791. Each public utility shall have an office in a county of this
State in which its property or some portion thereof is located and
shall keep in that office all the books, accounts, papers, and
records required by the commission to be kept within this State. No
such books, accounts, papers, or records shall be at any time removed
from the State except upon such conditions as the commission
prescribes.
792. The commission may establish a system of accounts to be kept
by the public utilities subject to its jurisdiction, or classify such
public utilities and establish a system of accounts for each class,
and may prescribe the manner in which such accounts shall be kept. It
may also prescribe the forms of accounts, records, and memoranda to
be kept by such public utilities, including the accounts, records,
and memoranda of the movement of traffic as well as the receipts and
expenditures of moneys, and any other forms, records, and memoranda
which in the judgment of the commission may be necessary to carry out
any of the provisions of this part.
792.5. Whenever the commission authorizes any change in rates
reflecting and passing through to customers specific changes in
costs, except rates set for common carriers, the commission shall
require as a condition of such order that the public utility
establish and maintain a reserve account reflecting the balance,
whether positive or negative, between the related costs and revenues,
and the commission shall take into account by appropriate adjustment
or other action any positive or negative balance remaining in any
such reserve account at the time of any subsequent rate adjustment.
793. The system of accounts and the forms of accounts, records, and
memoranda prescribed by the commission for corporations subject to
the regulatory authority of the United States, shall not be
inconsistent with the systems and forms from time to time established
for such corporations by or under the authority of the United
States. Nothing in this section or Section 794 shall affect the power
of the commission to prescribe forms of accounts, records, and
memoranda covering information in addition to that required by or
under the authority of the United States.
794. The commission may, after notice, and hearing if requested
within 15 days after receipt of notice, prescribe by order the
accounts in which particular outlays and receipts shall be entered,
charged, or credited. Where the commission has prescribed the forms
of accounts, records, or memoranda to be kept by any public utility
for any of its business, it is unlawful for such public utility to
keep any accounts, records, or memoranda for such business other than
those so prescribed, or those prescribed by or under the authority
of any other state or of the United States, except such accounts,
records, or memoranda as are explanatory of and supplemental to those
prescribed by the commission.
795. The commission may, after hearing if requested, require any or
all public utilities to carry a proper and adequate depreciation
account in the form and in accordance with such rules as the
commission prescribes. The commission may, from time to time,
ascertain and by order fix the proper and adequate rates of
depreciation of the several classes of property of each public
utility.
796. (a) The commission shall disallow, for purposes of setting the
rates to be charged by any electrical, gas, or heat corporation for
the services or commodities furnished by it, all expenses for
advertising which encourage increased consumption of such services or
commodities.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the commission may allow, for
purposes of setting rates, expenses for advertising which encourages
the more efficient operation of the electric, gas, or heating plant,
or for advertising which encourages the more efficient use of
electricity, gas, or heat or the conservation of energy or natural
resources, or presents accurate information on the economical
purchase, maintenance, or effective use of electrical or gas
appliances and devices.
797. The commission shall periodically audit all significant
transactions, as specified by the commission, between an electrical,
gas, or telephone corporation and every subsidiary or affiliate of,
or corporation holding a controlling interest in, that electrical,
gas, or telephone corporation. The commission may, in this
connection, utilize the services of an independent auditor, who shall
be selected and supervised by the commission. Nothing in this
section prohibits the commission from auditing any transaction
between an electrical, gas, or telephone corporation and any
subsidiary or affiliate of, or corporation holding a controlling
interest in, the electrical, gas, or telephone corporation, as
otherwise permitted or required by law.
798. (a) Whenever the commission finds and determines that any
electrical, gas, or telephone corporation has willfully made an
imprudent payment to, or received a less than reasonable payment
from, any subsidiary or affiliate of, or corporation holding a
controlling interest in, the electrical, gas, or telephone
corporation in violation of any rule or order of the commission,
adopted and published by the commission prior to the transaction but
after notice to, and an opportunity to comment by, the affected
corporation, and the corporation has sought to recover the payment in
any proceeding before the commission, the commission may , following
a hearing, levy a penalty against the corporation not to exceed
three times the required or prohibited payment, as the case may be,
if the commission finds that the payment, in whole or part, was made
or received by the corporation for the purpose of benefiting its
subsidiary, affiliate, or holding corporation. This penalty is in
addition to any criminal penalties which may apply.
