Charges for services must be just and reasonable; plan of alternative regulation for public utilities that provide telecommunication services; fair and impartial regulation of certain telecommunication services; fund for maintaining availability of telephone service.
1. Every public utility shall furnish reasonably adequate service and facilities, and the charges made for any service rendered or to be rendered, or for any service in connection therewith or incidental thereto, must be just and reasonable.
2. Every unjust and unreasonable charge for service of a public utility is unlawful.
3. The Commission may exempt, to the extent it deems reasonable, services related to telecommunication or public utilities which provide telecommunication services from any or all of the provisions of this chapter, upon a determination after hearing that the services are competitive or discretionary and that regulation thereof is unnecessary. For the purposes of this subsection, basic local exchange service and access services provided to interexchange carriers are not discretionary.
4. The Commission shall adopt regulations necessary to establish a plan of alternative regulation for a public utility that provides telecommunication services. The plan of alternative regulation may include, but is not limited to, provisions that:
(a) Allow adjustment of the rates charged by a public utility that provides telecommunication services during the period in which the utility elects the plan of alternative regulation.
(b) Provide for flexibility of pricing for discretionary services and services that are competitive.
(c) Specify the provisions of this chapter, NRS 426.295 and chapter 707 of NRS that do not apply to a public utility that elects to be regulated under the plan of alternative regulation.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph and NRS 704.68952, if the public utility is an incumbent local exchange carrier, allow the incumbent local exchange carrier to select the duration of the period in which the incumbent local exchange carrier is to be regulated under the plan of alternative regulation. The incumbent local exchange carrier may not select a period that is less than 3 years or more than 5 years. The provisions of this paragraph do not apply to a plan of alternative regulation of an incumbent local exchange carrier regulated under a plan of alternative regulation that was approved by the Commission before June 11, 2003.
5. A public utility that elects to be regulated under a plan of alternative regulation established pursuant to subsection 4 is not subject to the remaining provisions of this chapter, NRS 426.295 or chapter 707 of NRS to the extent specified pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection 4.
6. All providers of telecommunication services which offer the same or similar service must be subject to fair and impartial regulation, to promote adequate, economical and efficient service.
7. The Commission may provide for the levy and collection of an assessment, in an amount determined by the Commission, from a public utility that provides telecommunication services in order to maintain the availability of telephone service. Assessments levied pursuant to this subsection must be maintained in a separate fund established by the Commission. The Commission shall contract with an independent administrator to administer the fund pursuant to open competitive bidding procedures established by the Commission. The independent administrator shall collect the assessments levied and distribute them from the fund pursuant to a plan which has been approved by the Commission. Money in the fund must be used for the sole purpose of maintaining the availability of telephone service.
8. As used in this section:
(a) “Incumbent local exchange carrier” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 704.68932.
(b) “Interexchange carrier” means any person providing intrastate telecommunications service for a fee between two or more exchanges.
Last modified: February 26, 2006