§ 37-2-205 — Certificate of convenience and necessity; hearings

(a) Except as provided in this subsection, no public
utility shall begin construction or complete the purchase of a
line or plant, or of any extension of a line or material
addition to a plant, without having first obtained from the
commission a certificate that the present or future public
convenience and necessity require or will require such
construction or purchase. This act shall not be construed to
require any public utility operating outside of a city or town
to secure a certificate for an extension into an area within
which it has lawfully commenced operation, or for an extension
into territory contiguous to its line or plant for which no
certificate is in force and is not served by a public utility of
like character or for any extension within or to territory
already served by it, necessary in the ordinary course of its
business. If any public utility, in constructing or extending
its line or plant interferes or is about to interfere with the
operation of the line or plant of any other public utility
already authorized or constructed, the commission on complaint
of the public utility claiming to be injuriously affected, may
after hearing make such order and prescribe the terms and
conditions for the location of the lines or plants affected, as
to it are just and reasonable. The power companies may, without
the certificate, increase capacity of existing plants. For
purposes of this subsection, "material addition" shall not
include an addition to a plant that is necessary to serve load
growth, provided that the capital investment in the addition
shall not exceed one percent (1%) of the total capital
investment in the plant on which return is earned, that is
assigned or allocated to Wyoming customers, based on the public
utility's most recent rate case determination.
(b) No public utility shall henceforth exercise any right
or privilege or obtain a franchise or permit to exercise such
right or privilege from a municipality or county, without having
first obtained from the commission a certificate that public
convenience and necessity require the exercise of such right and
privilege; provided, that when the commission shall find, after
hearing, that a public utility has heretofore begun actual
construction work and is prosecuting such work in good faith,
uninterruptedly and with reasonable diligence in proportion to
the magnitude of the undertaking, under any franchise or permit
heretofore granted but not heretofore actually exercised, such
public utility may proceed to the completion of such work, and
may, after such completion exercise such right or privilege; and
provided, further, that this section shall not be construed to
validate any right or privilege now invalid or hereafter
becoming invalid under any law of this state, nor impair any
vested right in any franchise or permit heretofore granted.
(c) Before any certificate may issue, under this section,
a certified copy of its articles of incorporation or charter, if
the applicant be a corporation, shall be filed in the office of
the commission. The commission shall have power, after hearing
involving the financial ability and good faith of the applicant
and the necessity of additional service in the community, to
issue said certificate, as prayed for, or to refuse to issue the
same, or to issue to it for the construction of a portion only
of the contemplated line, plant, or system, or of a portion
only, of the contemplated line, plant, system or extension
thereof, or for the partial exercise only of said right or
privilege, and may attach to the exercise of the rights granted
by said certificate such terms and conditions as in its judgment
the public convenience and necessity may require.
(d) Upon its own motion, or on complaint of any person the
commission shall have power to investigate and determine whether
the competitive rates, charges and service existing between any
public utilities are fair, just and reasonable, after hearing
thereon to determine, fix and order such rates, charges,
regulations and remedies as will establish reasonable and just
rates, between said competing public utilities, and between said
public utilities and their customers and patrons.
(e) Where a certificate for the construction and operation
of a high voltage electric transmission line of 230 KV or
greater is required, the public service commission shall publish
notice of application in a newspaper of general circulation in
each county where the line will be constructed. The public
service commission shall give actual notice of hearing on the
application by registered mail at the applicant's expense to
each landowner who may be affected. The notice of hearing shall
be given at least thirty (30) days before the hearing is held
and shall contain a summary of the pertinent facts about the
application.
(f) In the case of a certificate for the construction of a
high voltage electric transmission line of 230 KV or greater,
the issuance of the certificate shall be conditioned so that no
construction of the line is authorized until all right-of-way
for the line has been acquired.
(g) Any electric utility which provided service to any
part of the annexed area prior to annexation and which does not
receive a franchise from the annexing municipality to serve the
annexed area shall receive just compensation from the public or
private utility franchised to serve the annexed area. If the
affected utilities cannot agree on just compensation within
thirty (30) days after the franchise has been issued and become
final after any challenge thereto, the affected utilities shall
submit the matter to arbitration before the public service
commission pursuant to W.S. 37-2-113. Upon conclusion of the
arbitration proceedings and payment of the compensation
determined to be just, ownership of the facilities shall be
transferred to the acquiring utility.
(h) Notwithstanding subsection (f) of this section, the
commission may authorize the construction of segments of a
transmission line before right-of-way is acquired for an entire
transmission line provided that:
(i) The public utility has satisfied all requirements
for the issuance of a certificate except subsection (f) of this
section;
(ii) The public utility has obtained all required
right-of-way within the authorized segment;
(iii) Authorization to construct the transmission
line within the authorized segment shall not exceed ten (10)
miles from the advancing end of an authorized segment, provided
that the commission may waive the ten (10) mile limitation if
the transmission line segment is:
(A) Located entirely between substations or
switching stations;
(B) Located between a substation or switching
station and the state line; or
(C) Located entirely within state or federal
land.
(iv) Notice has been provided to all private property
owners along the entire length of the proposed transmission
line;
(v) The commission provides an opportunity for
private property owners who are adversely affected by the
location of the segment an opportunity to be heard before the
authorization of a segment concerning the location of the
segment or the impact of any future extension of the
transmission line.
(j) Unless otherwise determined by the commission,
issuance of a certificate of convenience and necessity shall not
confer the right to recover a specific amount of the costs of
the construction or purchase in rates charged to Wyoming
customers. Actual costs of the construction or purchase may be
considered by the commission in a separate rate case
determination.