Opinion ID: 1679070
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Legal Background

Text: Prior to March 12, 1974, the only way in which a utility could claim that it possessed the exclusive right to serve a customer was by invoking R.S. 45:123. That statute provides in part: No electric public utility shall construct or extend its facilities, or furnish, or offer to furnish electric service to any point of connection which at the time of the proposed construction, extension, or service is being served by, or which is not being served but is located within 300 feet of an electric line of another electric public utility, except with the consent in writing of such other electric public utility; provided, however, that nothing contained herein shall preclude (a) any electric public utility from extending service to an applicant for service at an unserved point of connection located within 300 feet of an existing electric line of such electric public utility, unless (i) such line was not in operation on April 1, 1970 and (ii) the point of connection is located within 300 feet of an existing electric line, of another electric public utility, which line was in operation on said date, or (b) any electric public utility from extending service to its own property, or to another electric public utility for resale; ... This version of the statute was enacted in 1970, and is much more restrictive in the grant of exclusive right to serve than was it predecessor. South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Assn. v. Louisiana Public Service Commission, 309 So.2d 287, 289 (La.1975). The general rule embodied in R.S. 45:123 is that no utility can furnish services to a point of connection that is within 300 feet of another company's electric line. Thus, a utility has the exclusive right to service all points of connection located within 300 feet of its electric lines. The term point of connection was defined by this court as actual meter connection. South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Assn. v. Louisiana Public Service Commission, supra. Thus, unless an actual meter connection is within 300 feet from a utility's electric line, R.S. 45:123 does not confer upon that utility the exclusive right to serve. The narrow scope of the exclusive right afforded to a utility by R.S. 45:123 can be seen from the facts of the case cited above. To service a subdivision, SLECA extended an electric line approximately three miles. By contrast, LP&L had an existing line located 291.4 feet from the property line. This court upheld SLECA's right to service the subdivision, since the actual meter connections would be located more than 300 feet from LP&L's existing line. In order to halt such uneconomic and wasteful practices, the Public Service Commission promulgated its General Order of March 12, 1974, entitled Duplication of Electric Service. [3] This order contains a broader proscription than that embodied in R.S. 45:123, but the order is not so broad as to vitiate customer choice in every instance.