Section 476.1. Applicability of authority.

  1.  The utilities board within the utilities division of the department of commerce shall regulate the rates and services of public utilities to the extent and in the manner hereinafter provided.

  2.  As used in this chapter, “board” or “utilities board” means the utilities board within the utilities division of the department of commerce.

  3.  As used in this chapter, “public utility” shall include any person, partnership, business association, or corporation, domestic or foreign, owning or operating any facilities for:

  a.  Furnishing gas by piped distribution system or electricity to the public for compensation.

  b.  Furnishing communications services to the public for compensation.

  c.  Furnishing water by piped distribution system to the public for compensation.

  4.  Mutual telephone companies in which at least fifty percent of the users are owners, cooperative telephone corporations or associations, telephone companies having less than fifteen thousand customers and less than fifteen thousand access lines, municipally owned utilities, and unincorporated villages which own their own distribution systems are not subject to the rate regulation provided for in this chapter.

  5.  This chapter does not apply to waterworks having less than two thousand customers, municipally owned waterworks, joint water utilities established pursuant to chapter 389, rural water districts incorporated and organized pursuant to chapters 357A and 504, cooperative water associations incorporated and organized pursuant to chapter 499, or to a person furnishing electricity to five or fewer customers either by secondary line or from an alternate energy production facility or small hydro facility, from electricity that is produced primarily for the person’s own use.

  6.  A telephone company otherwise exempt from rate regulation and having telephone exchange facilities which cross state lines may elect, in a writing filed with the board, to have its rates regulated by the board. When a written election has been filed with the board, the board shall assume rate regulation jurisdiction over the company.

  7.  The jurisdiction of the board under this chapter shall include efforts designed to promote the use of energy efficiency strategies by rate or service-regulated gas and electric utilities.

[C66, 71, 73, 75, §490A.1; C77, 79, 81, §476.1;

81 Acts, ch 156, §4

]

83 Acts, ch 127, §15, 16

; 84 Acts, ch 1031, §1

; 88 Acts, ch 1172, §2

; 90 Acts, ch 1252, §18

; 91 Acts, ch 150, §1

; 91 Acts, ch 168, §9

; 96 Acts, ch 1196, §1

; 2004 Acts, ch 1049, §191

; 2004 Acts, ch 1175, §393

; 2012 Acts, ch 1023, §67