Code of Virginia
Chapter 10 - Heat, Light, Power, Water and Other Utility Companies Generally
§ 56-235.5. Telephone regulatory alternatives

A. As used in this section, "telephone company" means any public service corporation or public service company which holds a certificate of public convenience and necessity to furnish local exchange telephone service, except that companies which are regulated pursuant to Chapter 16 (§ 56-485 et seq.) or 19 (§ 56-531 et seq.) of this title are not included within this definition.
B. In regulating telephone services of any telephone company, and notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the Commission, after giving notice and an opportunity for hearing, may replace the ratemaking methodology set forth in § 56-235.2 with any alternative form of regulation which: (i) protects the affordability of basic local exchange telephone service, as such service is defined by the Commission; (ii) reasonably ensures the continuation of quality local exchange telephone service; (iii) will not unreasonably prejudice or disadvantage any class of telephone company customers or other providers of competitive services; and (iv) is in the public interest. Alternatives may differ among telephone companies and may include, but are not limited to, the use of price regulation, ranges of authorized returns, categories of services, price indexing or other alternative forms of regulation. A hearing under this section shall include the right to present evidence and be heard. Prior to any hearing under this section, the Commission shall provide parties an opportunity to conduct discovery.
C. Any telephone company or company regulated pursuant to Chapter 16 (§ 56-485 et seq.) or 19 (§ 56-531 et seq.) of this title may apply to the Commission at any time to obtain an alternative form of regulation. The Commission shall approve the application if it finds, after notice to all affected parties and hearing, that the proposal meets the standards for an alternative form of regulation set forth in subsection B.
1. A Commission order, including appropriate findings of fact and conclusions of law, denying or approving, with or without modification, an application for an alternative form of regulation shall be entered no more than 90 days from the filing of the application, except that the Commission, upon notice to all parties in interest, may extend that period in additional 30-day increments not to exceed an additional 90 days in all.
2. If the Commission approves the application with modifications, the telephone company, or company regulated pursuant to Chapter 16 (§ 56-485 et seq.) or 19 (§ 56-531 et seq.) of this title, may, at its option, withdraw its application and continue to be regulated under the form of regulation that existed immediately prior to the filing of the application, unless it is modified for a telephone company by the Commission pursuant to subsection B.
D. The Commission may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, alter, amend or revoke any alternative form of regulation previously implemented if it finds that (i) the affordability of basic local exchange service, as such service is defined by the Commission, is threatened by the alternative form of regulation; (ii) the quality of local exchange telephone service has deteriorated or will deteriorate to the point that the public interest will not be served by continuation of the alternative form of regulation; (iii) the terms ordered by the Commission in connection with approval of a company's application for alternative form of regulation have been violated; (iv) any class of telephone company customers or other providers of competitive services are being unreasonably prejudiced or disadvantaged by the alternative form of regulation; or (v) the alternative form of regulation is no longer in the public interest.
E. The Commission shall have the authority, after notice to all affected parties and an opportunity for hearing, to determine whether any telephone service of a telephone company is subject to competition and to provide, either by rule or case-by-case determination, for deregulation, detariffing, or modified regulation determined by the Commission to be in the public interest for such competitive services.
F. The Commission may determine telephone services of any telephone company to be competitive when it finds competition or the potential for competition in the market place is or can be an effective regulator of the price of those services. Such determination may be made by the Commission on a statewide or a more limited geographic basis, such as one or more political subdivisions or one or more telephone exchange areas, or on the basis of a category of customers, such as business or residential customers, or customers exceeding a revenue or service quantity threshold, or some combination thereof. The Commission may also determine bundles composed of a combination of competitive and noncompetitive services to be competitive if the noncompetitive services are available separately pursuant to tariff or otherwise. In determining whether competition effectively regulates the prices of services, the Commission shall consider: (i) the ease of market entry, (ii) the presence of other providers reasonably meeting the needs of consumers, and (iii) other factors the Commission considers relevant. For purposes of this section, the Commission shall consider all wireless communications providers that offer voice communications services to be facilities-based competitors owning wireline network facilities and reasonably meeting the needs of consumers, regardless of whether such wireless providers own wireline network facilities. In its determination, the Commission shall not exclude as a competitor any affiliate of the telephone company. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this subsection, any telephone services that are the functional equivalent of the services offered individually or as part of a bundle of services by a county, city or town pursuant to § 56-265.4:4 or Article 5.1 (§ 56-484.7:1 et seq.) of Chapter 15 of this title, either directly or pursuant to a public-private partnership, shall be deemed competitive services in the geographic area where the services of the county, city or town are offered for purposes of this article and any alternate regulatory plans approved by the Commission.
G. The Commission shall monitor the competitiveness of any telephone service previously found by it to be competitive under any provision of subsection F above and may change that conclusion, if, after notice and an opportunity for hearing, it finds that competition no longer effectively regulates the price of that service.
H. Whenever the Commission adopts an alternative form of regulation pursuant to subsection B or C above, or determines that a service is competitive pursuant to subsections E and F above, the Commission shall adopt safeguards to protect consumers and competitive markets. At a minimum these safeguards must ensure that there is no cross subsidization of competitive services by monopoly services.
I. If the Commission determines pursuant to subsections E and F that 75 percent or more of residential households or businesses in a telephone company's incumbent territory are in areas that have been determined by the Commission to be competitive for a telephone service, the Commission shall expand, for that telephone service throughout the company's incumbent territory, its competitive determination and apply the same regulatory treatment already adopted by the Commission for that telephone service in competitive areas, including any safeguards under subsection H.
J. If a telephone company provides 90 percent or more of its residential and business lines access to fiber optic or copper-based broadband service, as defined by the Federal Communications Commission, within an exchange area, the Commission shall expand, for basic and associated telephone services in that exchange area, its competitive determination and apply the same regulatory treatment already adopted by the Commission for those services in competitive areas, including any safeguards under subsection H.
1993, c. 21; 1996, c. 18; 2002, cc. 479, 489; 2003, c. 711; 2009, c. 788.

