New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 14 - PUBLIC UTILITIES › Chapter 3 - ALL UTILITIES › Subchapter 8 - EXTENSIONS TO PROVIDE REGULATED SERVICES › Section 14:3-8.3 - General requirement to provide extensions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) To obtain
				regulated services, applicants for an extension shall apply to the appropriate
				regulated entity, as defined at
				14:3-1.1, for construction of an
				extension, as defined at
				14:3-8.2. Prior to accepting the
				application, the regulated entity shall provide the applicant with a copy of
				this subchapter. At the time of submittal of an application for an extension,
				the regulated entity shall obtain from the applicant a signed certification
				that the applicant received a copy of this subchapter.
(b) If an applicant for an extension has met
				all applicable requirements in this chapter, a regulated entity shall install
				the requested extension in accordance with this subchapter. No regulated entity
				is required to construct an extension or to furnish service to any customer
				unless all applicable requirements of this subchapter have been met, unless
				ordered to do so by the Board.
(c)
				A regulated entity is not required to construct, own, operate or maintain an
				extension on any property unless the regulated entity is legally authorized to
				do so, for example through an easement or right of way. The applicant shall
				ensure that the regulated entity is provided with such legal authority, at no
				cost to the regulated entity and with no requirement for condemnation of the
				property. This subsection shall not be construed to limit the effectiveness of
				existing easement or right-of-way documents, nor to require new or additional
				easements or other documents where valid documents have previously been
				accepted and/or recorded. A regulated entity shall accept existing valid
				documentation, unless the documentation fails to adequately describe the legal
				authority necessary to accomplish the requested extension. This subsection does
				not require an applicant for an extension to clear vegetation from a
				right-of-way.
(d) In constructing
				and operating an extension, a regulated entity shall use equipment and
				practices that meet all applicable requirements in this chapter, and which are
				consistent with applicable industry best practices and standards and the
				regulated entity's minimum system design standards. An applicant may request
				equipment or service which exceeds these standards. If the regulated entity
				provides this excess equipment or service, the regulated entity may charge the
				applicant for the full cost of the excess facilities requested, in accordance
				with 14:3-8.9(d)3.
(e) A regulated entity shall construct an
				extension with sufficient capacity to provide safe, adequate, and proper
				service to customers, in accordance with the regulated entity's and/or the
				industry's system design standards, even if the applicant requests less
				capacity.
(f) Construction of an
				extension shall include all physical work required to construct the extension
				including, but not limited to, site preparation, vegetation clearing,
				trenching, and related work.
(g) A
				utility may refuse to connect a customer to the utility's distribution system
				if there is any facility or condition on the customer's premises that does not
				meet the standard terms and conditions of the utility's tariff and all
				applicable requirements of this chapter and other law.
(h) If, because of its size or character, any
				facility or condition on the customer's premises is so unusual that it may
				adversely affect the adequacy of the service furnished to other customers,
				present or prospective, the utility may set special conditions for connection
				or may refuse to connect.