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2000 SESSION
005037254Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 56-1.2 and 56-235.4 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 56-1.2. Persons not designated as public utility, public service corporation, etc.
The terms public utility, public service corporation or public service company,
as used in Chapters 1 (§ 56-1 et seq.), 10 (§ 56-232 et seq.), 10.1 (§ 56-265.1
et seq.) and 10.2:1 (§ 56-265.13:1 et seq.) of Title 56, shall not refer to any
person who owns or operates property and provides electricity, natural gas or water
to residents or tenants on the property, provided that (i) the electricity, natural
gas or water provided to the residents or tenants is purchased by the person
from a public utility, public service corporation, public service company, or
person licensed by the Commission as a competitive provider of energy services, or a
county, city or town, or other publicly regulated political subdivision or
public body, (ii) the person or his agent charges to the resident or tenant on the
property only that portion of the person's utility charges for the electricity,
or natural gas or water which is permitted by § 56-245.3 and charges to the
resident or tenant on the property only that portion of the person's utility charges
for the water which is permitted by § 55-248.45:1, and which may include
an additional service charge at the level that § 56-245.3 establishes for gas
and electric service, to cover administrative costs and billing for such water
service, and (iii) the person maintains three years' billing records for such
charges.
§ 56-235.4. Prohibition of multiple rate increases within any twelve-month period; exception.
A. The regulated operating revenues of a public utility shall not be increased
pursuant to Article 1 (§ 56-209 et seq.) of Chapter 9 or Chapters 9.1 (§
56-231.15), 10 (§ 56-232 et seq.), 16 (§ 56-485 et seq.), or 19 (§ 56-531 et
seq.) of this title more than once within any twelve-month period. This limitation shall not apply to increases
in regulated operating revenues resulting from (i) increases in rates pursuant
to § 56-245 or § 56-249.6, (ii) any automatic rate adjustment clause approved
by the Commission, (iii) new rate schedules for service not offered under
existing rate schedules or for expansion, reduction, or termination of existing
services, (iv) initiation, modification or termination of experimental rates
under § 56-234, or (v) the making permanent of an experimental program.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, a telephone company may apply
to the Commission to pass on to its customers as a part of its rates any changes
approved by the Commission in the carrier access charges.
B. The Commission may adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. The Commission may specify, by rule, the time during the calendar year when application may be filed by electric utility and cooperatives, gas utilities, telephone utilities and cooperatives, and other utilities.
The Commission may by rule provide standards and procedures for expedited handling of rate increase applications, and such rules may provide that an expedited rate increase may take effect in less than twelve months after the preceding increase so long as regulated operating revenues are not increased pursuant to the provisions of subsection A of this section more than once in any calendar year.