reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 61 - Assessment of Cost of Establishing Service

Section 61. A town acquiring a plant may provide by ordinance or by-law for the equitable assessment upon the owner or occupant of any premises of the cost, or any part thereof, of laying and maintaining pipes, conduits, conductors or other appliances thereon. Payment of such assessments shall not be compulsory, but it shall be a condition precedent to the supplying of gas or electricity to the occupants of such premises, and may be required before providing appliances therefor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 62 - Protection of Plant; Municipal Ordinances

Section 62. A town operating a plant may pass ordinances or by-laws, imposing penalties not exceeding fifty dollars, to protect the plant, control its use and prevent accidents from gas or electricity supplied by it, and to govern consumers in their use thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 66 - Application of Chapter and By-Laws of Town to Plant Authorized by Special Act

Section 66. This chapter, and all ordinances or by-laws of any town acting under its provisions relative to the manufacture, use or distribution of gas or electricity, or to the quality thereof, or to the plant or the appliances therefor, shall apply to such town, so far as applicable.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 67 - Revocation of Rights, Locations or Licenses

Section 67. No town having within its limits the main gas works or the central electric station, or the major portion of the wires, poles, conduits or pipes used in connection with any such works or plant, shall, except for a violation of the terms or conditions upon which the same were granted or for a violation of law respecting the exercise thereof, revoke any rights granted to any person or corporation engaged in manufacturing or distributing gas or electricity for sale after the introduction of the first vote authorizing the establishment of a gas or electric plant in a city council under section thirty-five or after the calling of a town meeting under a warrant including an article on the passage of such vote, until the proceedings so begun have been finally determined by granting or denying authority to establish such plant. After the ratification of the votes required by section thirty-five and the passage of both votes required by section thirty-six, no town, except as hereinbefore provided, shall revoke any rights, locations or licenses granted to any such person.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 68 - Sale of Plant by Town

Section 68. A town which has acquired a municipal lighting plant shall not sell it for the purpose of abandoning the distribution of gas or electricity to its inhabitants until such sale has been authorized in the manner and by the votes prescribed for the acquisition of such plants by sections thirty-five and thirty-six. No sale of such a plant shall be made for any purpose until the department, after notice and a public hearing, has determined that the facilities for furnishing and distributing gas and electricity in the territory served by such plant will not thereby be diminished, and that such sale and the terms thereof are consistent with the public interest.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 69 - Enforcement by Supreme Judicial Court

Section 69. The supreme judicial court for the county where the town is situated shall have jurisdiction on petition of the department or of twenty taxable inhabitants of the town to compel the fixing of prices by the town in compliance with sections fifty-seven and fifty-eight, to prevent any town from purchasing, operating or selling a gas or electric plant in violation of any provision of this chapter, and generally to enforce compliance with the terms and provisions thereof relative to the manufacture or distribution of gas or electricity by a town.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 69a - Purchase, Sale and Distribution of Natural Gas by Municipality

Section 69A. Any city or town which maintains or operates a municipal lighting plant which includes a gas plant may purchase, sell and distribute natural gas, and the provisions of sections thirty-four to sixty-nine, inclusive, so far as apt, shall apply to the purchase, sale and distribution by such city or town of natural gas. Every such city or town purchasing, selling and distributing natural gas shall have all the powers and be subject to all the liabilities of said sections, including the authority to borrow money for the establishment, extension or enlargement of a plant and providing facilities for the purchase, sale and distribution of natural gas.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 69b - Definitions

Section 69B. The following words and phrases as used in sections sixty-nine C to sixty-nine F, inclusive, shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the following meanings:—
''Municipal light board'', the municipal light board, municipal gas and electric commission or similar body in a city or town having a municipal light board, gas and electric commission or similar body; the mayor of a city having no municipal light board, municipal gas and electric commission or similar body; or the selectmen of a town having no municipal light board, municipal gas and electric commission or similar body.
''Manager'', the manager of municipal lighting of the city or town.
''Cadet engineer'', any individual who has contracted with a city or town pursuant to the provisions of section sixty-nine C, and who has not completed ''graduate on the job training'' as provided for in said section.
''Plant'', the municipal light plant or the municipal gas plant or the municipal gas and electric plant of the contracting city or town.
''Educator'', the superintendent of schools of the contracting city or town, or the superintendent or director of any accredited school or school system located within such city or town, a member of the school board or school committee of the contracting city or town, or a principal officer of any duly accredited high school or junior high school located within the contracting city or town.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 69d - Cadet Engineers; Selection

