of its jurisdiction, the commission shall have the authority over natural gas utilities for the following purposes:
(a) To approve territorial agreements between and among natural gas utilities. However, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to alter existing territorial agreements between the parties to such agreements.
(b) To resolve, upon petition of a utility or on its own motion, any territorial dispute involving service areas between and among natural gas utilities. In resolving territorial disputes, the commission may consider, but not be limited to consideration of, the ability of the utilities to expand services within their own capabilities and the nature of the area involved, including population, the degree of urbanization of the area, its proximity to other urban areas, and the present and reasonably foreseeable future requirements of the area for other utility services.
(c) For purposes of this subsection, “natural gas utility” means any utility which supplies natural gas or manufactured gas or liquefied gas with air admixture, or similar gaseous substance by pipeline, to or for the public and includes gas public utilities, gas districts, and natural gas utilities or municipalities or agencies thereof.
(4) Any customer shall be given an opportunity to present oral or written communications in commission proceedings to approve territorial agreements or resolve territorial disputes. If the commission proposes to consider such material, then all parties shall be given an opportunity to cross-examine or challenge or rebut it. Any substantially affected customer shall have the right to intervene in such proceedings.
(5) The commission shall further have jurisdiction over the planning, development, and maintenance of a coordinated electric power grid throughout Florida to assure an adequate and reliable source of energy for operational and emergency purposes in Florida and the avoidance of further uneconomic duplication of generation, transmission, and distribution facilities.
(6) The commission shall further have exclusive jurisdiction to prescribe and enforce safety standards for transmission and distribution facilities of all public electric utilities, cooperatives organized under the Rural Electric Cooperative Law, and electric utilities owned and operated by municipalities. In adopting safety standards, the commission shall, at a minimum:
(a) Adopt the 1984 edition of the National Electrical Safety Code (ANSI C2) as initial standards; and
(b) Adopt, after review, any new edition of the National Electrical Safety Code (ANSI C2).

The standards prescribed by the current 1984 edition of the National Electrical Safety Code (ANSI C2) shall constitute acceptable and adequate requirements for the protection of the safety of the public, and compliance with the minimum requirements of that code shall constitute good engineering practice by the utilities. The administrative authority referred to in the 1984 edition of the National Electrical Safety Code is the commission. However, nothing herein shall be construed as superseding, repealing, or amending the provisions of s. 403.523(1) and (10).

(7)(a) As used in this subsection, the term “affected municipal electric utility” means a municipality that operates an electric utility that:
1. Serves two cities in the same county;
2. Is located in a noncharter county;
3. Has between 30,000 and 35,000 retail electric customers as of September 30, 2007; and
4. Does not have a service territory that extends beyond its home county as of September 30, 2007.
(b) Each affected municipal electric utility shall conduct a referendum election of all of its retail electric customers, with each named retail electric customer having one vote, concurrent with the next regularly scheduled general election following the effective date of this act.
(c) The ballot for the referendum election required under paragraph (b) shall contain the following question: “Should a separate electric utility authority be created to operate the business of the electric utility in the affected municipal electric utility?” The statement shall be followed by the word “yes” and the word “no.”
(d) The provisions of the Election Code relating to notice and conduct of the election shall be followed to the extent practicable. Costs of the referendum election shall be borne by the affected municipal electric utility.
History.—s. 4, ch. 26545, 1951; s. 1, ch. 63-288; s. 1, ch. 63-279; s. 1, ch. 65-52; s. 1, ch. 74-196; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; ss. 3, 16, ch. 80-35; s. 2, ch. 81-318; s. 4, ch. 86-173; ss. 2, 20, 22, ch. 89-292; s. 50, ch. 90-331; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 13, ch. 95-146; s. 16, ch. 2006-230; s. 37, ch. 2008-227; s. 32, ch. 2013-14; s. 66, ch. 2014-17.