66-1712. Notification to public utility of prohibited acts; costs incurred by public utility charged to person responsible for activity, disagreement, arbitration. (a) When any person desires to carry out temporarily any function or activity in closer proximity to any high voltage overhead line than is permitted by this act, the person or persons responsible for the function or activity shall notify the public utility which owns or operates the high voltage overhead line of the function or activity and shall make appropriate arrangements with the public utility for temporary barriers, temporary deenergization and grounding of the conductors, temporary rerouting of electric current or temporary relocating of the conductors before proceeding with any function or activity which would impair the clearances required by this act.

(b) A person or persons requesting a public utility to provide temporary clearances or other safety precautions shall be responsible for payment of only those costs incurred by such utility in the temporary rerouting of electric current or the temporary relocating of the conductors. Upon request, a public utility shall provide a written costs estimate for the work needed to provide temporary rerouting of electric current or temporary relocating of the conductors. Unless otherwise agreed to, or unless circumstances require a longer period of time before work commences in order to assure continuity of service to electric customers, a public utility shall commence work on such temporary rerouting of electric current, temporary relocating of the conductors, temporary barriers or temporary deenergization and grounding of the conductors as may be appropriate, within seven working days after such notification has been made in accordance with K.S.A. 66-1712(a), and amendments thereto.

(c) If a person requesting a public utility to provide temporary rerouting of electric current or the temporary relocating of the conductors disagrees with the reasonableness of the written costs estimate or the description of the work to be performed, the following options are available to such person:

(1) Such person under protest may pay the utility for the work in accordance with the written cost estimate, but shall be entitled to seek recovery of all or any part of the money so paid in an arbitration proceeding as hereinafter provided; or

(2) prior to directing the work to be performed, the person or persons may submit to binding arbitration, as hereinafter provided, to resolve the issue of the reasonableness of the written cost estimate or the description or extent of the work to be performed by the public utility under such estimate.

(d) Disputes submitted to binding arbitration under this section shall be submitted in accordance with the procedures set forth in K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 5-423 through 5-453, and amendments thereto. The decision of the arbitrator or arbitrators as to the reasonableness of the costs or the necessity of the work to be performed shall be final and binding upon the parties.

History: L. 1993, ch. 119, § 4; L. 2018, ch. 90, § 34; July 1.