Nev. Rev. Stat. » NRS: CHAPTER 704 - REGULATION OF PUBLIC UTILITIES GENERALLY
Nevada Revised Statutes

Nev. Rev. Stat. § 704.040 (2026)

Public utilities required to provide reasonably adequate service and facilities; charges for services required to be just and reasonable; unjust and unreasonable charges unlawful; applicability; fair and impartial regulation of telecommunication providers; levy and collection of assessment for deposit in fund to maintain availability of telephone service; regulations concerning independent administrator to certify or recertify eligibility of customers for lifeline service; termination of service to certify or recertify eligibility for lifeline service under certain circumstances

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section NRSleg.state.nv.us (official) Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
NRS 704.040  Public utilities required to provide reasonably adequate service and facilities; charges for services required to be just and reasonable; unjust and unreasonable charges unlawful; applicability; fair and impartial regulation of telecommunication providers; levy and collection of assessment for deposit in fund to maintain availability of telephone service; regulations concerning independent administrator to certify or recertify eligibility of customers for lifeline service; termination of service to certify or recertify eligibility for lifeline service under certain circumstances.

      1.  Every public utility shall furnish reasonably adequate service and facilities. Subject to the provisions of subsection 3, the charges made for any service rendered or to be rendered, or for any service in connection therewith or incidental thereto, must be just and reasonable.

      2.  Every unjust and unreasonable charge for service of a public utility is unlawful.

      3.  Except as otherwise provided in NRS 704.68861 to 704.68887, inclusive:

      (a) A competitive supplier is exempt from any provision of this chapter governing the rates, prices, terms and conditions of any telecommunication service.

      (b) A small-scale provider of last resort is subject to the provisions of this chapter, NRS 427A.797 and chapter 707 of NRS.

      4.  All telecommunication providers which offer the same or similar service must be subject to fair and impartial regulation, to promote adequate, economical and efficient service.

      5.  To maintain the availability of telephone service in accordance with the regulations adopted pursuant to NRS 704.6873, the Commission shall provide for the levy and collection of a uniform and equitable assessment, in an amount determined by the Commission, from all persons furnishing intrastate telecommunication service or the functional equivalent of such service through any form of telephony technology, unless the levy and collection of the assessment with regard to a particular form of technology is prohibited by federal law. Assessments levied and collected pursuant to this subsection must be maintained in a separate fund established by the Commission. The Commission shall contract with an independent administrator to administer the fund pursuant to open competitive bidding procedures established by the Commission. The independent administrator shall collect the assessments levied and distribute them from the fund pursuant to a plan which has been approved by the Commission.

      6.  The Commission shall by regulation establish:

      (a) The procedure for contracting with an independent administrator who will certify or recertify the eligibility of customers for lifeline service as defined in NRS 707.450, including:

             (1) The selection of the independent administrator pursuant to open competitive bidding procedures established by the Commission; and

             (2) The duties of the independent administrator which must be promulgated in advance of conducting the initial request for proposal for the independent administrator.

      (b) The duties of the independent administrator which must:

             (1) Be determined by criteria adopted by the Commission or the Federal Communications Commission;

            (2) Provide for the independent administrator to be able to accomplish all functions necessary for interfacing with the National Lifeline Accountability Database when it is established and operational pursuant to 47 C.F.R. § 54.404 and any other national eligibility database for eligible telecommunication providers; and

             (3) Require the independent administrator to be responsible for informing eligible telecommunication providers of the status of their customers’ eligibility to receive lifeline service as defined in NRS 707.450.

      7.  To implement the requirements of subsections 5 and 6, the Commission:

      (a) May select a single entity to perform the duties of subsections 5 and 6;

      (b) Is authorized to use the fund set forth in subsection 5 for the sole purpose of maintaining the availability of telephone service as set forth in subsections 5 and 6; and

      (c) May, in accordance with the terms of a contract entered into with an independent administrator pursuant to subsection 6, terminate the service to certify or recertify the eligibility of customers for lifeline service, as defined in NRS 707.450, if the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier, as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 54.400, is able to certify and recertify the eligibility of customers in this State for lifeline service.