Structure Code of Virginia

Code of Virginia

Title 56 - Public Service Companies

Chapter 10 - Heat, Light, Power, Water and Other Utility Companies Generally

§ 56-232. Public utility and schedules defined

§ 56-232.1. Regulation of service by certain gas pipeline companies to municipalities

§ 56-232.2. Regulation of compressed natural gas service

§ 56-232.2:1. Regulation of electric vehicle charging service

§ 56-232.3. Regulation of service by certain gas distribution companies to federal, state and local governmental facilities

§ 56-233. Service defined

§ 56-233.1. Public utilities purchasing practices

§ 56-234. Duty to furnish adequate service at reasonable and uniform rates

§ 56-234.1. Liability to customer for violation of duty to determine and charge lowest rate applicable

§ 56-234.2. Review of rates

§ 56-234.3. Approval of expenditures for and monitoring of new generation facilities and projected operation programs of electric utilities

§ 56-234.4. Authority to investigate utility operations to determine efficiency

§ 56-234.5. Required disclosure by certain officers and directors of certain utilities

§ 56-235. When Commission may fix rates, schedules, etc.; conformance with chapter

§ 56-235.1. Conservation of energy and capital resources

§ 56-235.1:1. Rates for stand-by electric service at renewable cogeneration facilities

§ 56-235.1:2. Costs of using small, women-owned, or minority-owned businesses

§ 56-235.2. All rates, tolls, etc., to be just and reasonable to jurisdictional customers; findings and conclusions to be set forth; alternative forms of regulation for electric companies

§ 56-235.3. Procedures for investigation of rate applications

§ 56-235.4. Prohibition of multiple rate increases within any twelve-month period; exception

§ 56-235.5. Telephone regulatory alternatives

§ 56-235.5:1. Local exchange telephone service competition policy

§ 56-235.6. Optional performance-based regulation of certain utilities

§ 56-235.7. Jurisdiction of Commission when federal governmental facility ceases to be retail customer of electric utility

§ 56-235.8. Retail supply choice for natural gas customers

§ 56-235.9. Recovery of funds used for capital projects prior to a rate case for strategic natural gas facilities

§ 56-235.10. Recovery of eligible safety activity costs; administration; procedure

§ 56-235.11. Retail rates of affiliated water utilities

§ 56-235.12. Economic development programs

§ 56-236. Public utilities required to file schedules of rates and charges; rules and regulations; when detariffing of telephone services to be permitted

§ 56-236.1. Rates to be charged churches

§ 56-236.2. Suspension of service to sewerage system

§ 56-237. How changes in rates effected; notice required; changes to be indicated on schedules

§ 56-237.1. Notification of intent to seek rate change in schedules required to be filed under § 56-236

§ 56-237.2. Public hearings on protests or objections to rate changes

§ 56-238. Suspension of proposed rates, etc.; investigation; effectiveness of rates pending investigation and subject to bond; fixing reasonable rates, etc.

