(1) Except as provided in subsection (2)
of this section, whenever any public service company shall file
with the commission any schedule, classification, rule, or
regulation, the effect of which is to change any rate, charge,
rental, or toll theretofore charged, the commission shall have
power, either upon its own motion or upon complaint, upon notice,
to enter upon a hearing concerning such proposed change and the
reasonableness and justness thereof. Pending such hearing and
the decision thereon, the commission may suspend the operation of
such rate, charge, rental, or toll for a period not exceeding ten
months from the time the same would otherwise go into effect.
After a full hearing, the commission may make such order in
reference thereto as would be provided in a hearing initiated
after the same had become effective.
(2)(a) The commission shall not suspend a tariff that makes
a decrease in a rate, charge, rental, or toll filed by a
telecommunications company pending investigation of the fairness,
justness, and reasonableness of the decrease when the filing does
not contain any offsetting increase to another rate, charge,
rental, or toll and the filing company agrees to not file for an
increase to any rate, charge, rental, or toll to recover the
revenue deficit that results from the decrease for a period of
one year.
(i) The filing company shall file with any decrease
sufficient information as the commission by rule may require to
demonstrate the decreased rate, charge, rental, or toll is above
the long run incremental cost of the service. A tariff decrease
that results in a rate that is below long run incremental cost,
or is contrary to commission rule or order, or the requirements
of this chapter, shall be rejected for filing and returned to the
company.
(ii) The commission may prescribe a different rate to be
effective on the prospective date stated in its final order after
its investigation, if it concludes based on the record that the
originally filed and effective rate is unjust, unfair, or
unreasonable.
(b) The commission shall not suspend a promotional tariff.
For the purposes of this section, "promotional tariff" means a
tariff that, for a period of up to ninety days, waives or reduces
charges or conditions of service for existing or new subscribers
for the purpose of retaining or increasing the number of
customers who subscribe to or use a service.
(3) The commission may suspend the initial tariff filing of
any water company removed from and later subject to commission
jurisdiction because of the number of customers or the average
annual gross revenue per customer provisions of RCW 80.04.010.
The commission may allow temporary rates during the suspension
period. These rates shall not exceed the rates charged when the
company was last regulated. Upon a showing of good cause by the
company, the commission may establish a different level of
temporary rates.
(4) At any hearing involving any change in any schedule,
classification, rule, or regulation the effect of which is to
increase any rate, charge, rental, or toll theretofore charged,
the burden of proof to show that such increase is just and
reasonable shall be upon the public service company.
(5) The implementation of mandatory local measured
telecommunications service is a major policy change in available
telecommunications service. The commission shall not accept for
filing a price list, nor shall it accept for filing or approve,
prior to June 1, 2004, a tariff filed by a telecommunications
company which imposes mandatory local measured service on any
customer or class of customers, except that, upon finding that it
is in the public interest, the commission may accept for filing a
price list or it may accept for filing and approve a tariff that
imposes mandatory measured service for a telecommunications
company's extended area service or foreign exchange service.
This subsection does not apply to land, air, or marine mobile
service, or to pay telephone service, or to any service which has
been traditionally offered on a measured service basis.
(6) The implementation of Washington telephone assistance
program service is a major policy change in available
telecommunications service. The implementation of Washington
telephone assistance program service will aid in achieving the
stated goal of universal telephone service.
(7) If a utility claims a sales or use tax exemption on the
pollution control equipment for an electrical generation facility
and abandons the generation facility before the pollution control
equipment is fully depreciated, any tariff filing for a rate
increase to recover abandonment costs for the pollution control
equipment shall be considered unjust and unreasonable for the
purposes of this section.
[2003 c 189 § 1; 2001 c 267 § 1; 1998 c 110 § 1; 1997 c 368 § 14; 1993 c 311 § 1; 1992 c 68 § 1; 1990 c 170 § 1; 1989 c 101 § 13. Prior: 1987 c 333 § 1; 1987 c 229 § 2; prior: 1985 c 450 § 12; 1985 c 206 § 1; 1985 c 161 § 2; 1984 c 3 § 2; 1961 c 14 § 80.04.130; prior: 1941 c 162 § 1; 1937 c 169 § 2; 1933 c 165 § 3; 1915 c 133 § 1; 1911 c 117 § 82; Rem. Supp. 1941 § 10424.]
NOTES:
Effective date -- 2001 c 267: "This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately [May 11, 2001]." [2001 c 267 § 2.]
Findings -- Intent -- Rules adoption -- Severability -- Effective date -- 1997 c 368: See notes following RCW 82.08.810.
Effective date -- 1993 c 311: "This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately [May 12, 1993]." [1993 c 311 § 2.]
Effective date -- 1987 c 333: "This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect June 1, 1987." [1987 c 333 § 2.]
Severability -- Legislative review -- 1985 c 450: See RCW 80.36.900 and 80.36.901.