(b) In determining whether to impose a civil penalty under this
section, the commission may take into consideration multistate public
utility diversification activities involving cross-subsidization
which are permissible in other states or under federal jurisdiction
although in violation of the commission's rules and orders.
799. (a) With respect to all taxes enacted by any local
jurisdiction, including any city, county, or city and county,
including a chartered city or county, any district, including an
agency of the state, formed pursuant to general law or special act,
for the local performance of governmental or proprietary functions
within limited boundaries, or any public or municipal corporation,
and imposed on the customers of public utilities or other service
suppliers, which taxes have been collected by the public utilities
and other service suppliers and remitted to the local jurisdiction
all of the following shall apply:
(1) The public utility or other service supplier shall have no
duty to independently investigate or inquire with the local
jurisdiction concerning the validity of the tax ordinance.
(2) In connection with any actions or claims relating to or
arising from the invalidity of the tax ordinance, in whole or in
part, the public utility or other service supplier shall not be
liable to any customer as a consequence of collecting the tax.
(3) In the event a local jurisdiction is ordered to refund the
tax, it shall be the sole responsibility of the local jurisdiction to
refund the tax. Unless a public utility or other service supplier is
reimbursed by the local jurisdiction for the actual cost of
assisting the local jurisdiction, including, but not limited to,
calculating or verifying refunds, distributing refunds, providing
data, or providing data processing assistance, the public utility or
other service supplier shall not be required to assist the local
jurisdiction to refund the tax, including, but not limited to,
calculating or verifying refunds, distributing refunds, providing
data, or providing data processing assistance.
(4) In any action seeking to enjoin collection of taxes imposed on
customers of utilities or other service suppliers and collected by
the utilities or other service suppliers, in any action seeking
declaratory relief concerning the taxes, in any action seeking a
refund of the taxes, or in any action seeking otherwise to invalidate
the taxes, the sole necessary party defendant in the action shall be
the local jurisdiction on whose behalf the taxes are collected and
the public utility or other service supplier collecting the taxes
shall not be named as a party in the action.
(5) If a local jurisdiction repeals the tax, reduces an existing
tax rate, changes the tax base, or makes any other changes to the tax
that would affect the collection and remittance of the tax, the
local jurisdiction shall submit, on and after the effective date of
the enactment of the change, a written notification and supply all
requisite information to the public utility or service supplier, in
accordance with the procedures established by the public utility or
service supplier. The public utility or other service supplier shall
not be required to implement the changes any earlier than 60 days
from the date on which the public utility or other service provider
receives the written notification and all other information required
by the public utility or other service supplier. If the 60th day is
not the first day of a month, then the public utility or other
service provider shall implement the changes on the first day of the
month following the month in which the 60th day occurs.
(6) If a local jurisdiction adopts a new tax, the local
jurisdiction shall submit, on and after the effective date of the
adoption of the new tax, a written notification to the public utility
or other service supplier, in accordance with procedures established
by the public utility or other service supplier, requesting that the
tax be collected. The public utility or other service supplier shall
not be required to begin collecting the tax any earlier than 90 days
from the date on which the public utility or other service provider
receives written notification and all other information required by
the public utility or other service supplier. If the 90th day is not
the first day of a month, then the public utility or other service
provider shall begin the tax collection on the first day of the month
following the month in which the 90th day occurs. Nothing in this
section shall be construed to prevent the public utility or other
service provider from beginning the tax collection at an earlier
date.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares that the limitations
imposed by this section constitute an issue of statewide concern. The
Legislature further finds and declares that the limitations imposed
by this section are not municipal affairs as that term is used in
Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, it is the
intent of the Legislature that the limitations imposed by this
section apply to all cities, counties, and cities and counties,
including chartered cities and chartered counties, any district,
including an agency of the state, formed pursuant to general law or
special act, for the local performance of governmental or proprietary
functions within limited boundaries, and any public or municipal
corporation.