§ 56-239. Appeal from action of Commission

§ 56-240. Proposed rates, etc., or changes thereof, not suspended effective subject to later change by Commission; refund or credit; appeal; investor-owned public utilities required to show increase complies with § 56-235.2

§ 56-241. Rates of telephone companies

§ 56-241.1. Flat and measured telephone rates; certain rates prohibited

§ 56-241.2. Approval of rates for resale of telephone service

§ 56-242. Temporary reduction of rates

§ 56-243. Duration of such temporary reduction

§ 56-244. Increase to make up for losses due to excessive temporary reduction

§ 56-245. Temporary increase in rates

§ 56-245.1. Meters to be kept in good working condition; defective meters

§ 56-245.1:1. Customers to be notified about nuclear emergency evacuation plans

§ 56-245.1:2. Customers to be notified of renewable power options

§ 56-245.2. Definitions

§ 56-245.3. Commission to promulgate regulations and standards

§ 56-246. Tests and equipment therefor

§ 56-247. Commission may change regulations, measurements, practices, services, or acts

§ 56-247.1. Commission to require public utilities to follow certain procedures

§ 56-248. Commission to prescribe standard units of products or service

§ 56-248.1. Commission to monitor fuel prices and utility fuel purchases; fuel price index

§ 56-249. Reports by utilities

§ 56-249.1. Commission may require transfer of gas, water or electricity by one utility to another; compensation

§ 56-249.2. Certain records to be maintained

§ 56-249.3. Certain electric utilities to file reports in relation to fuel transactions, fuel purchases, fuel adjustment clauses, etc.

§ 56-249.4. How reports shall be filed; reports open to public; rules and regulations

§ 56-249.5. Repealed

§ 56-249.6. Recovery of fuel and purchased power costs

§ 56-249.7. Certain directors and officers of utility to file shareholder information

§ 56-250. Commission may authorize action by public utility in time of emergency or shortage; plans

§ 56-251. Repealed

§ 56-253. Existing remedies retained

§ 56-254. Sale or lease of plants to cities or towns

§ 56-255. Extension of electric service to territory not being served

§ 56-256. Powers of corporations generally; rights, powers, privileges and immunities, etc.

§ 56-256.1. Height of electric power distribution lines over agricultural land

§ 56-257. Manner of installing underground utility lines

§ 56-257.1. Means of locating nonmetallic underground conduits

§ 56-257.2. Gas pipeline safety

§ 56-257.2:1. Projects presenting material risk to public safety; licensed professional engineers; regulations

§ 56-257.3. Repealed

§ 56-257.4. Report by the State Corporation Commission on investigation of natural gas utilities incident

§ 56-257.5. Manner of installing underground utility lines through agricultural operation

§ 56-258. Who to permit laying of pipelines in roads

§ 56-259.1. Instruments conveying easements to public service corporations

§ 56-259. Rights-of-way, etc., may be contracted for; location of easements of public service corporations

§ 56-260. Compensation for damages

§ 56-260.1. Contract provisions exempting company from liability unlawful

§ 56-261. Duties of companies furnishing water or sewerage facilities

§ 56-261.1. Duties of water and sewerage companies in certain counties

§ 56-261.2. Hydrant connections and water supply for fire protection in certain counties

§ 56-262. Proceeding upon failure of public service corporation to perform duties

§ 56-263. Commission may order increase in service

§ 56-264. Quo warranto in case of failure to comply with order of Commission

§ 56-264.1. Collection of rates, fees and charges

§ 56-264.2. Governing board of multistate entities operating certain sewage treatment facilities; arbitration of issues; condemnation of facilities

§ 56-264.3. Cost allocation and rate design

§ 56-265. Certain sections not to limit Commission's powers