Section 69D. Applicants for training and employment as cadet engineers shall be selected by a selection committee as hereinafter provided upon request of the municipal light board.
The selection committee shall be appointed by the municipal light board and shall be comprised of not less than five nor more than seven members; provided, however, that the committee shall include the manager and shall include at least two educators who are residents of the contracting city or town. The members of the selection committee shall be appointed for a term of one year, and shall serve without compensation.
At least three weeks prior to the date of final selection of the applicants for training and employment as cadet engineers the municipal light board shall cause a notice to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the contracting city or town, which notice shall state that applications will be received for appointments of cadet engineers pursuant to the provisions of sections sixty-nine B to sixty-nine F, inclusive. The notice shall state the time and place at which such applications will be received.
An applicant for appointment as a cadet engineer shall be a resident of the contracting city or town, a graduate of a duly accredited high school, not less than seventeen nor more than twenty-five years of age and shall have been accepted for admission to or be enrolled in a duly accredited college or university having a course of study leading to a degree of bachelor of science in engineering, or shall have been accepted for admission to or be enrolled in a duly accredited community college or other educational institution, having a course of study in the sciences or engineering which courses would be accepted at a college or university having a course of study leading to a degree of bachelor of science in engineering.
The municipal light board shall specify the number of cadet engineers to be selected from among the applicants. The selection committee shall select cadet engineers from among the applicants on the basis of academic ability, past courses of study and good moral character. The selection committee shall not discriminate among the applicants because of race, color, creed or national origin.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 69e - Cadet Engineers; Civil Service Laws; Retirement Benefits; Workmen's Compensation

Section 69E. The employment of the cadet engineer in ''on the job training'' shall not be subject to civil service laws and rules, but the appointment shall be reported to the division of personnel administration in such form as the personnel administrator may require.
A cadet engineer in ''on the job training'' shall not be subject to or entitled to the benefits of pension and retirement laws nor shall any deductions be taken from his pay for these purposes.
The employment of a cadet engineer in graduate on the job training shall not be subject to civil service law and rules but such cadet engineer shall be subject to and entitled to the benefit of retirement laws and pensions, and deductions shall be made from his salary and paid into the contributory retirement system of the city or town in accordance with the provisions of the contributory retirement laws. The on the job training period of any cadet engineer who continues in the employ of the contracting city or town as a permanent full-time employee shall be considered as creditable service for purposes of retirement laws, pension laws and other laws pertaining to municipal employees; provided, however, that such cadet engineer shall pay into the retirement fund such sums as may be required by the retirement board to acquire such creditable service; and, provided, further, that time in attendance at a community college, college, university or other educational institution shall not be considered as creditable service under this section.
Cadet engineers when actually employed in ''on the job training'' shall be considered as employees of the contracting city or town for purposes of chapter 152.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 69f - Expenses

Section 69F. All expenses, obligations or commitments for the payment of money incurred by the contracting city or town, pursuant to the provisions of sections sixty-nine B to sixty-nine E, inclusive, shall be considered as part of the annual expense of the plant for the year in which they are incurred, and shall be paid from the income of the plant in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 69n - Parties in Interest to Proceedings

Section 69N. The parties in interest to the proceedings on a petition for a certificate shall include the following: (1) the applicant; (2) each public officer entitled to receive notice of the filing under the provisions of section 69L or section 69L1/2, whichever is applicable, provided that such officer files with the board within thirty days of the date of filing specified in the notice of filing under 69L or section 69L1/2, whichever is applicable, a statement of intention to become a party in interest; (3) such other persons or organizations as may be permitted to intervene pursuant to the provisions of chapter thirty A, provided that they have filed with the board, within thirty days of the filing date specified in the publication of the notice of the petition, a petition to be admitted as a party in interest; and (4) any other person whom the board by a majority vote of its members, admits as an intervening party.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 69o - Decision Granting or Denying Application; Findings and Opinions; Applicability