      [9:109:1919; 1919 RL p. 3157; NCL § 6108]—(NRS A 1985, 1018; 1989, 579; 1993, 2017; 1995, 402; 2003, 2638, 3037; 2007, 694; 2009, 2406; 2013, 1808; 2017, 512)

     

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1975–2024 · leading case: Topaz Mut. Co. v. Marsh, 839 P.2d 606 (Nev. 1992).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Topaz Mut. Co. v. Marsh, 839 P.2d 606 (Nev. 1992). · cites it 4× “Nevada law specifically requires that charges made by a public utility for services rendered must be just and reasonable (NRS 704.040(1)); and every unjust and unreasonable charge is unlawful (NRS 704.”
Nevada Power Co. v. Eighth Jud. Dist. Court of State of Nevada, 102 P.3d 578 (Nev. 2004). · cites it 3× “Additionally, the cause of action for deceptive trade practices alleges that ‘ ‘the rate being charged to LGS-S customers is in violation of state statute, namely NRS 704.040, because the service furnished under the LGS-S rate schedule is not just and reasonable” as “some LGS-S…”
Consumers League of Nevada v. Sw. Gas Corp., 576 P.2d 737 (Nev. 1978). · cites it 4× “NRS 704.040(2) This scheme protects the public utilities from confiscation and protects all classes of consumers from rates which are unjust, unreasonable, discriminatory, or preferential.”
Bulbman, Inc. v. Nevada Bell, 825 P.2d 588 (Nev. 1992). “Under NRS 704.040(3), the Public Service Commission is authorized to exempt “to the extent it deems reasonable” any services of a telecommunication or public utility “from any or all of the provisions [governing the regulation of public utilities]” upon a determination that the…”
Bell Atl. Mobile, Inc. v. Dep't of Pub. Util. Control, 754 A.2d 128 (Conn. 2000). “§ 86-1407 (1999); Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 704.040 and 707.490 (1999); N.”
Nevada Power Co. v. Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 544 P.2d 428 (Nev. 1975). “” NRS 704.040, 704.120. The concept of “just and reasonable” rates is discussed in two landmark cases of the United States Supreme Court.”
Mass Land Acquisition, LLC v. Dist. Ct. (sierra Pac. Power Co.), 140 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 67 (Nev. 2024). “020(2); see NRS 704.040(1) (tasking public utilities with delivering "reasonably adequate service and facilities" at "just and reasonable" rates).”
Sw. Gas Corp. v. Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 651 P.2d 95 (Nev. 1982). · cites it 2× “Pursuant to NRS 704.040, Southwest is required to furnish reasonably adequate service and facilities.”
Sw. Gas Corp. v. Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 632 P.2d 1144 (Nev. 1981). “See generally, NRS 704.040. We affirm the judgment of the district court.”
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 704.040(1): 3 cases
Topaz Mut. Co. v. Marsh, 839 P.2d 606 (Nev. 1992). “Nevada law specifically requires that charges made by a public utility for services rendered must be just and reasonable (NRS 704.040(1)); and every unjust and unreasonable charge is unlawful (NRS 704.”
Nevada Power Co. v. Eighth Jud. Dist. Court of State of Nevada, 102 P.3d 578 (Nev. 2004). “Additionally, the cause of action for deceptive trade practices alleges that ‘ ‘the rate being charged to LGS-S customers is in violation of state statute, namely NRS 704.040, because the service furnished under the LGS-S rate schedule is not just and reasonable” as “some LGS-S…”
Mass Land Acquisition, LLC v. Dist. Ct. (sierra Pac. Power Co.), 140 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 67 (Nev. 2024). “020(2); see NRS 704.040(1) (tasking public utilities with delivering "reasonably adequate service and facilities" at "just and reasonable" rates).”
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 704.040(2): 3 cases
Topaz Mut. Co. v. Marsh, 839 P.2d 606 (Nev. 1992). “Nevada law specifically requires that charges made by a public utility for services rendered must be just and reasonable (NRS 704.040(1)); and every unjust and unreasonable charge is unlawful (NRS 704.”
Consumers League of Nevada v. Sw. Gas Corp., 576 P.2d 737 (Nev. 1978). “NRS 704.040(2) This scheme protects the public utilities from confiscation and protects all classes of consumers from rates which are unjust, unreasonable, discriminatory, or preferential.”
Nevada Power Co. v. Eighth Jud. Dist. Court of State of Nevada, 102 P.3d 578 (Nev. 2004). “Additionally, the cause of action for deceptive trade practices alleges that ‘ ‘the rate being charged to LGS-S customers is in violation of state statute, namely NRS 704.040, because the service furnished under the LGS-S rate schedule is not just and reasonable” as “some LGS-S…”
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 704.040(3): 1 case
Bulbman, Inc. v. Nevada Bell, 825 P.2d 588 (Nev. 1992). “Under NRS 704.040(3), the Public Service Commission is authorized to exempt “to the extent it deems reasonable” any services of a telecommunication or public utility “from any or all of the provisions [governing the regulation of public utilities]” upon a determination that the…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.