Alaska Statutes 42.08.220 – General powers and duties

(a) The commission shall

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Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 42.08.220

Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
property: includes real and personal property. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
state: means the State of Alaska unless applied to the different parts of the United States and in the latter case it includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060

(1) regulate, under the provisions of this chapter, an in-state natural gas pipeline that provides transportation by way of contract carriage;

(2) require permits for the construction, enlargement in size or operating capacity, extension, connection and interconnection, operation, or abandonment of an in-state natural gas pipeline facility under the provisions of this chapter and subject to the same standards as certification in Alaska Stat. § 42.08.330;

(3) to the extent necessary to perform the duties of the commission under this chapter, have access to, and may designate its employees, agents, or consultants to inspect and examine, the accounts, financial and property records, books, maps, inventories, appraisals, valuations, and related reports kept by an in-state natural gas pipeline carrier, or kept for an in-state natural gas pipeline carrier by others, that directly affect the interests of the state and directly relate to in-state natural gas pipelines located in the state during normal business hours;

(4) provide all reasonable assistance to the Department of Law in intervening in, offering evidence in, and participating in proceedings before an officer, department, board, commission, or court of another state or the United States involving an in-state natural gas pipeline carrier or an affiliated interest and affecting the interests of the state.

(b) The commission may

(1) review and approve recourse tariffs filed by an in-state natural gas pipeline carrier under this chapter;

(2) review and approve contracts;

(3) investigate on its own motion or after receiving a formal complaint, a dispute

(A) related to rules, regulations, services, practices, and facilities that are not subject to the dispute resolution provisions in an in-state natural gas pipeline carrier’s contracts or recourse tariff;

(B) presented by a complainant that does not have a contract with the in-state natural gas pipeline carrier;

(C) related to the conduct of an in-state natural gas pipeline carrier’s open season under Alaska Stat. § 42.08.300; to resolve the dispute, the commission may order an expansion of an in-state natural gas pipeline or order an open season under the terms provided for an expansion or open season in this chapter or Alaska Stat. § 38.35.121(a)(4) and (c); or

(D) related to an unreasonable diminution in quantity or quality in the provision of service to a public utility that

(i) is a violation of the in-state natural gas pipeline carrier’s tariff or contract with the public utility;

(ii) has not been resolved by the in-state natural gas pipeline carrier; and

(iii) will result in immediate injury, loss, or damage to the peace, health, safety, or general welfare of the public as clearly demonstrated by specific facts shown by affidavit or verified complaint;

(4) adopt regulations that are necessary and proper to the performance of the duties of the commission under this chapter, including regulations governing practices and procedures of the commission; regulations adopted by the commission may not be inconsistent with state law;

(5) initiate, intervene in, and appear personally or by counsel and offer evidence in and participate in, proceedings before an officer, department, board, commission, or court of this state involving an in-state natural gas pipeline carrier and affecting the interests of the state; and

(6) appoint a qualified, unbiased, and impartial administrative law judge with experience in the general practice of law to conduct hearings under this chapter; the administrative law judge may perform other duties in connection with the administration of this chapter and other laws; an administrative law judge hired to conduct hearings under this chapter shall have been admitted to practice law for at least five years immediately before appointment under this paragraph.

(c) Except with regard to a precedent agreement under Alaska Stat. § 42.08.320(a) that is filed before the issuance of a certificate, consideration of an application for a contract carriage certificate under Alaska Stat. § 42.08.330, and an initial recourse tariff under Alaska Stat. § 42.08.350(a), the commission may extend a timeline required under this chapter if all parties of record consent to the extension or if, for one time only, before the timeline expires, the

(1) commission reasonably finds that good cause exists to extend the timeline;

(2) commission issues a written order extending the timeline and setting out its findings regarding good cause; and

(3) extension of time is 30 days or less.

(d) Except as provided in this chapter, the commission may not

(1) require rates, rate design, or tariff rates or regulations;

(2) require an in-state natural gas pipeline carrier to make a recourse tariff filing;

(3) order a modification of a contract that is approved, considered approved, or filed under this chapter;

(4) conduct further review or investigation of a contract that is approved, considered approved, or filed under this chapter; or

(5) investigate a dispute under (b)(3) of this section if a complete formal complaint has not been filed with the commission within 60 days after the event giving rise to the complaint.

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