Section 69O. As expeditiously as possible but in no event later than six months from the date of filing of the petition for a certificate pursuant to section 69K, the board shall by a majority vote render a decision upon the petition either by denying the petition or by granting the petition, or by granting the petition subject to such terms and conditions as the board may determine. Neither the board nor any other person shall be bound by the requirements of section sixty-one to sixty-two H, inclusive, of chapter thirty to the extent that compliance with said requirements will prevent the board from rendering a decision upon the petition within the time limits of this section.
The board shall make its decision in writing and shall include therein its findings and opinions with respect to the following:
(1) the need for the facility to meet the energy requirements of the applicant's market area taking into account wholesale bulk power or gas sales or purchases or other co-operative arrangements with other utilities and energy policies as adopted by the commonwealth;
(2) the compatibility of the facility with considerations of environmental protection, public health and public safety;
(3) The extent to which construction and operation of the facility will fail to conform with existing state and local laws, ordinances, by-laws, rules and regulations and reasonableness of exemption thereunder, if any, consistent with the implementation of the energy policies contained in this chapter to provide a necessary energy supply for the commonwealth with a minimum impact on the environment at the lowest possible cost; and
(4) the public interest, convenience and necessity requiring construction and operation of the facility.
The provisions of this section shall not apply in the case of a petition for a certificate with respect to a generating facility filed pursuant to section 69K1/2, which shall be subject to the provisions of section 69O1/2.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 69o1/2 - Decision Granting or Denying Application With Regard to a Generating Facility; Findings and Opinions

Section 69O1/2. As expeditiously as possible, but in no event later than 180 days from the date of filing a petition for a certificate with regard to a generating facility pursuant to section 69K1/2, the board shall, by a majority vote, render a decision upon the petition either by denying the petition or by granting the petition, or by granting the petition subject to such terms and conditions as the board may determine. Neither the board nor any other person shall be bound by the requirements of sections 61 to 62H, inclusive, of chapter 30 to the extent that compliance with said requirements will prevent the board from rendering a decision upon the petition within the time limits of the section.
A certificate shall be issued only if the board determines that the issues raised by state agencies or local governments regarding the proposed generating facility have been addressed in a comprehensive manner by the board either in its approval of said generating facility under section 69J1/4 or in its review under section 69K1/2. The board shall make its decision in writing and shall include therein its findings and opinions with respect to the following: (i) the compatibility of the generating facility with considerations of environmental protection, public health, and public safety; (ii) the extent to which construction and operation of the generating facility will fail to conform with existing state and local laws, ordinances, by-laws, rules, and regulations and reasonableness of exemption thereunder, if any, consistent with the implementation of the energy policies contained in this chapter; and (iii) the public interest or convenience requiring construction and operation of the generating facility.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 69p - Judicial Review

Section 69P. Any party in interest aggrieved by a decision of the board shall have a right to judicial review in the manner provided by section five of chapter twenty-five. The scope of such judicial review shall be limited to whether the decision of the board is in conformity with the constitution of the commonwealth and the constitution of the United States, was made in accordance with the procedures established under section sixty-nine H to section sixty-nine O and with the rules and regulations of the board with respect to such provisions, was supported by substantial evidence of record in the board's proceedings; and was arbitrary, capricious or an abuse of the board's discretion under the provisions of section sixty-nine H to section sixty-nine O.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 69q - Joint Inter-Agency Investigations, Hearings or Orders; Interstate Compacts and Federal Agreements Authorized

Section 69Q. The board, in the discharge of its duties under this chapter, is authorized to make joint investigations, hold joint hearings within or without the commonwealth, and issue joint or concurrent orders in conjunction or concurrence with any official agency of any state or of the federal government. Whether in the holding of such investigations of hearings, or in the making of such orders, the board may function under agreements or compacts between states or under the concurrent power of states to regulate interstate commerce, or as an agency of the federal government or otherwise. The board, in the discharge of its duties under this section is further authorized to negotiate and enter into agreements or compacts with agencies of the federal government or other states, pursuant to any consent of congress, for cooperative efforts in certifying the construction, operation and maintenance of energy facilities in accord with the purposes of this section and for the enforcement of the respective laws of the commonwealth or of said states regarding same.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 69r - Eminent Domain; Taking by Electric or Gas Companies, Generation Companies or Wholesale Generation Companies; Procedures; Restrictions

