Colorado § 40-9.5-105 - Certificate of public convenience and necessity.

§ 40-9.5-105. Certificate of public convenience and necessity.

(1) A certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the public utilities commission prior to July 1, 1983, assigning specific service territories to a cooperative electric association shall remain in full force and effect and shall be subject to such rights and limitations as other certificates of public convenience and necessity held by other electric public utilities subject to regulation of the public utilities commission.

(2) After giving simultaneous notice by certified mail to other electric public utilities serving areas adjacent to an unserved, uncertificated territory and to the public utilities commission of its intent to extend service, a cooperative electric association shall have the right to extend service into such unserved, uncertificated territory unless the public utilities commission receives a complaint concerning such extension. Such complaint must be received by the commission no later than thirty days following the commission's receipt of the notice of extension. Upon the filing of a complaint, the commission shall determine whether to issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity authorizing such extension.

(3) Whenever the public utilities commission, after a hearing upon complaint, finds that an electric public utility, including a cooperative electric association, is unwilling or unable to serve an existing or newly developing load within its certificated territory and that the public convenience and necessity requires a change, said commission may, in its discretion, delete from the certificate of said public utility or association that portion of said territory which the public utility or association is unwilling or unable to serve and incorporate said territory into the certificated territory of another electric public utility, including another cooperative electric association, upon such terms as are just and reasonable, having due regard to due process of law and to all the rights of the respective parties and to public convenience and necessity.

(4) Upon complaint filed by an electric public utility, including a cooperative electric association, the public utilities commission shall determine whether any construction or extension made or proposed to be made by another such public utility or association will interfere with or duplicate the line, plant, system, or service of the complainant, in which event the public utilities commission may make such order prohibiting such construction or extension or prescribing the terms and conditions thereof as to it may seem just and reasonable.

(5) The provisions of articles 6 and 7 of this title shall apply to any proceeding of the public utilities commission required by this section.

(6) Except as otherwise provided in this part 1, the enactment of this part 1 shall neither enlarge nor diminish the rights and obligations of electric public utilities, including cooperative electric associations, under certificates of public convenience and necessity issued by the public utilities commission. Nothing in this part 1 shall enlarge or diminish the respective rights and obligations of electric public utilities, including cooperative electric associations, or municipalities under franchise or other contractual agreements.

Source: L. 83: Entire article added, p. 1568, § 1, effective July 1. L. 85: (2) amended, p. 1301, § 3, effective April 5. L. 86: (6) amended, p. 1162, § 6, effective May 27.

ANNOTATION

A cooperative electric association's exclusive right to provide electric service within its certificated area does not include a right to provide the electricity needed to operate a vertically integrated utility's wind farms located in the certificated area. The public utilities commission correctly determined that the vertically integrated utility could self-supply electricity to power its wind farms and that such self-supply of power was not a constitutional taking of the association's property without due process. San Isabel Elec. v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 2021 CO 36, 487 P.3d 665.