§ 40-1-103 — Public utility defined

(1) (a) (I) The term public utility, when
used in articles 1 to 7 of this title, includes every common carrier, pipeline
corporation, gas corporation, electrical corporation, telephone corporation, water
corporation, person, or municipality operating for the purpose of supplying the
public for domestic, mechanical, or public uses and every corporation, or person
declared by law to be affected with a public interest, and each of the preceding is
hereby declared to be a public utility and to be subject to the jurisdiction, control,
and regulation of the commission and to the provisions of articles 1 to 7 of this title.

(II) As used in this paragraph (a), water corporation includes a combined
water and sewer corporation, whether as a single entity or as different entities
under common ownership.

(b) Nothing in articles 1 to 7 of this title 40 apply to:

(I) Irrigation systems, the chief or principal business of which is to supply
water for the purpose of irrigation;

(II) Exemptions provided for in the constitution of the state of Colorado
relating to municipal utilities;

(III) Hotels, motels, or other lodging-type entities that resell intrastate toll
services to their lodging patrons and not to the general public;

(IV) Any consumer who owns pay telephone terminal equipment and who
resells local exchange and toll service paid for by coin deposit, credit card, or
otherwise by using the tariff services and facilities of regulated telephone utilities;

(V) The provision or resale to the general public of communications services
over a cellular radio system. For purposes of this subparagraph (V), a cellular
radio means a mobile communications system in which the radio frequency
spectrum is divided into discrete channels which are assigned in groups to
geographic cells within a service area and which are capable of being reused in
different cells within that service area.

(VI) Repealed.

(2) (a) Every cooperative electric association, or nonprofit electric
corporation or association, and every other supplier of electric energy, whether
supplying electric energy for the use of the public or for the use of its own
members, is hereby declared to be affected with a public interest and to be a public
utility and to be subject to the jurisdiction, control, and regulation of the
commission and to the provisions of articles 1 to 7 of this title.

(b) (I) Paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) requiring regulation by the
commission shall not be applicable to a cooperative electric association which has
voted to exempt itself from regulation pursuant to the provisions of section 40-9.5-103. Regulation of such cooperative electric associations shall be in the manner
provided in part 1 of article 9.5 of this title.

(II) Repealed.

(c) The supply of electricity or heat to a consumer of the electricity or heat
from renewable energy generation facilities owned or operated by an entity other
than the consumer, including a master meter operator, as described in section 40-1-103.5, does not subject the owner or operator of the renewable energy generation
facilities to regulation as a public utility by the commission if the renewable energy
generation facilities are located on property owned or leased by either:

(I) The consumer; or

(II) A master meter operator or another consumer served by the master
meter operator.

(3) For the purposes of articles 1 to 7 of this title 40, a motor carrier that
provides transportation not subject to regulation pursuant to section 40-10.1-105 or
that is subject to part 3, 4, 5, or 7 of article 10.1 of this title 40 is not a public utility.

(4) Repealed.

Legislative History

Source: L. 13: p. 465, � 3. C.L. � 2913. CSA: C. 137, � 3. CRS 53: � 115-1-3. L. 61: p. 627, � 1. C.R.S. 1963: � 115-1-3. L. 80: (3) added, p. 742, � 2, effective June 30. L. 83: (1) amended, p. 1547, � 1, effective May 25; (2) amended, p. 1572, � 2, effective July 1. L. 84: (1) amended, p. 1032, � 1, effective April 2; (3) amended, p. 1051, � 3, effective April 12. L. 85: (2)(b)(I) amended and (2)(b)(II) repealed, pp. 1301, 1303, �� 1, 6, effective April 5; (1)(b)(IV) and (1)(b)(V) added, pp. 1293, 1294, �� 1, 1, effective April 30; (3) amended, p. 1308, � 3, effective May 29. L. 86: (2)(b)(I) amended, p. 1161, � 2, effective May 27. L. 90: (4) added, p. 1811, � 2, effective June 7. L. 91: (3) amended, p. 1758, � 1, effective March 12. L. 95: (3) amended, p. 1209, � 22, effective May 31. L. 98: (1)(b)(III) amended, p. 845, � 4, effective May 26. L. 2003: (1)(b)(VI) added, p. 2592, � 3, effective June 5. L. 2008: (1)(a) amended, p. 1792, � 4, effective July 1. L. 2009: (2)(c) added, (SB 09-051), ch. 157, p. 678, � 10, effective September 1. L. 2011: (3) amended, (HB 11-1198), ch. 127, p. 418, � 12, effective August 10. L. 2012: (4) repealed, (HB 12-1258), ch. 147, p. 529, � 2, effective August 8. L. 2018: (3) amended, (HB 18-1320), ch. 363, p. 2164, � 2, effective August 8. L. 2021: (2)(c) amended, (SB 21-261), ch. 280, p. 1618, � 3, effective June 21; IP(1)(b) amended and (1)(b)(VI) repealed, (HB 21-1201), ch. 389, p. 2598, � 2, effective June 30.