The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Kentucky (State public utility commission) · Kentucky
- Level
- Sector regulator
- Authority
- KRS 278.030, 278.040(1)-(2); Kentucky Public Service Com'n v. Commonwealth ex rel. Conway, 324 S.W.3d 373, 383 (Ky. 2010) (recited)
- Issued
- 2020-03-16 Mar. 16, 2020
- Effective
- 2020-03-16 (entered March 16, 2020; 'in effect until further notice') (read as 2020-03-16)
- End
- Disconnection moratorium lifted beginning October 20, 2020 by the order of September 21, 2020 (Ex. 002); residential late-fee waiver continued to December 31, 2020 (Ex. 002) (read as 2020-10-20)
- In force
- Mar. 16, 2020 to Oct. 20, 2020
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q4
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Courts and public officesOther
- Addressees
- all Commission-jurisdictional electric, natural gas, water and sewer utilities (investor-owned utilities, cooperatives, water districts and associations)
- filers before the Commission
- Functions reached
- OP credit, collections and billing operations of every jurisdictional utility (disconnection for nonpayment prohibited; late fees prohibited)
- SV field service crews and disconnection/reconnection contractors (disconnection work orders suspended)
- CB customer base and cash flow (arrearages accumulate; payment plans mandated later)
- OF regulatory filings converted to electronic; physical filings suspended
- WF utilities' workforce redeployed from collections to continuity of service
- Collection
- State utilities, housing and agriculture agencies AGY-ST-UTILITIES-HOUSING-AG
Operative words
Based on the foregoing and being otherwise duly advised, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 1. Until otherwise ordered by the Commission, utilities shall cease disconnections for non-payment. 2. Until otherwise ordered by the Commission, utilities shall waive all late payment charges. 3. Until otherwise ordered by the Commission, filers are granted deviation from filing or transmitting physical documents... 7. Until further ordered by the Commission, utilities are granted deviation from the requirements found in: a. 807 KAR 5:006, Section 4(4); b. 807 KAR 5:006, Section 4(5) [disconnection reports]... 9. This case shall remain open until further order by the Commission.
Enforcement
Commission orders are enforceable under KRS 278.990 (civil penalties for willful violation of Commission orders) and KRS 278.390 (orders remain in force until changed by the Commission); the order recites the Commission's 'plenary authority to regulate and investigate utilities' under KRS 278.030 and 278.040 and states that 'nothing in this Order should be conveyed as relieving customers from the obligation to pay for service rendered'
Notes
The Commission noted that Duke Energy, American Water Works, American Electric Power, Central States Water Resources and Atmos Energy had announced voluntary suspensions and that 'many utilities in Kentucky have yet to officially announce' any suspension; the order made the suspension mandatory for all jurisdictional utilities. Footnotes 11-16 cite the parallel actions of New Jersey, Connecticut PURA, New York, the Ohio PUCO (Case 20-591-AU-UNC DocumentRecord), the Louisiana PSC Chairman's executive order and the Wisconsin PSC. Municipal utilities are outside the Commission's jurisdiction and were 'urged' to follow (n.1).
Retrieval noteScanned PDF with a text layer; ordering paragraphs read at pp. 7-9.