Iowa Code 476.51 – Civil penalty
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1. A public utility which, after written notice by the board of a specific violation, violates the same provision of this chapter, the same rule adopted by the board, or the same provision of an order lawfully issued by the board, is subject to a civil penalty, which may be levied by the board, of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars per violation.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 476.51
- Department: means the department of natural resources. See Iowa Code 462A.2
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
- public utility: shall include any person, partnership, business association, or corporation, domestic or foreign, owning or operating any facilities for:a. See Iowa Code 476.1
- Rates: means the same as defined in section 384. See Iowa Code 476.1A
- Rule: includes "regulation". See Iowa Code 4.1
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
2. A public utility which willfully, after written notice by the board of a specific violation, violates the same provision of this chapter, the same rule adopted by the board, or the same provision of an order lawfully issued by the board, is subject to a civil penalty, which may be levied by the board, of not less than one thousand dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars per violation. For the purposes of this section, “willful” means knowing and deliberate, with a specific intent to violate.3. Each violation is a separate offense. In the case of a continuing violation, each day a violation continues, after the time specified for compliance in the written notice by the board, is a separate and distinct offense. Any civil penalty may be compromised by the board. In determining the amount of the penalty, or the amount agreed upon in a compromise, the board may consider the appropriateness of the penalty in relation to the size of the public utility, the gravity of the violation, and the good faith of the public utility in attempting to achieve compliance following notification of a violation, and any other relevant factors.4. The written notice given by the board to a public utility under this section shall specify an appropriate time for compliance.5. Civil penalties collected pursuant to this section from utilities providing water, electric, or gas service shall be forwarded by the chief operating officer of the board to the treasurer of state to be credited to the general fund of the state and to be used only for the low income home energy assistance program and the weatherization assistance program administered by the department of health and human services. Civil penalties collected pursuant to this section from utilities providing telecommunications service shall be forwarded to the treasurer of state to be credited to the commerce revolving fund created in section 546.12 to be used only for consumer education programs administered by the board. Penalties paid by a rate-regulated public utility pursuant to this section shall be excluded from the utility’s costs when determining the utility’s revenue requirement, and shall not be included either directly or indirectly in the utility’s rates or charges to customers.