791. Each public utility shall have an office in a county of this
State in which its property or some portion thereof is located and
shall keep in that office all the books, accounts, papers, and
records required by the commission to be kept within this State. No
such books, accounts, papers, or records shall be at any time removed
from the State except upon such conditions as the commission
prescribes.
792. The commission may establish a system of accounts to be kept
by the public utilities subject to its jurisdiction, or classify such
public utilities and establish a system of accounts for each class,
and may prescribe the manner in which such accounts shall be kept. It
may also prescribe the forms of accounts, records, and memoranda to
be kept by such public utilities, including the accounts, records,
and memoranda of the movement of traffic as well as the receipts and
expenditures of moneys, and any other forms, records, and memoranda
which in the judgment of the commission may be necessary to carry out
any of the provisions of this part.
792.5. Whenever the commission authorizes any change in rates
reflecting and passing through to customers specific changes in
costs, except rates set for common carriers, the commission shall
require as a condition of such order that the public utility
establish and maintain a reserve account reflecting the balance,
whether positive or negative, between the related costs and revenues,
and the commission shall take into account by appropriate adjustment
or other action any positive or negative balance remaining in any
such reserve account at the time of any subsequent rate adjustment.
793. The system of accounts and the forms of accounts, records, and
memoranda prescribed by the commission for corporations subject to
the regulatory authority of the United States, shall not be
inconsistent with the systems and forms from time to time established
for such corporations by or under the authority of the United
States. Nothing in this section or Section 794 shall affect the power
of the commission to prescribe forms of accounts, records, and
memoranda covering information in addition to that required by or
under the authority of the United States.
794. The commission may, after notice, and hearing if requested
within 15 days after receipt of notice, prescribe by order the
accounts in which particular outlays and receipts shall be entered,
charged, or credited. Where the commission has prescribed the forms
of accounts, records, or memoranda to be kept by any public utility
for any of its business, it is unlawful for such public utility to
keep any accounts, records, or memoranda for such business other than
those so prescribed, or those prescribed by or under the authority
of any other state or of the United States, except such accounts,
records, or memoranda as are explanatory of and supplemental to those
prescribed by the commission.
795. The commission may, after hearing if requested, require any or
all public utilities to carry a proper and adequate depreciation
account in the form and in accordance with such rules as the
commission prescribes. The commission may, from time to time,
ascertain and by order fix the proper and adequate rates of
depreciation of the several classes of property of each public
utility.
796. (a) The commission shall disallow, for purposes of setting the
rates to be charged by any electrical, gas, or heat corporation for
the services or commodities furnished by it, all expenses for
advertising which encourage increased consumption of such services or
commodities.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the commission may allow, for
purposes of setting rates, expenses for advertising which encourages
the more efficient operation of the electric, gas, or heating plant,
or for advertising which encourages the more efficient use of
electricity, gas, or heat or the conservation of energy or natural
resources, or presents accurate information on the economical
purchase, maintenance, or effective use of electrical or gas
appliances and devices.
797. The commission shall periodically audit all significant
transactions, as specified by the commission, between an electrical,
gas, or telephone corporation and every subsidiary or affiliate of,
or corporation holding a controlling interest in, that electrical,
gas, or telephone corporation. The commission may, in this
connection, utilize the services of an independent auditor, who shall
be selected and supervised by the commission. Nothing in this
section prohibits the commission from auditing any transaction
between an electrical, gas, or telephone corporation and any
subsidiary or affiliate of, or corporation holding a controlling
interest in, the electrical, gas, or telephone corporation, as
otherwise permitted or required by law.
798. (a) Whenever the commission finds and determines that any
electrical, gas, or telephone corporation has willfully made an
imprudent payment to, or received a less than reasonable payment
from, any subsidiary or affiliate of, or corporation holding a
controlling interest in, the electrical, gas, or telephone
corporation in violation of any rule or order of the commission,
adopted and published by the commission prior to the transaction but
after notice to, and an opportunity to comment by, the affected
corporation, and the corporation has sought to recover the payment in
any proceeding before the commission, the commission may , following
a hearing, levy a penalty against the corporation not to exceed
three times the required or prohibited payment, as the case may be,
if the commission finds that the payment, in whole or part, was made
or received by the corporation for the purpose of benefiting its
subsidiary, affiliate, or holding corporation. This penalty is in
addition to any criminal penalties which may apply.