Section 69R. Any electric or gas company, generation company, or wholesale generation company may petition the department for the right to exercise the power of eminent domain with respect to the facility or facilities specified and contained in a petition submitted in accordance with section 69J or a bulk power supply substation if such company is unable to reach agreement with the owners of land for the acquisition of any necessary estate or interest in land. The applicant shall forward, at the time of filing such petition, a copy thereof to each city, town, and property owner affected.
The company shall file with such petition or have annexed thereto: (1) a statement of the use for which such land is to be taken; (2) a description of land to be taken sufficient for the identification thereof; (3) a statement of the estate or interest in the land to be taken for such use; (4) a plan showing the land to be taken; (5) a statement of the sum of money established by such utility to be just compensation for the land to be taken; and (6) such additional maps and information as the department requires.
The department after such notice as it may direct, shall give a public hearing or hearings in the community in which the land to be taken is located. For facilities involving takings in several communities, a public hearing or hearings shall be held in communities in proximity to the land to be taken, as determined by the department. The department may thereafter authorize the company to take by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine such lands necessary for the construction of the facility as are required in the public interest, convenience and necessity. The department shall transmit a certified copy of its order to the company and to the clerk of each affected community.
If the department dismisses the petition at any stage in said proceedings, no further action shall be taken thereon, except that the company may file a new petition after the expiration of a year from such dismissal.
Following a taking under this section, the electric or gas company may forthwith proceed to utilize such land. If the electric or gas company shall not utilize the lands so taken for the purpose or purposes authorized in the department's order within such time as the department shall determine, its rights under such taking shall cease and terminate.
No land, rights of way or other easements therein in any public way, public place, public park or reservation shall be taken by eminent domain under the provisions of this section.
This section shall not be construed as abrogating the department's jurisdiction described in section 72 in respect to transmission lines or the department's jurisdiction described in sections 75B to 75G, inclusive, in respect to natural gas transmission lines.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 69s - Eminent Domain With Respect to Oil Pipelines; Requisite Procedures; Rights Relative to Taking

Section 69S. Any company may petition the board for the right to exercise the power of eminent domain with respect to oil pipelines specified and contained in the proposed notice of intention submitted in accordance with section 69J if such company is unable to reach agreement with the owners of land for acquisition of any necessary estate or interest in land. The company shall forward at the time of filing such petition a copy thereof to each city and town affected. The company shall file with such petition or have annexed thereto: (1) a statement of the use for which such land is to be taken; (2) a description of land to be taken sufficient for the identification thereof; (3) a statement of the estate or interest in the land to be taken for such use; (4) a plan showing the land to be taken; (5) a statement of the sum of money established by such company to be just compensation for the land to be taken; and (6) such additional maps and information as the board requires.
The board after such notice as it may direct, shall give a public hearing or hearings in the community in which the greater portion of said land in question is located. The board may thereafter authorize the company to take by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine such lands necessary for the construction of the oil pipeline as required in the public interest, convenience and necessity. The board shall transmit a certified copy of its order to the company, to the clerk of each affected community and to each affected land owner.
If the board dismisses the petition at any stage in said proceedings, no further action shall be taken thereon, except that the company may file a new petition after the expiration of a year from such dismissal.
Following a taking under this section, the company may forthwith proceed to utilize such land. If the company shall not utilize the land so taken for the purpose or purposes authorized in the board's order within such time as the board shall determine, its rights under such taking shall cease and terminate.
No land, rights of way or other easements therein in any public way, public place, public park or reservation shall be taken by eminent domain under the provisions of this section.
This section shall apply only to oil pipelines which are facilities as defined in section sixty-nine G.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 70 - Opening of Streets by Gas Company; Liability; Repairing Streets

Section 70. A gas company may, with the written consent of the aldermen or the selectmen, dig up and open the ground in any of the streets, lanes and highways of a town, so far as necessary to accomplish the objects of said corporation; but such consent shall not affect the right or remedy to recover damages for an injury caused to persons or property by the acts of such corporation. It shall put all such streets, lanes and highways in as good repair as they were in when opened; and upon failure so to do within a reasonable time, shall be guilty of a nuisance.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 70a - Application to Department to Lay Main; Hearing; Determination; Fees

