40-346

40-346. Hearing on petition by corporation
commission, board of supervisors or city or town council;
determination of economic and technical feasibility; addition or
elimination of certain areas

A. The corporation commission, board of supervisors or city or town council, as the
case may be, shall hold a hearing, upon notice as provided in this article, to establish
the fact that the requirements for the establishment of an underground conversion service
area have been satisfied, and that owners of no more than forty per cent of the real
property within the underground conversion service area, or no more than forty per cent
of the owners of real property, have not objected to the formation of the underground
conversion service area, and if the commission, board of supervisors or city or town
council so determines, and if the commission, board of supervisors or city or town
council further determines after considering all objections, that the cost of conversion
as reflected in the joint report prepared pursuant to section 40-342 is economically and
technically feasible for the public service corporations or public agencies involved and
the property owners affected and that the underground conversion service area is a
reasonably compact area of reasonable size, the commission, board of supervisors or city
or town council shall then issue an order establishing the area as an underground
conversion service area. In those cases where the commission, the board of supervisors
and the city or town council have jurisdiction, all must issue orders establishing the
area as an underground conversion service area before the public service corporations and
public agencies owning overhead electrical or communication facilities therein shall be
required to convert such facilities to underground.

B. If the corporation commission, board of supervisors or city or town council, as
the case may be, should conclude at the hearing that territory not included in the
petition should be included within the underground conversion service area, the real
property owners in the additional territory shall be notified in like manner as provided
in connection with the original hearing, and a subsequent hearing shall be held on the
question of including the additional territory. In establishing the underground
conversion service area, the corporation commission, the board of supervisors or the city
or town council shall eliminate any territory described in the petition which it finds
will not be benefited by the establishment of the underground conversion service area or
in which it finds that conversion is not economically or technically feasible.

C. Additions to and alterations of an underground conversion service area shall be
made in the manner provided for the establishment of the underground conversion service
area.

D. Upon the order of the commission, board of supervisors or city or town council
establishing the area as an underground conversion service area, the commission, board of
supervisors or city or town council shall then direct the public service corporations or
public agencies owning overhead electric or communication facilities, as defined in
section 40-341, within the underground conversion service area to convert such facilities
to underground in accordance with standard underground practices.

E. If the petition for the establishment of an underground conversion service area
requests the conversion of facilities used or maintained to be used for the transmission
of electric energy at nominal voltages in excess of twenty-five thousand, or having a
current capacity in excess of twelve thousand kva, protests and objections may be filed
separately for the conversion of electric facilities and such other facilities. The
commission, board of supervisors or city or town council may order the conversion of
electric facilities if the owners of no more than forty per cent of the real property
within the underground conversion service area and no more than forty per cent of the
owners of real property have not objected to the conversion of the electric facilities
but have objected to the conversion of such other facilities, in which event the
commission, board of supervisors or city or town council shall order the establishment of
the underground service area for the conversion of electric facilities only. If the
owners of not more than forty per cent of the real property within the underground
conversion service area and no more than forty per cent of the owners of real property
have not objected to the conversion of electric facilities and such other facilities and
the commission or board makes such further determinations as are required by subsection A
of this section, then the city or town council, the board of supervisors or the
commission may order the establishment of an underground conversion service area for the
purpose of converting the electric facilities and such other facilities and the cost of
converting such other facilities shall be included in the underground conversion costs
and shall be assessed to each lot or parcel of real property in the same manner as
provided for in section 40-347.

F. The order of the commission, the board of supervisors or the city or town
council establishing the underground conversion service area shall set forth the
underground conversion costs to be charged to each lot or parcel.