(b) In determining whether to impose a civil penalty under this
section, the commission may take into consideration multistate public
utility diversification activities involving cross-subsidization
which are permissible in other states or under federal jurisdiction
although in violation of the commission's rules and orders.
799. (a) With respect to all taxes enacted by any local
jurisdiction, including any city, county, or city and county,
including a chartered city or county, any district, including an
agency of the state, formed pursuant to general law or special act,
for the local performance of governmental or proprietary functions
within limited boundaries, or any public or municipal corporation,
and imposed on the customers of public utilities or other service
suppliers, which taxes have been collected by the public utilities
and other service suppliers and remitted to the local jurisdiction
all of the following shall apply:
(1) The public utility or other service supplier shall have no
duty to independently investigate or inquire with the local
jurisdiction concerning the validity of the tax ordinance.
(2) In connection with any actions or claims relating to or
arising from the invalidity of the tax ordinance, in whole or in
part, the public utility or other service supplier shall not be
liable to any customer as a consequence of collecting the tax.
(3) In the event a local jurisdiction is ordered to refund the
tax, it shall be the sole responsibility of the local jurisdiction to
refund the tax. Unless a public utility or other service supplier is
reimbursed by the local jurisdiction for the actual cost of
assisting the local jurisdiction, including, but not limited to,
calculating or verifying refunds, distributing refunds, providing
data, or providing data processing assistance, the public utility or
other service supplier shall not be required to assist the local
jurisdiction to refund the tax, including, but not limited to,
calculating or verifying refunds, distributing refunds, providing
data, or providing data processing assistance.
(4) In any action seeking to enjoin collection of taxes imposed on
customers of utilities or other service suppliers and collected by
the utilities or other service suppliers, in any action seeking
declaratory relief concerning the taxes, in any action seeking a
refund of the taxes, or in any action seeking otherwise to invalidate
the taxes, the sole necessary party defendant in the action shall be
the local jurisdiction on whose behalf the taxes are collected and
the public utility or other service supplier collecting the taxes
shall not be named as a party in the action.
(5) If a local jurisdiction repeals the tax, reduces an existing
tax rate, changes the tax base, or makes any other changes to the tax
that would affect the collection and remittance of the tax, the
local jurisdiction shall submit, on and after the effective date of
the enactment of the change, a written notification and supply all
requisite information to the public utility or service supplier, in
accordance with the procedures established by the public utility or
service supplier. The public utility or other service supplier shall
not be required to implement the changes any earlier than 60 days
from the date on which the public utility or other service provider
receives the written notification and all other information required
by the public utility or other service supplier. If the 60th day is
not the first day of a month, then the public utility or other
service provider shall implement the changes on the first day of the
month following the month in which the 60th day occurs.
(6) If a local jurisdiction adopts a new tax, the local
jurisdiction shall submit, on and after the effective date of the
adoption of the new tax, a written notification to the public utility
or other service supplier, in accordance with procedures established
by the public utility or other service supplier, requesting that the
tax be collected. The public utility or other service supplier shall
not be required to begin collecting the tax any earlier than 90 days
from the date on which the public utility or other service provider
receives written notification and all other information required by
the public utility or other service supplier. If the 90th day is not
the first day of a month, then the public utility or other service
provider shall begin the tax collection on the first day of the month
following the month in which the 90th day occurs. Nothing in this
section shall be construed to prevent the public utility or other
service provider from beginning the tax collection at an earlier
date.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares that the limitations
imposed by this section constitute an issue of statewide concern. The
Legislature further finds and declares that the limitations imposed
by this section are not municipal affairs as that term is used in
Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, it is the
intent of the Legislature that the limitations imposed by this
section apply to all cities, counties, and cities and counties,
including chartered cities and chartered counties, any district,
including an agency of the state, formed pursuant to general law or
special act, for the local performance of governmental or proprietary
functions within limited boundaries, and any public or municipal
corporation.