Section 70A. Any gas company desiring to lay a main for the transmission of gas which will of necessity pass through one or more cities or towns to connect the termini of such main, whose petition for the location necessary for such main has been refused, or has not been granted within three months after the filing thereof by the board of aldermen of a city or the selectmen of a town through which said company intends to construct such main for the purpose aforesaid, may apply to said department for such location. The department shall give a public hearing thereon after notice to the board of aldermen or selectmen refusing or neglecting to grant such location, and to all persons owning real estate abutting upon any way in the city or town where such location is sought, as such ownership is determined by the last assessment for taxation. The department shall, if requested by the board of aldermen or selectmen, hold said hearing in the city or town where the location is sought. If it appears at the hearing that the company has already been granted and has accepted a location for such main in two cities, or in two towns, or in a city and town, adjoining the city or town because of the refusal or neglect of whose board of aldermen or selectmen to grant a location therefor the application is made, and if the department deems the location necessary for public convenience, and in the public interest, it may by order grant a location for such main in the city or town with respect to which the application is made, and shall have and exercise relative thereto the same powers and authority conferred by section seventy upon the board of aldermen or selectmen, and in addition to the provisions of law governing such company may impose such other terms, limitations and restrictions as it deems public interest may require. The department shall cause an attested copy of its order, with the certificate of its clerk, endorsed thereon, that the order was adopted after due notice and a public hearing as hereinbefore prescribed, to be forwarded to the city or town clerk, who shall record the same and furnish attested copies thereof. The company in whose favor the order is made shall pay for such record and attested copies thereof the fees provided by clauses (34) and (35), respectively, of section thirty-four of chapter two hundred and sixty-two.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 71 - Construction of Transmission Lines

Section 71. A corporation subject to this chapter may, as provided in chapter one hundred and sixty-six, construct lines for the transmission of electricity. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a corporation that is not subject to this chapter from constructing lines for the transmission of electricity nor shall it authorize the corporation to construct lines for the transmission of electricity.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 72a - Survey Preliminary to Eminent Domain Proceedings; Notice to Landowners; Damages

Section 72A. The department may upon petition authorize an electric company to enter upon lands of any person or corporation for the purpose of making a survey preliminary to eminent domain proceedings. The department shall give notice of the authorization granted, by registered mail, to the landowners involved at least five days prior to any entry by such electric company. The company entering upon any such lands shall be subject to liability for any damages occasioned thereby, to be recovered under chapter seventy-nine.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 73 - Pipes, Mains, Wires and Conduits Crossing Railroads

Section 73. A corporation subject to this chapter, to the extent that it is authorized to make, sell, transmit or distribute gas or electricity, or both, may, for the purposes of such sale, transmission, or distribution, lay, erect and maintain pipes, wires, mains and conduits under, over or across the location on private land of any railroad, electric railroad or street railway corporation at such places and in such manner and on such terms and conditions as it may agree upon with such corporation, or, in case of failure so to agree, then with the consent of the department and at such places, in such manner, with such safeguards and upon such compensation, terms and conditions as it may specify; but no pole, tower or similar structure shall be located within the location of such railroad, electric railroad or street railway corporation without its consent; provided, however, that if such corporation has lawfully constructed for such purposes poles, towers or similar structures within the location of such railroad, electric railroad or street railway corporation, then it shall not thereafter be required to remove, abandon or cease to operate such facilities without the consent of the department. If the department, after notice and public hearing, determines that the continued operation of such facilities will serve the public convenience and is consistent with the public interest, it shall specify the terms and conditions for the continued operation thereof, including compensation to any person or corporation lawfully entitled thereto. The department may, from time to time, specify such changes in the manner of laying, erecting and maintaining such pipes, mains, wires and conduits and such facilities, and, in the terms and conditions thereof, as it deems advisable.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 74 - Recovery by Town of Damages Paid as Result of Defect in Street

Section 74. If a person injured in his person or property by a defect in a public way caused by the operations of a corporation subject to this chapter, in laying down or repairing its pipes, or in laying, erecting, maintaining or repairing its lines of wires, or in otherwise obstructing such way, recovers damages therefor in an action against the town where such injury is received, such town shall, if said corporation is liable for said damages and has had reasonable notice to appear and defend the original action, recover of said corporation the damages so recovered from it, with the taxable costs of both parties in such original action.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 75a - Installation of Gas Meters; Compliance With Regulations for Preventing Escape of Gas

Section 75A. No gas company or municipality distributing gas shall install or replace a meter measuring gas supplied to any premises except in accordance with regulations prescribed by the department for preventing or retarding the escape of gas in case of fire. Said regulations shall be enforced by the department and may provide that any such gas meter installed on the outside of buildings may be subject to less stringent installation requirements if approved by the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 75b - Qualifying to Do Business

