Vermont § 109 - Sales and leases; hearings

§ 109. Sales and leases; hearings

• (a) Except in connection with replacement or exchange, a corporation or a foreign corporation
  subject to the jurisdiction of the Public Utility Commission shall not make a sale
  or lease or series of sales or leases in any one calendar year constituting 10 percent
  or more of the company’s property located within this State and actually used in or
  required for public service operations nor merge nor consolidate pursuant to the provisions
  of sections 301-307 of this title, nor after any such sale, lease, consolidation, or merger shall any subsequent like
  action be taken, except after opportunity for hearing by the Public Utility Commission
  and a finding by the Commission that the same will promote the general good of the
  State. Such notice of the hearing shall be given as the Commission directs. A certificate
  of consent of the Public Utility Commission shall be filed with the Secretary of State. (b) No company owning or operating an electric generating plant in this State with a capacity
  of 80 megawatts or greater may sell or lease any real property or transmission facilities
  located at that plant that are required or may be required to generate electricity,
  interconnect generation facilities with electric transmission facilities, or transmit
  electricity from the plant, without first obtaining a certificate of consent from
  the Public Utility Commission. (c) No company owning or operating an electric transmission facility located in this State
  that is capable of operating at 100 kilovolts or greater may sell or lease any real
  property or equipment that is required or may be required to transmit electricity
  using that facility without first obtaining a certificate of consent from the Public
  Utility Commission. (d) To obtain a certificate of consent pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) of this section,
  the company shall notify the Commission and Department in writing of its intention
  to enter into such a sale or lease at least 45 days before the effective date of the
  proposed transaction. Within 30 days of receiving this notice, the Department shall
  file a written recommendation with the Commission as to whether it should consent
  to the proposed sale or lease, and whether further inquiry or hearing is warranted.
  Within 15 days of receiving the Department’s recommendation, and after considering
  the company’s notice and the Department’s recommendation, the Commission shall determine
  whether further inquiry into the proposed sale or lease is warranted and, if so, shall
  so proceed. If the Department recommends approval of the proposed transaction without
  further inquiry or opportunity for hearing, and if the Commission takes no further
  action within 15 days after the Department has filed such a recommendation, then the
  proposed transaction shall be deemed approved as consistent with the general good
  of the State. (e) The Public Utility Commission shall issue a certificate of consent under this section
  only if it determines that the proposed transaction shall promote the general good
  of the State. (f) Any notice provided by a company pursuant to subsection (d) of this section shall
  be accompanied by a statement containing the material terms of the proposed transaction
  and such further explanation of the proposed transaction as the Commission may prescribe.
  The Commission may adopt such rules as it deems appropriate for determining the necessity
  for and scope of any inquiry or hearing concerning a request for Commission consent
  to a sale or lease under subsection (b) or (c) of this section. In developing these
  rules, the Commission shall ensure that due consideration is given to issues such
  as potential ratepayer impacts of the transactions to be reviewed and least-cost integrated
  planning principles as defined in subdivision 218c(a)(1) of this title. The Commission’s rulemaking authority under this section shall include the discretion
  to: (1) decrease to no less than 50 megawatts the threshold for review under subsection (b)
  of this section; (2) establish a minimum value threshold to trigger review under subsection (b) or (c)
  of this section; and (3) adopt or amend other rules appropriately to minimize duplicative regulatory review
  under this title. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 39(b), eff. March 1, 1961; 1993, No. 21, § 8, eff. May 12, 1993; 2007, No. 93 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 21, 2008.)