§ 85 — Notice and hearing; order fixing price of steam, or requiring improvement

§ 85. Notice and hearing; order fixing price of steam, or requiring\nimprovement. Before proceeding under a complaint presented as provided\nin section eighty-four, the commission shall cause notice of such\ncomplaint, and the purpose thereof, to be served upon the person or\ncorporation affected thereby. Such person or corporation shall have an\nopportunity to be heard in respect to the matters complained of at a\ntime and place to be specified in such notice. An investigation may be\ninstituted by the commission on its own motion as to any matter of which\ncomplaint may be made, as provided in section eighty-four of this\nchapter, or to enable it to ascertain the facts requisite to the\nexercise of any power conferred upon it. After a hearing and after such\nan investigation as shall have been made by the commission or its\nofficers, agents, examiners or inspectors, the commission may, by order,\nfix the maximum price of steam to be charged by such corporation or\nperson, for the service to be furnished notwithstanding that a higher or\nlower price has been theretofore prescribed by general or special\nstatute, contract, grant, franchise condition, consent or other\nagreement; and may order such improvement in the manufacture,\ndistribution or supply of steam, or in the methods employed by such\nperson or corporation, as will in its judgment be adequate, just and\nreasonable. Any such change in price shall be upon such terms,\nconditions or safeguards, as the commission may prescribe. It it shall\nappear to the satisfaction of the commission that the public interest\nrequires a change in the price of steam charged by any such person or\ncorporation, or that such change is necessary for the purpose of\nproviding adequate and efficient service, or for the preservation of the\nproperty, the commission, upon such terms, conditions or safeguards as\nit deems proper, may authorize an immediate, reasonable, temporary\nincrease or decrease in such price pending a final determination of the\nprice to be thereafter charged by such person or corporation. The terms,\nconditions or safeguards prescribed may include provisions for the\npurposes for which the additional revenue derived from any such\ntemporary increase may be expended and for the impounding thereof until\nthe same shall be applied to the purposes so specified. The price fixed\nby the commission under this section or under subdivision five of\nsection eighty shall be the maximum price to be charged by such person,\ncorporation or municipality for steam for the service to be furnished\nwithin the territory and for a period to be fixed by the commission in\nthe order, not exceeding three years except in case of a sliding scale,\nand thereafter until the commission shall, upon its own motion or upon\nthe complaint of any corporation, person or municipality interested, fix\na higher or lower maximum price of steam to be thereafter charged. In\ndetermining the price to be charged for steam the commission may\nconsider all facts which in its judgment have any bearing upon a proper\ndetermination of the question although not set forth in the complaint\nand not within the allegations contained therein, with due regard among\nother things to a reasonable average return upon capital actually\nexpended and to the necessity of making reservations out of income for\nsurplus and contingencies. At any hearing involving a rate or price, the\nburden of proof to show that the change in rate, if proposed by the\nperson, corporation or municipality operating such utility, or that the\nexisting rate, if on motion of the commission or in a complaint filed\nwith the commission it is proposed to reduce the rate, is just and\nreasonable, shall be upon the person, corporation or municipality\noperating the utility, and the commission may give to the hearing and\ndecision of such questions preference over all other questions pending\nbefore it and decide the same as speedily as possible.\n