Section 75B. Any person, partnership, corporation or any other legal entity, organized under the laws of the commonwealth which shall desire to construct and operate a natural gas pipeline situated wholly within the commonwealth may qualify to do business within the commonwealth as a natural gas pipeline company after hearing upon a petition filed with the department and after the department has determined that such facilities are necessary for the purpose alleged and will serve the public convenience and is consistent with the public interest. Any person, partnership, corporation or any other legal entity, organized under the laws of the commonwealth or of any other state or of the United States which holds a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued under the provisions of chapter 15B of the United States Code which may be cited as the federal ''Natural Gas Act'' authorizing it to construct a natural gas transmission line and appurtenant facilities within the commonwealth, shall be considered as a natural gas pipeline company within the meaning of this chapter upon filing with the department a certified copy of such certificate.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 75e - Regulation of Construction and Operation

Section 75E. Natural gas pipe line companies shall be subject to such reasonable rules and regulations as the department may prescribe or adopt pertaining to the construction and operation of such pipe lines for the purpose of insuring the safe operation thereof; provided, however, that such rules and regulations shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of said federal ''Natural Gas Act'', or of the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 75f - Restoration of Ground Surface Following Installation

Section 75F. Any natural gas pipe line company which lays pipes or other underground equipment or structures, or repairs or alters the same, on any land on which it does not have a fee or a binding agreement with the landowner, shall within sixty days after laying such pipes, equipment or structures, or making such repairs or alterations, restore the ground surface to a condition reasonably consistent with its condition before construction, repair or alteration, and any failure to comply with the provisions hereof shall be punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars for each day of failure to so comply.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 75g - Marking of Location of Underground Line

Section 75G. Any natural gas pipe line company which lays pipes or other underground equipment or structures on any land on which it does not have a fee, shall, within sixty days after laying such pipe, equipment or structure, mark on the land, in such manner as not to interfere with the use of such land, the actual location of such pipe, equipment or structure and furnish the owner of the land, within thirty days after the owner makes a written request therefor, with an accurate plan, suitable for recording or registration, showing the exact location of the pipe line easement with reference to the bounds and boundaries of the land. This obligation shall be specifically enforceable in equity by the supreme judicial or superior court upon application of the owner of the land, and in such proceeding the owner may recover the damages occasioned by or resulting from the failure or delay of the company in complying with the provisions of this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 75h - Licenses, Permits, etc., for Pipeline Maintenance, Construction and Operation

Section 75H. A person, partnership, corporation or any other legal entity which intends to construct a natural gas pipeline within this state and has filed for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to be issued under chapter 15B of the United States Code which may be cited as the federal ''Natural Gas Act'' or has filed a petition with the department as provided in section seventy-five B, shall be deemed to have such right, title, interest or standing to proceed to file and process any application for any permit, license, approval, order of any nature or description, of any state or local agency or instrumentality, necessary to obtain all governmental consents with regard to the location, construction, completion and operation of said pipeline within the state and shall be deemed to be a natural gas pipeline company for said purpose. The effective date of any such license, permit, order or governmental approval which may be granted or issued may be conditioned upon or suspended until the date of issuance of such certificate under chapter 15B of the United States Code which may be cited as the federal ''Natural Gas Act'' or determination by the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 76 - Supervisory Authority of Department

Section 76. The department shall have the general supervision of all gas and electric companies and shall make all necessary examination and inquiries and keep itself informed as to the condition of the respective properties owned by such corporations and the manner in which they are conducted with reference to the safety and convenience of the public, and as to their compliance with the provisions of law and the orders, directions and requirements of the department; provided, however, that any alternative energy producer shall not be considered to be a municipality, manufacturing company, corporation or other person engaged in the manufacture, sale, distribution or transmission of gas or electricity and shall be exempt from regulation by the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 76a - Dealings With Affiliated Companies

