Filing of reports relating to securities. Rates and charges. (h) Any public utility whose security issues are approved by the Commission under this section may file with the Securities and Exchange Commission duplicate copies of reports filed with the Federal Power Commission in lieu of the reports, information, and documents required under section 7 of the Securities Act of 1933 and sections 12 and 13 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. RATES AND CHARGES; SCHEDULES; SUSPENSION OF NEW RATES SEC. 205. (a) All rates and charges made, demanded, or received by any public utility for or in connection with the transmission or sale of electric energy subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission, and all rules and regulations affecting or pertaining to such rates or charges shall be just and reasonable, and any such rate or charge that is not just and reasonable is hereby declared to be unlawful. (b) No public utility shall, with respect to any transmission or sale subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission, (1) make or grant any undue preference or adUndue preference Vantage to any person or subject any person to any undue prejudice or disadvantage, or (2) maintain any unreasonMaintenance of able difference in rates, charges, service, facilities, or in any other respect, either as between localities or as between classes of service. or advantage. unreasonable rates or service. Schedules of rates and charges. public inspection. (c) Under such rules and regulations as the Commission may prescribe, every public utility shall file with the Commission, within such time and in such form as the Commission may designate, and shall keep open in Schedules open to convenient form and place for public inspection schedules showing all rates and charges for any transmission or sale subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission, and the classifications, practices, and regulations affecting such rates and charges, together with all contracts which in any manner affect or relate to such rates, charges, classifications, and services. Changes in schedules prohibited. Filing of new schedules. (d) Unless the Commission otherwise orders, no change shall be made by any public utility in any such rate, charge, classification, or service, or in any rule, regulation, or contract relating thereto, except after thirty days' notice to the Commission and to the public. Such notice shall be given by filing with the Commission and keeping open for public inspection new sched ules stating plainly the change or changes to be made in the schedule or schedules then in force and the time when the change or changes will go into effect. The Commission, for good cause shown, may allow changes Public notice. to take effect without requiring the thirty days' notice herein provided for by an order specifying the changes so to be made and the time when they shall take effect and the manner in which they shall be filed and published. suspend operation (e) Whenever any such new schedule is filed the Com- New schedules. mission shall have authority, either upon complaint or upon its own initiative without complaint, at once, and, if it so orders, without answer or formal pleading by the public utility, but upon reasonable notice, to enter Hearings. upon a hearing concerning the lawfulness of such rate, charge, classification, or service; and, pending such hearing and the decision thereon, the Commission, upon filing with such schedules and delivering to the public utility affected thereby a statement in writing of its Commission may reasons for such suspension, may suspend the operation of new schedule. of such schedule and defer the use of such rate, charge, classification, or service, but not for a longer period than five months beyond the time when it would otherwise go into effect; and after full hearings, either completed before or after the rate, charge, classification, or service goes into effect, the Commission may make such orders with reference thereto as would be proper in a proceeding initiated after it had become effective. If the proceeding has not been concluded and an order made at the expiration of such five months, the proposed change of rate, charge, classification, or service shall go into effect at the end of such period, but in case of a proposed increased rate or charge, the Commission may by order require the interested public utility or public utilities to keep accurate account in detail of all amounts received by reason of such increase, specifying by whom and in whose behalf such amounts are paid, and upon completion of the hearing and decision may by further order require such public utility or public utilities to Refund of inrefund, with interest, to the persons in whose behalf charges. such amounts were paid, such portion of such increased rates or charges as by its decision shall be found not justified. At any hearing involving a rate or charge Burden of proof sought to be increased, the burden of proof to show that creased rates and in rate matters. the increased rate or charge is just and reasonable shall be upon the public utility, and the Commission shall Rate Investiga give to the hearing and decision of such questions preference over other questions pending before it and decide the same as speedily as possible. tions have pref erence. Commission upon own motion or deterinine reason FIXING RATES AND CHARGES; DETERMINATION OF COST OF SEC. 206. (a) Whenever the Commission, after a hearcomplaint may ing had upon its own motion or upon complaint, shall able rates, etc. find that any rate, charge, or classification, demanded, observed, charged, or collected by any public utility for any transmission or sale subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission, or