Statutes, codes, and regulations
West Virginia Administrative Code
Agency 150 - Public Service CommissionTitle 150 - EXEMPT LEGISLATIVE RULE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
Series 150-04 - Government of Gas Utilities and Gas Pipeline Safety
Section 150-4-10 - Promotional Practices

W. Va. Code R. § 150-4-10

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Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 16, April 19, 2024
Section 150-4-10 - Promotional Practices
10.1. Declaration of public policy.

In the public interest and pursuant to the powers vested in it, the Commission declares that any utility in designing and implementing any promotional practice or practices shall consider what impact, if any, such promotional practice or practices will have upon the conservation of energy, and the utility shall not implement any practice or practices which shall have an adverse affect upon conservation, or which cannot be justified from a ratepayer benefit/utility cost standpoint.

10.2. Prohibited promotional practices.

A public utility or its affiliate shall not, without first obtaining the approval of the Commission, engage, directly or indirectly, in any of the following promotional practices:

10.2.1. The financing of land or the construction of any building when same is not owned or otherwise possessed by the utility or its affiliate;
10.2.2. The furnishing of consideration to any person for work done or to be done on property not owned or otherwise possessed by the utility or its affiliate; except for studies to determine comparative capital or operating costs and expenses or to show the desirability or feasibility of selecting one form of energy over another;
10.2.3. The acquisition from any person of any tangible or intangible property or service for a consideration in excess of the value thereof, or the furnishing to any person of any tangible or intangible property or service for a consideration of less than the value thereof;
10.2.4. The furnishing of consideration to any person for the sale, installation or use of appliances or equipment;
10.2.5. Other than the normal service extensions, the provision of free, or at less than cost or value, wiring, appliances or equipment to any person; provided that a utility, engaged in an appliance merchandising sales program, shall not be precluded from conducting legitimate closeouts of appliances, clearance sales, or sales of damaged or returned appliances;
10.2.6. The provision of free, or at less than cost or value, installation, operation, repair, modification or maintenance of appliances, equipment, or piping for any person;
10.2.7. The granting of a trade-in allowance on the purchase of any appliance or equipment in excess of the value of the trade-in; or the granting of a trade-in allowance for such appliance or equipment when such allowance varies by the type of energy consumed in the trade-in;
10.2.8. The financing of the acquisition of any appliance or equipment at a rate of interest or on terms significantly more favorable than those generally applicable to sales by nonutility dealers in such appliances or equipment;
10.2.9. The furnishing of consideration to any person for any advertising or publicity purpose of such person; except for payments not exceeding one-half (½) of the reasonable cost or value for joint advertising or publicity with a dealer in appliances or equipment for the sale or other provision of same;
10.2.10. The guaranteeing of the maximum cost of gas service;
10.3. Notwithstanding any provision in Rule 10.2., a utility may:
10.3.1. Engage in a program which offers discounts or financing to employees of the utility for purchase of appliances. However the plan must only be available to employees, retirees and their spouses. The plan must not require the employee to take energy from the utility. The plan must be a reasonable employee benefit. The plan must be approved by the utility's management or be in a valid union contract. The plan must be filed with the Commission in accordance with these rules.
10.3.2. Provide repairs and service to appliances or equipment of customers of a public utility in an emergency or to restore service or to prevent hazardous conditions or service interruptions.
10.4. No direct or indirect expenditures may be included in a utility's cost of service for ratemaking purposes for political advertising. Any expenditures for political advertising are expressly disallowed for ratemaking purposes. For the purposes of Rule 10.4., "political advertising" means any advertising or related activity for the purpose of influencing public opinion with respect to legislative, administrative, or electoral matters, or with respect to any controversial issue of public importance.
10.5. Filing of Present Promotional Practices
10.5.1. Each public utility shall file with the Commission, on or before January 1, 1997, a schedule setting forth each of the promotional practices being engaged in by the utility or subsidiaries which operate in West Virginia as of that date.
10.5.2. The practices shall become effective thirty days after filing, subject to a suspension or prohibitory order of the Commission on its own motion or upon motion or complaint of an aggrieved person.
