Title 3 . Commerce, Community, and Economic Development

Chapter 52 . Telecommunications

Section 455. Line extensions and service connections

3 AAC 52.455. Line extensions and service connections

(a) A utility's tariff for line extensions and service connections, or, if appropriate, special contracts under 3 AAC 48.390, must include the following:

(1) the amount of the costs, maximum footage, or equipment allowance for a line extension and a service connection, to be provided by the utility at no charge; the utility may specify different allowances for different customer classes;

(2) a requirement, subject to the provisions of (3) and (4) of this subsection and to (c) and (d) of this section, that a customer requesting a line extension or service connection must pay all costs which exceed the amount for which the utility is responsible under (a)(1) of this section;

(3) a statement that the customer is not responsible for the cost of system upgrade that is incidentally the result of the customer's addition to the system, if the customer has a load requirement comparable to those in the area being served by the facilities requiring upgrade;

(4) if required by the utility, an explanation that, in a service area where overhead installation is the standard, a customer requesting an underground line extension or service connection shall pay the difference between the cost for an overhead line extension or service connection and the actual cost of the underground installation in addition to the amount computed under (2) of this subsection;

(5) a statement that within a specified period, but in any event at least annually, any previously paid advances for construction of a completed line extension will be recomputed to reflect new customer additions; the utility shall require each new customer to pay, as an advance for construction, a prorated share of the original line extension cost; the utility shall refund or credit, as appropriate, any subsequent advances for construction to those customers who previously advanced money for connection to the completed line extension;

(6) a description of the period during which refunds of, or credits for, advances for construction will be paid;

(7) a description of the methodology the utility used to calculate the refund of, or credit for, an advance for construction required by (5) of this subsection; a customer who has advanced money for construction may request an annual report of customers added to the line extension;

(8) a statement that in no case may the amount of a refund or credit under (5) of this subsection exceed the amount originally advanced;

(9) a statement as to whether advances for construction will be interest bearing; and

(10) a statement that

(A) if a customer's authorized representative performs work adjacent to or within an easement or right-of-way, and it poses a hazard, is in violation of law, or significantly interferes with the utility's access to equipment, the utility shall notify the customer or the customer's authorized representative; and

(B) the customer does not promptly correct the situation, the utility may take the necessary actions to eliminate the hazard, obstruction, or violation at the customer's expense.

(b) A line extension and service connection agreement requiring payment by a customer must be in writing; must include the utility's estimate of the customer's share of the costs, the terms and conditions of payment, and the estimated date of completion of the work; and must be signed by the utility and by the customer or the customer's authorized representative.

(c) If the actual costs of construction of a line extension or service connection exceed the written estimate provided by the utility, no charges in excess of the written estimate plus 10 percent may be collected by the utility from the customer unless the additional charges are the result of additional construction work requested or caused by the customer subsequent to the initial written estimate. Other than additional costs necessitated by the customer, actual costs in excess of 110 percent of the initial written estimate must be borne by the utility as a cost of doing business. If the actual costs of construction for the customer's share are less than the written estimate, the customer will be charged the lesser amount, and, if the costs are prepaid, the difference between the actual cost of the construction and the advance payment made by the customer must be refunded to the customer.

(d) Instead of estimating line extension and service connection costs, a utility may elect to amend its tariff to provide a charge for line extensions and service connections based upon historical, average unit installation costs. A utility shall apply to the commission for periodic adjustments to its tariffed unit installation charge. Unless otherwise ordered by the commission, an application for a periodic adjustment is not subject to the provisions of 3 AAC 48.275(a) .

(e) No utility may prohibit customers from constructing their own line extensions or service connections. A utility shall connect and maintain customer-constructed facilities under the same terms and conditions as utility-installed line extensions or service connections, except that the utility has the right to

(1) conduct reasonable inspections, charge inspection fees, assure that customer-constructed line extensions and service connections fully conform to the state minimum electrical standards adopted in AS 18.60.580 ; and

(2) require reasonable additional design, construction, and easement criteria established by the utility for customer-constructed facilities; any additional criteria must be set out in the utility's tariff and must be substantially equivalent to the utility's design standards for utility-installed line extensions and service connections; all criteria for customer-constructed line extensions and service connections must be published so as to be available upon request.

(f) A utility is responsible for energizing all customer-constructed line extensions or service connections after inspection and acceptance. The final inspection must be performed by the utility within five working days after receipt of notice of project completion from the customer. The energizing must be completed within five working days after inspection and acceptance by the utility or after a customer request for energizing, whichever is later.

(g) To assist those customers who construct their own line extensions or service connections, a utility shall aid in obtaining easements where none exist, and shall permit use of existing easements unless prohibited by law.

(h) To assure that all distribution plant of a utility is safely and adequately maintained on an equal basis, customer-installed plant must, upon acceptance by the utility, be given to the utility as a contribution-in-aid of construction.

(i) In those unusual circumstances where a utility believes that application of its line extension or service connection tariff will result in an inequitable apportionment of costs to one or more customers, the utility may request a waiver of its standard tariff provision and, upon proper application and advance approval of the commission, enter into a special contract with that customer under 3 AAC 48.390.

History: Eff. 1/1/87, Register 100

Authority: AS 42.05.141

AS 42.05.151

AS 42.05.291

AS 42.05.311

Editor's note: The 1984 revisions to AS 18.60.580 (sec. 1, ch. 34, SLA 1984) adopted the 1984 published edition of the National Electrical Code and the 1984 edition of the National Electrical Safety Code as the minimum electrical safety standards for the state, mentioned in 3 AAC 52.455(e) (1). Copies of these publications may be obtained from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 345 47th Street, New York, New York 10017.