The commission shall, before the granting of authority or consent to any water or sewer utility regulated by the commission, for the construction, operation, maintenance, acquisition, expansion, or improvement of any facility or system, prescribe as a condition to the consent or approval that the utility shall:

(1) file with the commission a bond with sufficient surety, as approved by the commission, in an amount not less than one hundred thousand dollars and not more than three hundred fifty thousand dollars payable to the commission and conditioned upon the provision by the utility of adequate and sufficient service within its service area and provide a copy of the bond to the Office of Regulatory Staff; or

(2) deliver to the commission certificates of deposit, with endorsements as required by the commission, of federal or state chartered banks or savings and loan associations who maintain an office in this State and whose accounts are insured by either the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation. The certificates of deposit shall not exceed the amount covered by insurance. The commission has the right, upon notice and hearing, to declare all or any part of the bond or certificate of deposit forfeited upon a determination by the commission that the utility failed to provide service without just cause or excuse and that this failure has continued for an unreasonable length of time. A further condition of the bond or certificate of deposit shall be the provision for payment to the commission of any fine or penalty imposed or assessed by the commission against the utility under the provisions of Section 58-5-710.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 58-149; 1969 (56) 244; 1978 Act No. 479, eff April 19, 1978; 1999 Act No. 22, Section 2, eff June 1, 1999; 2006 Act No. 318, Section 18, eff May 24, 2006.