10.5.3. The schedule shall set forth:
10.5.3.a. The name, number, or letter designation of each promotional practice;
10.5.3.b. the class of persons to which the promotional practice is being offered or granted;
10.5.3.c. whether the promotional practice is being uniformly offered or granted to the persons within the class;
10.5.3d. a description of the promotional practice which includes a statement of the terms and conditions governing it;
10.5.3.e. a description of the advertising or publicity employed with respect to the promotional practice;
10.5.3.f. if the promotional practice is offered or granted in whole or in part, by an affiliate or other person, the identity of the affiliate or person and the nature of that party's participation; and
10.5.3.g. other information relevant to a complete understanding of the promotional practice.
10.5.4. A utility or its subsidiaries which operate in West Virginia may not continue to engage in any promotional practice after January 1, 1997 unless a schedule regarding promotional practices has been filed with the Commission.
10.6. Filing of Proposed Practices
10.6.1. A public utility or its subsidiaries operating in West Virginia may not offer or grant any additional promotional practice or vary any existing promotional practice, directly or indirectly, or in concert with others, or by any means whatsoever, until a schedule showing the addition or variation, in the form prescribed in Rule 10.5.3. above has been on file with the Commission for a period of at least 30 days.
10.6.2. The Commission may issue an order approving a new promotional practice to become effective before the expiration of the 30-day period.
10.6.3. If a new promotional practice is not suspended or prohibited by order of the Commission during the 30-day period, the utility may engage in the practice subject to a suspension or prohibitory order of the Commission on its own motion or on the complaint of an aggrieved person.
10.6.4. Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this rule, the Commission may authorize an otherwise prohibited promotional practice if the Commission finds that the promotional practice is in the public interest.
10.6.5. A public utility or its subsidiary operating in West Virginia requesting authorization under Rule 10.6.4. shall provide information or data to show that:
10.6.5.a. The promotional practice will result in the conversation of energy;
10.6.5.b. The promotional practice is needed in order to foster conservation; and
10.6.5.c. The direct and indirect costs associated with the promotional practice are reasonable, are not unduly burdensome to the applicant's ratepayers, and are not likely to impact detrimentally on the overall energy costs to consumers in its service territory.
10.6.6. A public utility's or its subsidiary operating in West Virginia proposed promotional practice filing under Rule 10.6.4. shall include:
10.6.6.a. A complete description of the proposed promotional practice;
10.6.6.b. An analysis of the costs associated with the practice; and
10.6.6.c. An analysis of the conservation effect of the practice.
10.7. Annual Report -- Each public utility shall file with the Commission, concurrently with the annual report required by law, a report of the promotional practices offered or granted by the public utility and its subsidiaries operating in West Virginia during the period covered by the annual report. The report shall show in reasonable detail the amounts expended with respect to each promotional practice offered or granted.
10.8. Prohibition of discrimination for promotional practices.
10.8.1. A public utility or its subsidiaries operating in West Virginia may not, directly or indirectly, in any manner or by any device whatsoever, offer or grant to a person any form of promotional practice except such as is uniformly and contemporaneously extended to all persons in the same reasonably defined class.
10.8.2. A public utility or its subsidiary operating in West Virginia may not, in granting a promotional practice, make any undue preference or advantage to a person or subject a person to any undue prejudice or disadvantage.
10.8.3. A public utility or its subsidiary operating in West Virginia may not establish or maintain any unreasonable difference in offering or granting promotional practices either as between localities or as between classes to whom promotional practices are offered or granted.
10.8.4. A public utility or its subsidiary operating in West Virginia may not classify the persons to whom its promotional practices are offered or granted except to the extent permitted by the law of this State.
10.8.5. Notwithstanding the other provisions of Rule 10.8., a public utility or its subsidiary operating in West Virginia may offer an experimental program of limited duration which may not be extended to all customers of the class or to all areas of the service territory. The purpose of the temporary program must be limited to gathering data to determine if the plan should be extended to be offered in a non-discriminatory manner to all relevant customers.

W. Va. Code R. § 150-4-10