§ 89-J — Notice and hearing; order fixing price of water or requiring improvement

§ 89-j. Notice and hearing; order fixing price of water or requiring\nimprovement. Before proceeding under a complaint presented as provided\nin section eighty-nine-i, 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 of its own motion as to any matter of which\ncomplaint may be made, as provided in section eighty-nine-i 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 just and reasonable prices, rates or charges for water to be charged\nby such corporation or person, for the service to be furnished\nnotwithstanding that a higher or lower price has been theretofore\nprescribed by general or special statute, contract, grant, franchise\ncondition, consent or other agreement, and may order such improvement in\nthe supply or distribution of water, 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. If it shall be\nmade to appear to the satisfaction of the commission that the public\ninterest requires a change in the price of water charged by any such\nperson or corporation, or that such change is necessary for the purpose\nof providing adequate and efficient service, or for the preservation of\nthe property, the commission, upon such terms, conditions or safeguards\nas it 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 four of\nsection eighty-nine-c shall be the maximum price to be charged by such\nperson or corporation for water for the service to be furnished within\nthe territory and for a period to be fixed by the commission in the\norder, not exceeding three years except in the 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 water to be thereafter charged. In\ndetermining the price to be charged for water 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, the burden\nof proof to show that the change in rate or price if proposed by the\nperson or corporation operating such utility, or that the existing rate\nor price, if on motion of the commission or in a complaint filed with\nthe commission it is proposed to reduce the rate or price, is just and\nreasonable shall be upon the person or corporation operating such\nutility; and the commission may give to the hearing and decision of such\nquestions preference over all other questions pending before it and\ndecide the same as speedily as possible.\n