(a) No public utility, without having first obtained the approval of the Commission, shall:
(1) Directly or indirectly merge or consolidate with any other person or company, or sell, lease, assign, or mortgage except by supplemental indenture in accordance with the terms of a mortgage outstanding September 1, 1949, or otherwise dispose of or encumber any essential part of its franchises, plant, equipment or other property, necessary or useful in the performance of its duty to the public; or
(2) Issue any stocks, stock certificates, or notes, bonds or other evidences of indebtedness payable in more than 1 year from the date thereof; or
(3) Assume any obligation or liability as guarantor, endorser, surety or otherwise in respect of any security of any other person or corporation, payable or maturing more than 1 year after the date of such issue or assumption of liability.
(b) No individual, group, syndicate, general or limited partnership, association, corporation, joint stock company, trust or other entity, whether or not organized under the laws of this State, shall acquire control, either directly or indirectly, of any public utility doing business in this State, without having first obtained the approval of the Commission. Any such acquisition of control without such prior authorization shall be void and of no effect. As used herein the term “control” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a public utility, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by effecting a change in the composition of the board of directors, by contract or otherwise. Control shall be presumed to exist if any such individual or entity, directly or indirectly, owns 10% or more of the voting securities of the public utility. This presumption may be rebutted by a showing that such ownership does not in fact confer control.
(c) Application for any such approval or authorization shall be made to the Commission in writing, verified by oath or affirmation, and be in such form and contain such information as the Commission requires.
(d) The Commission shall approve any such proposed merger, mortgage, transfer, issue, assumption or acquisition when it finds that the same is to be made in accordance with law, for a proper purpose and is consistent with the public interest. The Commission may make such investigation and hold such hearings in the matter as it deems necessary, and thereafter may grant any application under this section in whole or in part and with such modification and upon such terms and conditions as it deems necessary or appropriate. The Commission shall grant, modify, refuse or prescribe appropriate terms and conditions with respect to every such application within 30 days after the filing of the application therefor, except that with respect to any application filed under subsection (b) hereof, if the Commission gives notice to the parties of a hearing to be held by the Commission with respect to the application and the hearing is commenced within such 30 days or on a date mutually acceptable to the Commission and the parties, the Commission shall have 30 days after the submission of the hearing examiner’s report or recommended decision within which to render its decision. In the absence of any such action within such period of time, any such proposed merger, mortgage, transfer, issue, assumption or acquisition shall be deemed to be approved.
(e) (1) Any public utility may satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (a)(2) and (3) of this section by filing with the Commission a statement of a financing plan stating in detail:
a. Those issuances or assumptions described in paragraphs (a)(2) and (3) of this section that it intends to make within 3 years following the filing; and
b. The anticipated times thereof; and
c. The anticipated costs thereof; and
d. The anticipated capitalization ratios for the public utility during that period; and
e. Such other information as the Commission may require.
(2) The Commission shall review the plan for consistency with efficient and reasonable financing principles. The Commission may make such investigation and hold such hearings in the matter as it deems necessary, and thereafter may approve the plan in whole or in part with such modification and upon such terms and conditions as it deems appropriate. The Commission shall approve any financing plan when the proposed financings are to be made in accordance with law, for proper purposes and are consistent with the public interest. The Commission may require the filing of periodic reports as to the action taken pursuant to the plan. The Commission shall approve, modify, refuse or prescribe appropriate terms and conditions with respect to any such plan within 60 days of its filing. In the absence of such action within such period of time, the proposed plan shall be deemed to be approved as filed as if the Commission itself had acted favorably thereon. The public utility may then, without further application to the Commission, make any issuance or assumption approved by the Commission.
(3) Thereafter, the public utility may file an application for approval of an amendment to an approved plan or for approval of a substitute for an approved plan, which application will be reviewed under the criteria and by the procedures provided therein for review of and action on a filing of a financing plan except that the period of review shall be 30 days. In the absence of action by the Commission within such period of time, the amendment or substitute shall be deemed to be approved.
(f) Subsection (b) of this section shall not apply to any acquisition of control of any public utility which derives a greater percentage of its gross revenue from business in another jurisdiction than from business in this State if the Commission determines that the other jurisdiction has statutes or rules which are applicable and are being applied and which afford protection to ratepayers in this State substantially equal to that afforded such ratepayers by this section. For purposes of this subsection, the term “gross revenue” is used as that term is used in § 115(c) of this title, except that in defining gross revenue derived from business in another jurisdiction, the name of the appropriate regulatory agency or agencies established by such other jurisdiction for the regulation of public utilities shall be substituted for “the Public Service Commission” in § 115(c)(1) of this title and for “the Commission” in § 115(b) of this title.
(g) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed in any way to prevent the sale or lease or other disposition of any public utility of any of its property in the ordinary course of its business.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Commission approval is not required for any reorganization or merger of public utility companies providing telecommunications services, including a mortgage or transfer of property, issuance of securities, assumption of obligation of another, or transfer of control of a service provider governed under this subchapter.