§ 97 — Rates, rentals and service

New York § 97

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law PBS: Public Service
• Art. 5: Provisions Relating to Telegraph and Telephone Lines and to Telephone and Telegraph Corporations

Text

§ 97. Rates, rentals and service. 1. Whenever the commission shall be\nof opinion, after a hearing, had upon its own motion or upon a complaint\nthat the rates, charges, tolls or rentals demanded, exacted, charged or\ncollected by any telegraph corporation or telephone corporation subject\nto its jurisdiction for the transaction of messages or communications by\ntelegraph or telephone or for the rental or use of any telegraph line,\ntelephone line or any telegraph instrument, wire, appliances, apparatus\nor device or any telephone receiver, transmitter, instrument, wire,\ncable, apparatus, conduit, machine, appliance or device or any telephone\nextension or extention system or that the rules, regulations or\npractices of any telegraph corporation or telephone corporation\naffecting such rates, charges, rentals or service are unjust,\nunreasonable or unjustly discriminatory or unduly preferential or in\nanywise in violation of law, or that the maximum rates, charges or\nrentals chargeable by any such telegraph corporation or telephone\ncorporation are insufficient to yield reasonable compensation for the\nservice rendered, the commission shall, with due regard, among other\nthings, to a reasonable average return upon the value of the property\nactually used in the public service and to the necessity of making\nreservation out of income for surplus and contingencies, determine the\njust and reasonable rates, charges and rentals to be thereafter observed\nand in force as the maximum to be charged, demanded, exacted or\ncollected for the performance or rendering of the service specified\nnotwithstanding that a higher or lower rate, charge or rental has been\ntheretofore prescribed by general or special statute, contract, grant,\nfranchise condition, consent or other agreement and shall fix the same\nby order to be served upon all telegraph corporations and telephone\ncorporations by which such rates, charges or rentals are thereafter to\nbe observed, and thereafter no increase in any rate, charge or rental so\nfixed shall be made without the consent of the commission. Any such\nchange in rate, charge or rental shall be upon such terms, conditions or\nsafeguards as the commission may prescribe. At any hearing involving a\nrate, charge or rental, the burden of proof to show that the change in\nthe rate, charge or rental, if proposed by the person or corporation\noperating the utility, or that the existing rate, if on motion of the\ncommission or in a complaint filed with the commission it is proposed to\nreduce the rate, charge or rental, is just and reasonable, shall be upon\nthe person or corporation operating such utility; and the commission may\ngive to the hearing and decision of such question preference over all\nother questions pending before it and decide the same as speedily as\npossible. If it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of the\ncommission that the public interest requires a change in the rate,\ncharge or rental for telephone or telegraph service charged by any such\nperson or corporation, or that such change is necessary for the purpose\nof providing adequate or sufficient service or for the preservation of\nthe property, the commission may, upon such terms, conditions or\nsafeguards as it deems proper, authorize an immediate, reasonable,\ntemporary increase or decrease in such rate, charge or rental pending a\nfinal determination of the rate, charge or rental to be thereafter\ndemanded, exacted or collected by such person or corporation. The terms,\nconditions or safeguards prescribed may include conditions for the\npurposes for which additional revenue derived from any such temporary\nincrease may be expended and for the impounding thereof until the same\nshall be applied to the purpose so specified.\n 2. Whenever the commission shall be of the opinion, after a hearing\nhad upon its own motion or upon complaint that the rules, regulations or\npractices of any telegraph corporation or telephone corporation are\nunjust or unreasonable or that the equipment or service of any telegraph\ncorporation or telephone corporation is inadequate, inefficient,\nimproper or insufficient, the commission shall determine the just,\nreasonable, adequate, efficient and proper regulations, practices,\nequipment and service thereafter to be installed, to be observed and\nused, and to fix and prescribe the same by order to be served upon every\ntelegraph corporation and telephone corporation to be bound thereby and\nthereafter it shall be the duty of every telegraph corporation and\ntelephone corporation to which such order is directed to obey each and\nevery such order so served upon it and to do everything necessary or\nproper in order to secure compliance with and observance of every such\norder by all its officers, agents and employees according to its true\nintent and meaning. Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed\nas giving to the commission power to make any order, direction or\nrequirement requiring any telegraph corporation or telephone corporation\nto perform any act which is unjust or unreasonable or in violation of\nany law of this state or of the United States not inconsistent with the\nprovisions of this chapter.\n 3. The commission shall have power by order to require any two or more\ntelegraph corporations or any two or more telephone corporations whose\nlines form a continuous line of communication, or could be made to do so\nby the construction and maintenance of suitable connections or transfer\nof messages at common points, between different localities which are not\nreached by the line of either company alone, to establish through lines\nwithin the state between two or more such localities and joint rates or\ncharges for service by or over said lines as the commission may by its\norder prescribe and in case such through lines and joint rates be not\nestablished by the corporations named in any such order within the time\ntherein specified, the commission shall have power by order to establish\nthe same and to fix the just and reasonable rates and charges to be\ncharged for such through service and to declare the portion thereof to\nwhich each of the corporations affected thereby shall be entitled and\nthe manner in which the same shall be secured and paid.\n