Colorado § 40-5-105 - Certificate or assets may be sold, assigned, or leased.

§ 40-5-105. Certificate or assets may be sold, assigned, or leased.

(1) The assets of any public utility, including any certificate of public convenience and necessity or rights obtained under any such certificate held, owned, or obtained by any public utility, may be sold, assigned, or leased as any other property, but only upon authorization by the commission and upon such terms and conditions as the commission may prescribe; except that this section does not apply to assets that are sold, assigned, or leased:

(a) In the normal course of business; or

(b) That are owned by a telecommunications service provider and:

(I) Are not used in the provision of regulated telecommunications services; or

(II) (A) Are land and support assets and are not directly used in the provision of regulated telecommunications services.

(B) A telecommunications service provider shall provide notice to the commission of transactions subject to this subparagraph (II), along with the associated accounting entries on the provider's books and records, to permit the commission to determine, if necessary, the disposition of any gain or loss from the transaction.

Source: L. 45: p. 526, § 2. CSA: C. 137, § 36. CRS 53: § 115-5-5. C.R.S. 1963: § 115-5-5. L. 69: p. 938, § 31. L. 71: p. 1100, § 1. L. 2004: Entire section amended, p. 164, § 1, effective March 17.

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For article, "Generation and Transmission Loan Policy Under the Rural Electrification Act", see 43 Den. L.J. 269 (1966). For article, "Utility Use of Renewable Resources: Legal and Economic Implications", see 59 Den. L.J. 663 (1982).

Jurisdiction over transfer of assets. The public utilities commission (PUC) has jurisdiction to review telephone company's transfer of directory publishing assets to related corporation. Mtn. States Tel. & Tel. v. P.U.C., 763 P.2d 1020 (Colo. 1988).

Action pursuant to this provision and article XXV of the state constitution requiring commission approval of transfer of utility's assets not made in the ordinary course of business does not constitute an unconstitutional taking. Mtn. States Tel. & Tel. v. P.U.C., 763 P.2d 1020 (Colo. 1988).

The PUC's role in deleting affected territories is a ministerial function. It merely accepts the surrender of certificate rights and deletes the territories from the certificates; it has no discretion to determine whether deleted portions are in the public interest. City of Colo. Springs v. Mtn. View Elec. Ass'n, 925 P.2d 1378 (Colo. App. 1995).

Commission may not order sale or fix sale price. If negotiated sales of facilities are made at unreasonable prices, the PUC may well choose to refuse its approval of the sale, but it may not order a sale or fix the sale price before the negotiations have even begun. Pub. Utils. Comm'n v. Home Light & Power Co., 163 Colo. 72, 428 P.2d 928 (1967).

Change in record ownership not sufficient basis to order service discontinuance. The change of ownership may also entail a change in the nature of the service rendered, but change in the record ownership, without more, is not a sufficient basis on which to order discontinuance of service. Pub. Utils. Comm'n v. Home Light & Power Co., 163 Colo. 72, 428 P.2d 928 (1967).

Special expertise of commission in regulating utilities is given great deference in its selection of an appropriate remedy for telephone company's transfer of directory publishing assets. Mtn. States Tel. & Tel. v. P.U.C., 763 P.2d 1020 (Colo. 1988).

Remedy of undoing transfer made without prior approval of PUC was appropriate. Mtn. States Tel. & Tel. v. P.U.C., 763 P.2d 1020 (Colo. 1988).

Articles 3 and 4 of this title provide sufficient general standards for guidance relative to application of this section. Mtn. States Tel. & Tel. v. P.U.C., 763 P.2d 1020 (Colo. 1988).