2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 40 - UTILITIES (§§ 40-1-101 — 40-43-104) › PUBLIC UTILITIES (§§ 40-1-101 — 40-17.5-105) › GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE (§§ 40-1-101 — 40-9.8-104) › Article 7 - ENFORCEMENT - PENALTIES (§§ 40-7-101 — 40-7-118) › Section 40-7-116.5 - Enforcement of civil penalties against public utilities

(1)
(a)
The director of the commission or his or her designee shall have the authority to issue civil penalty assessments for the violations enumerated in section
40-7-113.5
, subject to hearing before the commission as set forth in this section. When a public utility is cited for a violation, the public utility shall be given notice of the violation in the form of a civil penalty assessment notice.
(b)
The notice shall be tendered by the director or his or her designee, either in person or by certified mail, or by personal service by any person authorized to serve process under rule 4 (d) of the Colorado rules of civil procedure, and shall contain:
(I)
The name and address of the person cited for the violation;
(II)
A citation to the specific statute or rule alleged to have been violated;
(III)
A brief description of the alleged violation;
(IV)
The date and approximate location of the alleged violation;
(V)
The maximum penalty amounts prescribed for the violation;
(VI)
The date of the notice;
(VII)
A place for the public utility to execute a signed acknowledgment of receipt of the civil penalty assessment notice;
(VIII)
A place for the public utility to execute a signed acknowledgment of liability for the violation; and
(IX)
Any other information as may be required by law to constitute notice of a complaint to appear for hearing if the prescribed penalty is not paid within ten days.
(c)
Every cited public utility shall execute the signed acknowledgment of receipt of the civil penalty assessment notice. The acknowledgment of liability shall be executed at the time the public utility cited pays the prescribed penalty. The public utility cited shall pay the civil penalty specified for the violation involved at the office of the commission, either in person or by depositing the payment postpaid in the United States mail within ten days after the issuance of the citation.
(d)
If the public utility cited does not pay the prescribed penalty within ten days after the issuance of the notice, the civil penalty assessment notice shall constitute a complaint to appear before the commission. The public utility cited shall contact the commission on or before the time and date specified in the notice to set the complaint for a hearing on the merits in accordance with section
40-6-109
. If the public utility cited fails to contact the commission on or before the time and date specified, the commission shall set the complaint for hearing. At the hearing, the commission shall have the burden of demonstrating a violation by a preponderance of the evidence.
(2)
A civil penalty assessment notice shall not be considered defective so as to provide cause for dismissal solely because of a defect in the content of the civil penalty assessment notice. Any defect in the content of a civil penalty assessment notice issued as described in subsection (1) of this section may be cured by a motion to amend the same filed with the commission prior to hearing on the merits; except that no such amendment shall be permitted if substantial rights of the public utility cited are prejudiced.
(3)
In the case of an alleged continuing violation for which daily penalties would accrue under section
40-7-115
, the issuance of a civil penalty assessment notice shall toll the accrual of daily penalties until the later to occur of the expiration of the ten-day period provided for payment pursuant to subsection (1) of this section or, if the matter is set for hearing, upon the conclusion of the proceedings through issuance of an order, dismissal of the complaint, or other final agency action, including judicial review and appeal, if any.
(4)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the assessment of a civil penalty against an individual employee of a public utility.
L. 2008: Entire section added, p.1799, § 22, effective July 1.