Section 76A. The department shall have the general supervision of every affiliated company, as defined in section eighty-five, with respect to all relations, transactions and dealings, direct or indirect, with the gas or electric company with which it is affiliated, which affect the operations of such gas or electric company, and shall make all necessary examination and inquiries and keep itself informed as to such relations, transactions and dealings as have a bearing upon the price of gas or electricity supplied by such company or the quality thereof. Such relations, transactions and dealings, including any payments by a gas or electric company to such an affiliated company for services or materials and supplies which enter into the manufacture, distribution or sale of gas or electricity, shall be subject to review and investigation by the department in any proceeding brought under section ninety-three or ninety-four, and the department may order such affiliated company to be joined as a party respondent with such gas or electric company in such a proceeding.
Every affiliated company having such relations, transactions and dealings with the gas or electric company with which it is affiliated shall make such annual or periodic reports and in such form as the department may by regulation prescribe in order to give the department effective supervision over all such relations, transactions and dealings.
The supreme judicial court shall have jurisdiction in equity to enforce compliance with this section and with all orders of the department made under authority thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 76b - Streets or Ways; Construction Over, Across or Along High Pressure Gas Mains

Section 76B. Any person or municipality laying out or constructing a street, place or way, except a residential driveway, over, across or along a high pressure gas main operating at pressures in excess of two hundred pounds per square inch gauge, shall comply with the provisions of published rules of the department of telecommunications and energy governing the construction and maintenance of such pipe lines.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 76d - Utility Underground Plant Damage Prevention System; Establishment

Section 76D. All natural gas pipeline companies, cable television companies, steam distribution companies and public utility companies, as defined in section three of chapter twenty-five, shall create, participate in and be responsible for the administration of a utility underground plant damage prevention system. Said system shall be operated during normal business hours each day of the year, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, for the purpose of receiving notices of proposed excavations in public ways, utility right of ways, and in privately owned land under which any public utility company, municipal utility department, cable television company, steam distribution company or natural gas pipeline company maintains underground facilities, including pipes, mains, wires or conduits, as are required by the provisions of section forty of chapter eighty-two. Said system shall be responsible, upon receipt of such notices, for immediately notifying such natural gas pipeline companies, public utility companies, cable television companies, steam distribution companies, and municipal utility departments as supply gas, electricity, cable television service or telephone service in or to such city or town where such excavation is to take place of such proposed excavation. The cost of operating the utility underground plant damage prevention system shall be apportioned equitably among all natural gas pipeline companies, public utility companies, cable television companies, steam distribution companies and municipal utility departments as supply gas, electricity, cable television service or telephone service within the commonwealth according to a formula to be fixed by agreement of the companies.
The department is authorized to investigate the operation of said system and to adopt procedures necessary and appropriate to hear and resolve complaints for failure to comply with the provisions of section forty of chapter eighty-two.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 77 - Annual Report of Department

Section 77. The department shall make an annual report of its doings under this chapter, with such suggestions as to the condition of affairs or conduct of corporations and companies subject to this chapter as may be appropriate, with such abstracts of the returns required by section eighty-three as it deems expedient, but including the names and addresses of the principal officers and of the directors.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 78 - Notice of Violation

Section 78. If any electric, gas, generation, transmission, or distribution company, or any supplier violates or fails to comply with the provisions of law, or violates or fails to comply with any lawful order of the department, the department shall give written notice thereof to such company or supplier and to the attorney general.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 79 - Enforcement of Orders of Department; Equity Jurisdiction

Section 79. The supreme judicial or superior court shall have jurisdiction in equity, upon application of the department, to enforce its lawful orders and all laws relative to cities and towns engaged in the manufacture and sale or distribution and sale of electricity or gas, generation, transmission or distribution companies, or suppliers.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 80 - Location of Office of Company; Records; Inspection of Records by Department

Section 80. Gas and electric companies shall have an office in a town where their works are located and, unless otherwise authorized by the department, shall keep in said office all books and papers required by law to be kept within the commonwealth, and also such books as may be required to show their receipts, expenditures, indebtedness and financial condition; and shall at all times, upon application, submit their books to the inspection of the department and its duly authorized employees. The department may from time to time, by its members or its duly authorized employees, examine all books, records, contracts, documents, papers and memoranda of such corporations, and shall have free access thereto for such purpose at any and all reasonable times.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 81 - Form of Books and Accounts

Section 81. Gas and electric companies or persons engaged in the manufacture and sale or distribution of gas or electricity shall keep their books and accounts in a form to be prescribed by the department, and the accounts shall be closed annually, so that a balance sheet can be taken therefrom. Manufacturing companies in which the manufacture of gas or electricity is a minor portion of their business shall be required to keep accounts of the expenses and income of their gas or electric business only.