791. Each public utility shall have an office in a county of this
State in which its property or some portion thereof is located and
shall keep in that office all the books, accounts, papers, and
records required by the commission to be kept within this State. No
such books, accounts, papers, or records shall be at any time removed
from the State except upon such conditions as the commission
prescribes.
792. The commission may establish a system of accounts to be kept
by the public utilities subject to its jurisdiction, or classify such
public utilities and establish a system of accounts for each class,
and may prescribe the manner in which such accounts shall be kept. It
may also prescribe the forms of accounts, records, and memoranda to
be kept by such public utilities, including the accounts, records,
and memoranda of the movement of traffic as well as the receipts and
expenditures of moneys, and any other forms, records, and memoranda
which in the judgment of the commission may be necessary to carry out
any of the provisions of this part.
792.5. Whenever the commission authorizes any change in rates
reflecting and passing through to customers specific changes in
costs, except rates set for common carriers, the commission shall
require as a condition of such order that the public utility
establish and maintain a reserve account reflecting the balance,
whether positive or negative, between the related costs and revenues,
and the commission shall take into account by appropriate adjustment
or other action any positive or negative balance remaining in any
such reserve account at the time of any subsequent rate adjustment.
793. The system of accounts and the forms of accounts, records, and
memoranda prescribed by the commission for corporations subject to
the regulatory authority of the United States, shall not be
inconsistent with the systems and forms from time to time established
for such corporations by or under the authority of the United
States. Nothing in this section or Section 794 shall affect the power
of the commission to prescribe forms of accounts, records, and
memoranda covering information in addition to that required by or
under the authority of the United States.
794. The commission may, after notice, and hearing if requested
within 15 days after receipt of notice, prescribe by order the
accounts in which particular outlays and receipts shall be entered,
charged, or credited. Where the commission has prescribed the forms
of accounts, records, or memoranda to be kept by any public utility
for any of its business, it is unlawful for such public utility to
keep any accounts, records, or memoranda for such business other than
those so prescribed, or those prescribed by or under the authority
of any other state or of the United States, except such accounts,
records, or memoranda as are explanatory of and supplemental to those
prescribed by the commission.
795. The commission may, after hearing if requested, require any or
all public utilities to carry a proper and adequate depreciation
account in the form and in accordance with such rules as the
commission prescribes. The commission may, from time to time,
ascertain and by order fix the proper and adequate rates of
depreciation of the several classes of property of each public
utility.
796. (a) The commission shall disallow, for purposes of setting the
rates to be charged by any electrical, gas, or heat corporation for
the services or commodities furnished by it, all expenses for
advertising which encourage increased consumption of such services or
commodities.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the commission may allow, for
purposes of setting rates, expenses for advertising which encourages
the more efficient operation of the electric, gas, or heating plant,
or for advertising which encourages the more efficient use of
electricity, gas, or heat or the conservation of energy or natural
resources, or presents accurate information on the economical
purchase, maintenance, or effective use of electrical or gas
appliances and devices.
797. The commission shall periodically audit all significant
transactions, as specified by the commission, between an electrical,
gas, or telephone corporation and every subsidiary or affiliate of,
or corporation holding a controlling interest in, that electrical,
gas, or telephone corporation. The commission may, in this
connection, utilize the services of an independent auditor, who shall
be selected and supervised by the commission. Nothing in this
section prohibits the commission from auditing any transaction
between an electrical, gas, or telephone corporation and any
subsidiary or affiliate of, or corporation holding a controlling
interest in, the electrical, gas, or telephone corporation, as
otherwise permitted or required by law.
798. (a) Whenever the commission finds and determines that any
electrical, gas, or telephone corporation has willfully made an
imprudent payment to, or received a less than reasonable payment
from, any subsidiary or affiliate of, or corporation holding a
controlling interest in, the electrical, gas, or telephone
corporation in violation of any rule or order of the commission,
adopted and published by the commission prior to the transaction but
after notice to, and an opportunity to comment by, the affected
corporation, and the corporation has sought to recover the payment in
any proceeding before the commission, the commission may , following
a hearing, levy a penalty against the corporation not to exceed
three times the required or prohibited payment, as the case may be,
if the commission finds that the payment, in whole or part, was made
or received by the corporation for the purpose of benefiting its
subsidiary, affiliate, or holding corporation. This penalty is in
addition to any criminal penalties which may apply.
