N.C. Gen. Stat. » Chapter 62

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 62-140

Discrimination prohibited

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(a) No public utility shall, as to rates or services, make or grant any unreasonable preference or advantage to any person or subject any person to any unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage. No public utility shall establish or maintain any unreasonable difference as to rates or services either as between localities or as between classes of service. The Commission may determine any questions of fact arising under this section; provided that it shall not be an unreasonable preference or advantage or constitute discrimination against any person, firm or corporation or general rate payer for telephone utilities to contract with motels, hotels and hospitals to pay reasonable commissions in connection with the handling of intrastate toll calls charged to a guest or patient and collected by the motel, hotel or hospital; provided further, that payment of such commissions shall be in accordance with uniform tariffs which shall be subject to the approval of the Commission. Provided further, that it shall not be considered an unreasonable preference or advantage for the Commission to order, if it finds the public interest so requires, a reduction in local telephone rates for low-income residential consumers meeting a means test established by the Commission in order to match any reduction in the interstate subscriber line charge authorized by the Federal Communications Commission. If the State repeals any State funding mechanism for a reduction in the local telephone rates for low-income residential consumers, the Commission shall take appropriate action to eliminate any requirement for the reduced rate funded by the repealed State funding mechanism. For the purposes of this section, a State funding mechanism for a reduction in the local telephone rates includes a tax credit allowed for the public utility to recover the reduction in rates.

Nothing in this section prohibits the Commission from establishing different rates for natural gas service to counties that are substantially unserved, to the extent that those rates reflect the cost of providing service to the unserved counties and upon a finding by the Commission that natural gas service would not otherwise become available to the counties.

(b) The Commission shall make reasonable and just rules and regulations:

(1) To prevent discrimination in the rates or services of public utilities.

(2) To prevent the giving, paying or receiving of any rebate or bonus, directly or indirectly, or misleading or deceiving the public in any manner as to rates charged for the services of public utilities.

(c) No public utility shall offer or pay any compensation or consideration or furnish any equipment to secure the installation or adoption of the use of such utility service except upon filing of a schedule of such compensation or consideration or equipment to be furnished and approved thereof by the Commission, and offering such compensation, consideration or equipment to all persons within the same classification using or applying for such public utility service; provided, in considering the reasonableness of any such schedule filed by a public utility the Commission shall consider, among other things, evidence of consideration or compensation paid by any competitor, regulated or nonregulated, of the public utility to secure the installation or adoption of the use of such competitor's service. For the purpose of this subsection, "public utility" shall include any electric membership corporation operating within this State, and the terms "utility service" and "public utility service" shall include the service rendered by any such electric membership corporation. (1899, c. 164, s. 2, subsecs. 3, 5; Rev., s. 1095; 1913, c. 127, s. 6; C.S., s. 1054; 1933, c. 134, s. 8; c. 307, s. 6; 1941, c. 97; 1963, c. 1165, s. 1; 1965, c. 287, s. 8; 1977, 2nd Sess., c. 1146; 1985, c. 694, s. 1; 1997-426, s. 1; 2013-363, s. 11.1; 2021-23, s. 18.)

