(a) Submission of estimate.--No later than 30 days after construction of an electric generating unit is begun, either in this Commonwealth or in some other state, any public utility operating in this Commonwealth and owning any share in that unit shall submit to the commission an estimate of the cost of constructing that unit. If the public utility acquires ownership of any share in an electric generating unit which is under construction on the date of acquisition, the public utility shall, within 30 days of the date of acquisition, submit an estimate of the cost of constructing that unit which was formulated no later than 30 days from the beginning of construction.

(b) Auditor in charge.--For each electric generating unit under construction which falls under the provisions of this section, the commission shall designate an auditor in charge. In addition to the access to evidence granted by this section, each utility having a generating unit under construction shall promptly submit, to the appropriate auditor in charge, copies and a description of any change with respect to construction which may be expected to result in substantial variances in the construction cost. A summary of all other changes shall be submitted to the commission at such reasonable times as the commission shall require.

(c) Access to evidence.--From and after the beginning of construction of an electric generating unit, the commission, or the auditor in charge, and the Consumer Advocate, or his designee, shall have reasonable access to the construction site and to any oral or documentary evidence relevant to determining the necessity and propriety of any construction cost. If a public utility objects to any request by the commission or the auditor in charge or the Consumer Advocate, or the person designated by the Consumer Advocate, for access to the construction site or to any oral or documentary evidence, the objection shall be decided in the same manner as an on-the-record proceeding pursuant to Chapter 3 (relating to public utility commission). The affected public utility shall have the burden of proof in sustaining any such objection.

(d) Definition.--As used in this section the term "construction" includes any work performed on an electric generating unit which is expected to require the affected public utility to incur an aggregate of at least $100,000,000 of expenses which, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, are capital expenses and not operating or maintenance expenses.

(July 6, 1984, P.L.602, No.123, eff. imd.; July 10, 1986, P.L.1238, No.114, eff. imd.)

Cross References. Section 515 is referred to in sections 523, 1308 of this title.