Sec. 21.1. Summary of legal requirements  


Latest version.
  • (a) Before a public service corporation under the jurisdiction of this commission may begin construction of a gas, electric or steam plant in territory where it has not previously been authorized, an application must be made which must comply with the requirements of section 68 or 81 of the Public Service Law.
    (b) If a municipality proposes to confine construction of gas or electric plants to territory within its own borders, no authority from the commission is necessary. (General Municipal Law, section 364.) If the municipality proposes to extend its gas or electric system beyond its municipal borders, a franchise must be secured from the municipality in which the construction is to be made and a certificate of authority secured from the commission.
    (c) A municipality may not construct or operate a steam plant even within its own borders until securing a certificate of authority from the commission.
    (d) A waterworks corporation may not begin construction of new plant until it has filed with the commission a certified copy of an order issued by the Water Power and Control Commission approving construction. If the proposed construction parallels or duplicates mains or conduits of an existing water supply company, construction may not be begun until a certificate of convenience and necessity is secured from this commission.
    (e) Consent from the commission is not necessary before a municipality may construct a water plant. (Public Service Law, section 89-1.)
    (f) Telegraph and telephone corporations formed subsequent to September 1, 1910, except radio-telephone utilities defined in Part 645 of this Title, which were in operation or which had applied to the appropriate Federal agency for an allocation of frequency on or before October 1, 1973, may not begin construction of a telegraph or telephone line until permission and approval of the commission and its certificate of public convenience and necessity have been secured. If the company proposes to construct and lay lines of electrical conductors underground, a franchise must be secured from the municipality in which such construction is to take place.
    (g) An individual or partnership may not begin the construction of a telegraph or telephone line until a certificate of public convenience and necessity is secured from the commission. In all cases where required, a franchise must be secured from the municipalities in which the construction is to take place before a certificate of public convenience and necessity will be granted.
    (h) Within 30 days after the filing of a petition for a certificate of public convenience and necessity, either the director of the division of the Department of Public Service most concerned with the petition, the director's representative or counsel shall advise the petitioner of any deficiencies in such petition. The certification proceedings shall be deemed to commence on the date the petition complies with the applicable legal requirements and shall be conducted as expeditiously as possible.