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 29 cases, 1966–2020 · leading case: State Ex Rel. Utilities Commission v. Bird Oil Co.
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State Ex Rel. Utilities Commission v. Bird Oil Co. (1981) nc · cites it 11× “That court vacated the order of the Utilities Commission, holding, inter alia, that “the entire dedicated rate provision is discriminatory and preferential in violation of G.S. 62-140 and other applicable portions of the General Statutes pertaining to Motor Carriers.”
State Ex Rel. Utilities Commission v. Carolina Utility Customers Ass'n (1988) nc · cites it 19× “Thus, it is absolutely impossible for this Court to discern the linkage between the factors the Commission considered and the degree or magnitude of the rate discrimination which the Commission approved. While I recognize the difficulty in quantifying precisely how much…”
State Ex Rel. Utilities Commission v. Public Staff-North Carolina Utilities Commission (1988) nc · cites it 13× “[3] The Cities' argument is based in part on N.C.G.S. § 62-140(a), which states: "No public utility shall establish or maintain any unreasonable difference as to rates or services either as between localities or as between classes of service.”
State Ex Rel. Utilities Commission v. North Carolina Textile Manufacturers Ass'n (1985) nc · cites it 10× “Cities also argue that the rates set by the Commission are anti-competitive.”
State Ex Rel. Utilities Commission v. Edmisten (1977) nc · cites it 2× “So to cast upon subsequent users the expense of serving prior users is discrimination forbidden by G.S. 62-140. Thus, even if, as of 30 November 1973, when it applied for permission to use a fuel adjustment clause, Duke could have shown that in November 1973 its rates were not…”
State Ex Rel. Utilities Commission v. Carolina Utility Customers Ass'n (1985) nc · cites it 4× “G.S. 62-140(a) which provides in pertinent part: No public utility shall, as to rates or services, make or grant any unreasonable preference or advantage to any person or subject any person to any unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage.”
State ex rel. Utilities Commission v. Edmisten (1985) nc · cites it 6× “Jackson Paper argues that the Commission’s decision refusing to establish a new rate class for Large Industrial Service (LIS) as proposed by Jackson Paper is not based upon substantial evidence and that it unlawfully discriminates against Jackson Paper in violation of N.C.G.S. §…”
State ex rel. Utilities Commission v. Nello L. Teer Co. (1966) nc · cites it 6× “G.S. 62-140 provides: “(a) ,;.No public utility shall, as to rates or services, make or grant any unreasonable preference or advantage to any person or subject any person to any unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage.”
State ex rel. Utils. Comm'n v. Cooper, Att'y Gen. (2015) nc · cites it 5× “NC WARN observes that the Commission approved use of the 1CP cost-of-service methodology for allocating costs and contends that this methodology results in a greater rate increase for the residential class.”
State ex rel. Utilities Commission v. Mountain Electric Cooperative, Inc. (1992) ncctapp · cites it 3× “§ 62-138 (1989); and the prohibition against granting unreasonable preferences in services or rates, N.C.G.S. § 62-140 (1989). The 31 July 1990 order of the Commission denying respondents’ motions to dismiss, reaffirmed in the order issued 28 January 1991, stated that the…”
State ex rel. Utilities Commission v. Carolina Utility Customers Ass'n (1991) nc · cites it 6× “§§ 62-130(a), -131(a), and unreasonably discriminatory in violation of N.C.G.S. § 62-140. The Commission approved Rate Schedule T, which it defined in its Order as a schedule “for service to interruptible industrial customers who wished to transport natural gas for [qualified]…”
State Ex Rel. Utilities Commission v. North Carolina Textile Manufacturers Ass'n (1982) ncctapp · cites it 2× “The minimum weekday demand is of short duration and is much less than the total base load capacity available, whereas the load factor better reflects the average use of production facilities—the use for which they were constructed—and therefore is an appropriate method of…”
Show all 29 citing cases →
— N.C. Gen. Stat. § 62-140(a) — 16 cases
State Ex Rel. Utilities Commission v. Public Staff-North Carolina Utilities Commission (1988) nc “[3] The Cities' argument is based in part on N.C.G.S. § 62-140(a), which states: "No public utility shall establish or maintain any unreasonable difference as to rates or services either as between localities or as between classes of service.”
State Ex Rel. Utilities Commission v. Carolina Utility Customers Ass'n (1988) nc “Thus, it is absolutely impossible for this Court to discern the linkage between the factors the Commission considered and the degree or magnitude of the rate discrimination which the Commission approved. While I recognize the difficulty in quantifying precisely how much…”
State Ex Rel. Utilities Commission v. North Carolina Textile Manufacturers Ass'n (1985) nc “Cities also argue that the rates set by the Commission are anti-competitive.”
State Ex Rel. Utilities Commission v. Carolina Utility Customers Ass'n (1985) nc “G.S. 62-140(a) which provides in pertinent part: No public utility shall, as to rates or services, make or grant any unreasonable preference or advantage to any person or subject any person to any unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage.”
State ex rel. Utils. Comm'n v. Cooper, Att'y Gen. (2015) nc “NC WARN observes that the Commission approved use of the 1CP cost-of-service methodology for allocating costs and contends that this methodology results in a greater rate increase for the residential class.”
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