(b) In determining whether to impose a civil penalty under this
section, the commission may take into consideration multistate public
utility diversification activities involving cross-subsidization
which are permissible in other states or under federal jurisdiction
although in violation of the commission's rules and orders.
799. (a) With respect to all taxes enacted by any local
jurisdiction, including any city, county, or city and county,
including a chartered city or county, any district, including an
agency of the state, formed pursuant to general law or special act,
for the local performance of governmental or proprietary functions
within limited boundaries, or any public or municipal corporation,
and imposed on the customers of public utilities or other service
suppliers, which taxes have been collected by the public utilities
and other service suppliers and remitted to the local jurisdiction
all of the following shall apply:
(1) The public utility or other service supplier shall have no
duty to independently investigate or inquire with the local
jurisdiction concerning the validity of the tax ordinance.
(2) In connection with any actions or claims relating to or
arising from the invalidity of the tax ordinance, in whole or in
part, the public utility or other service supplier shall not be
liable to any customer as a consequence of collecting the tax.
(3) In the event a local jurisdiction is ordered to refund the
tax, it shall be the sole responsibility of the local jurisdiction to
refund the tax. Unless a public utility or other service supplier is
reimbursed by the local jurisdiction for the actual cost of
assisting the local jurisdiction, including, but not limited to,
calculating or verifying refunds, distributing refunds, providing
data, or providing data processing assistance, the public utility or
other service supplier shall not be required to assist the local
jurisdiction to refund the tax, including, but not limited to,
calculating or verifying refunds, distributing refunds, providing
data, or providing data processing assistance.
(4) In any action seeking to enjoin collection of taxes imposed on
customers of utilities or other service suppliers and collected by
the utilities or other service suppliers, in any action seeking
declaratory relief concerning the taxes, in any action seeking a
refund of the taxes, or in any action seeking otherwise to invalidate
the taxes, the sole necessary party defendant in the action shall be
the local jurisdiction on whose behalf the taxes are collected and
the public utility or other service supplier collecting the taxes
shall not be named as a party in the action.
(5) If a local jurisdiction repeals the tax, reduces an existing
tax rate, changes the tax base, or makes any other changes to the tax
that would affect the collection and remittance of the tax, the
local jurisdiction shall submit, on and after the effective date of
the enactment of the change, a written notification and supply all
requisite information to the public utility or service supplier, in
accordance with the procedures established by the public utility or
service supplier. The public utility or other service supplier shall
not be required to implement the changes any earlier than 60 days
from the date on which the public utility or other service provider
receives the written notification and all other information required
by the public utility or other service supplier. If the 60th day is
not the first day of a month, then the public utility or other
service provider shall implement the changes on the first day of the
month following the month in which the 60th day occurs.
(6) If a local jurisdiction adopts a new tax, the local
jurisdiction shall submit, on and after the effective date of the
adoption of the new tax, a written notification to the public utility
or other service supplier, in accordance with procedures established
by the public utility or other service supplier, requesting that the
tax be collected. The public utility or other service supplier shall
not be required to begin collecting the tax any earlier than 90 days
from the date on which the public utility or other service provider
receives written notification and all other information required by
the public utility or other service supplier. If the 90th day is not
the first day of a month, then the public utility or other service
provider shall begin the tax collection on the first day of the month
following the month in which the 90th day occurs. Nothing in this
section shall be construed to prevent the public utility or other
service provider from beginning the tax collection at an earlier
date.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares that the limitations
imposed by this section constitute an issue of statewide concern. The
Legislature further finds and declares that the limitations imposed
by this section are not municipal affairs as that term is used in
Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, it is the
intent of the Legislature that the limitations imposed by this
section apply to all cities, counties, and cities and counties,
including chartered cities and chartered counties, any district,
including an agency of the state, formed pursuant to general law or
special act, for the local performance of governmental or proprietary
functions within limited boundaries, and any public or municipal
corporation.