that any rule, regulation, practice, or contract affecting such rate, charge, or classification is unjust, unreasonable, unduly discriminatory or preferential, the Commission shall determine the just and reasonable rate, charge, classification, rule, regulation, practice, or contract to be thereafter observed and in force, and shall fix the same by order. Investigation and deterinination of tion and transmission. (b) The Commission upon its own motion, or upon cost of produc- the request of any State commission whenever it can do so without prejudice to the efficient and proper conduct of its affairs, may investigate and determine the cost of the production or transmission of electric energy by means of facilities under the jurisdiction of the Commission in cases where the Commission has no authority to establish a rate governing the sale of such energy. Inadequacy or in sufficiency of in Hearing. FURNISHING OF ADEQUATE SERVICE SEC. 207. Whenever the Commission, upon complaint terstate service. of a State commission, after notice to each State commission and public utility affected and after opportunity for hearing, shall find that any interstate service of any public utility is inadequate or insufficient, the Commission shall determine the proper, adequate, or sufficient service to be furnished, and shall fix the same by its order, Proviso. No au- rule, or regulation: Provided, That the Commission shall generating facili- have no authority to compel the enlargement of generating facilities for such purposes, nor to compel the public utility to sell or exchange energy when to do so would impair its ability to render adequate service to its thority to enlarge ties. customers. ASCERTAINMENT OF COST OF PROPERTY thorized to in ascertain actual property and SEC. 208. (a) The Commission may investigate and Commission auascertain the actual legitimate cost of the property of vestigate and every public utility, the depreciation therein, and, when legitimate cost of found necessary for rate-making purposes, other facts depreciation which bear on the determination of such cost or depreciation, and the fair value of such property. therein. property and statenent of original cost thereof to be filed (b) Every public utility upon request shall file with Inventory to all the Commission an inventory of all or any part of its property and a statement of the original cost thereof, with Commission. and shall keep the Commission informed regarding the Additions, bettercost of all additions, betterments, extensions, and new and new conconstruction. USE OF JOINT BOARDS; COOPERATION WITH STATE COMMISSIONS ments, extensions, struction. matters to joint actions of SEC. 209. (a) The Commission may refer any matter Reference of arising in the administration of this Part to a board to boards. be composed of a member or members, as determined by the Commission, from the State or each of the States affected or to be affected by such matter. Any such board shall be vested with the same power and be sub- Power of joint ject to the same duties and liabilities as in the case of a member of the Commission when designated by the Commission to hold any hearings. The action of such board shall have such force and effect and its proceed-Force and effect ings shall be conducted in such manner as the Commis- joint boards. sion shall by regulations prescribe. The board shall be Appointment of appointed by the Commission from persons nominated joint boards. by the State commission of each State affected, or by the Governor of such State if there is no State commission. Each State affected shall be entitled to the same number of representatives on the board unless the nominating power of such State waives such right. The Commission shall have discretion to reject the nominee from any State, but shall thereupon invite a new nomination from that State. The members of a board shall receive Allowances for such allowances for expenses as the Commission shall expenses of board provide. The Commission may, when in its discretion sufficient reason exists therefor, revoke any reference to to board may be such a board. members. Matters referred revoked. State commis (b) The Commission may confer with any State com- Conferences with mission regarding the relationship between rate struc- sions regarding tures, costs, accounts, charges, practices, classifications, etc. rates, accounts, Joint hearings regarding rates, thorized. and regulations of public utilities subject to the jurisIdiction of such State commission and of the Commisacounts, etc., au- sion; and the Commission is authorized, under such rules and regulations as it shall prescribe, to hold joint hearings with any State commission in connection with any matter with respect to which the Commission is authorized to act. The Commission is authorized in the Cooperation with administration of this Act to avail itself of such cooperation, services, records, and facilities as may be afforded by any State commission. State commission. Information and reports of Com to State commissions. Availability of Commission's experts as wit (c) The Commission shall make available to the sevmission available eral State commissions such information and reports as may be of assistance in State regulation of public utilities. Whenever the Commission can do so without prejudice to the efficient and proper conduct of its affairs, it may upon request from a State make available to such State as witnesses any of its trained rate, valuation, or other experts, subject to reimbursement to the Commission by such State of the compensation and traveling expenses of such witnesses. All sums collected hereunder shall be credited to the appropriation from which the amounts were expended in carrying out the provisions of this subsection. nesses |