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49-04 Duties of Public Utilities

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CHAPTER 49-04DUTIES OF PUBLIC UTILITIES49-04-01. Public utility to provide adequate service. Every public utility shall furnish,provide, and maintain such service, instrumentalities, equipment, and facilities as shall promote<br>the safety, health, comfort, and convenience of its patrons, employees, and the public, and as<br>shall be in all respects adequate, convenient, just, and reasonable, and without any unjust<br>discrimination or preference.49-04-02. Reasonable charges for services and commodities of public utility. Allrates and charges made, demanded, or received by any public utility or by any two or more<br>public utilities for any product or commodity furnished or to be furnished, or any service rendered<br>or to be rendered, shall be just and reasonable. Every unjust and unreasonable rate or charge<br>made, demanded, or received for such product, commodity, or service is prohibited and unlawful.49-04-02.1. Customer deposits - Interest. A public utility may require from a customera deposit for service in accordance with commission rules. A public utility shall pay interest on all<br>customer deposits for service held by such utility at a rate to be determined by the commission.49-04-03.Violation of prescribed system of accounts unlawful.When thecommission shall have prescribed the forms for accounts, records, or memoranda to be kept by<br>any public utility for any of its business, it thereafter shall be unlawful for such public utility to<br>keep any accounts, records, or memoranda of such business other than those prescribed by the<br>commission and those prescribed by or under authority of any other state or of the United States,<br>with the exception of such accounts, records, or memoranda as shall be explanatory of and<br>supplemental to the accounts, records, or memoranda prescribed by the commission.49-04-04. Power of public utility to issue evidence of indebtedness. The power of apublic utility to issue stocks, bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness or to create liens<br>upon its property situated in this state, except such as are payable within one year from date of<br>issue, is a special privilege and shall be exercised by such utility under the supervision,<br>regulation, restriction, and control of the commission, subject to such rules and regulations as the<br>commission may prescribe. This section does not apply to the issuance by public utilities of<br>securities registered with the federal securities and exchange commission or to the issuance by<br>public utilities of securities not involving any public offering.49-04-05. Commission approval required to dispose of or encumber franchises,works, or systems - Exceptions. A public utility may not dispose of, encumber, merge, or<br>consolidate its franchise, works, or system necessary or useful in the performance of its duties to<br>the public without prior commission approval. This section does not apply to:1.Disposal or encumbrance of tangible property valued at less than five hundred<br>thousand dollars.2.Sale of securities registered with the federal securities and exchange commission.49-04-06. Acquiring stock or membership interest or business of another utility -Authorization by commission. No public utility, directly or indirectly, shall acquire the stock,<br>membership interest, or business of any other corporation or limited liability company<br>incorporated for or organized for or engaged in the same or a similar business or proposing to<br>operate or operating under a franchise from the same or any other authority unless authorized to<br>do so by the commission. No such transaction shall be binding upon the public without the<br>approval of the commission.49-04-07. Unreasonable preferences or advantages prohibited. No public utility shallmake or give any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any particular person,<br>company, firm, corporation, limited liability company, or locality, or to any particular character of<br>traffic or service in any respect whatsoever, nor subject any particular person, firm, corporation,Page No. 1limited liability company, company, or locality, or any particular character of traffic or service to<br>any undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage in any respect.No public utilitycorporation, directly or indirectly, by any special rate, rebate, drawback, or other device or<br>method, shall charge, demand, collect, or receive from any person, firm, corporation, or limited<br>liability company a greater or less compensation for any service rendered or to be rendered than<br>it charges, demands, collects, or receives from any other person, firm, corporation, or limited<br>liability company for doing a like and contemporaneous service under the same or substantially<br>similar circumstances and conditions. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit a public utility from<br>entering into any reasonable agreement with its customers, consumers, or employees or from<br>providing for a sliding scale of charges, unless the same is prohibited by the terms of the<br>franchise or permit under which such public utility is operated. No such agreement or sliding<br>scale shall be lawful unless and until the same shall be filed with and approved by the<br>commission.49-04-08. Certain discriminations allowed. Nothing contained in this chapter shallaffect:1.The carriage, storage, or handling of property free or at reduced rates for the United<br>States, this state, municipal governments, for charitable purposes, or to and from<br>fairs and expositions for exhibition, or for the employees of the common carrier and<br>their families, or private property or goods for the family use of employees of the<br>carrier.2.The giving by a common carrier of a preference as to time of shipment of livestock,<br>uncured meats, and other perishable property.3.The prescribing of a less rate per one hundred pounds [45.36 kilograms] in a carload<br>lot than is charged, collected, or received for the same kind of freight in less than a<br>carload lot.49-04-09. Long and short hauls. It shall be unlawful for any common carrier to chargeor receive any greater compensation in the aggregate for the transportation of passengers, or of<br>a like kind of freight or property, for a shorter than for a longer distance, all or any portion of the<br>shorter haul being included within the longer.A common carrier shall charge no more fortransporting passengers or freight to or from any point than a fair and just rate as compared with<br>the price it charges for the same kind of transportation to or from any other point.All theprovisions of this section shall apply to the transportation of passengers and all kinds of freight<br>and property shipped and transported over one or more connecting lines. Such connecting lines<br>shall transfer car lots without extra compensation, and shall transfer less than car lots at actual<br>cost for such transfer. Rates shall be made and published by connecting lines for continuous<br>shipment upon demand of any shipper or shippers and such rates so made by two or more<br>connecting lines shall be no greater in the aggregate than the rate would be if shipped<br>continuously upon one line of road.The commission may, upon application by a commoncarrier, permit and prescribe the extent to which any such carrier may be relieved from the<br>operation of the principles contained in this section.49-04-10. Freight pooling. It shall be unlawful for any common carrier to enter into anycontract, agreement, or combination with any other common carrier for the pooling of freight of<br>different and competing common carriers, or to divide between them the aggregate or net<br>proceeds of the earnings of such carriers or any portion thereof. In any case of an agreement for<br>the pooling of freights, each day of its continuance shall be deemed a separate offense.49-04-11. Free passes restricted. Repealed by S.L. 1975, ch. 431, </p> <BR></DIV><!-- /.col.one --><!-- /.col.two --></DIV><!-- /.col.main --></DIV><!-- /div id = content --> <BR class=clear></DIV> <!-- /div id = livearea --> <DIV></DIV><!-- /.col.one --> <DIV></DIV><!-- /.col.main --> <DIV></DIV><!-- /#content --><BR class=clear> <DIV></DIV><!-- /#livearea --> <!-- Footer--> <DIV id=footer> <DIV class=container> <P class=copyright>Copyright &copy; 2012-2022 Laws9.Com All rights reserved. </P><!-- /.copyright --> <P class=footerlinks><A href="/contactus.html">Contact Us</A> | <A href="/aboutus.html">About Us</A> | <A href="/terms.html">Terms</A> | <A href="/privacy.html">Privacy</A></P><!-- /.footerlinks --> </DIV><!-- /.container --> </DIV><!-- /footer --> </BODY></HTML>