37-1-101. Definitions.

(a) As used in chapters 1, 2, 3, 12 and 17 of this title:

(i) "Commission" means public service commission of Wyoming, which is created and established by this chapter;

(ii) "Commissioner" means any one of the members of the Wyoming public service commission;

(iii) "Municipality" when used in this chapter shall mean and include any town, village, city, county or other political subdivision of this state;

(iv) "Municipal council" means and includes the city council, common council, board of aldermen, the board of selectmen, the board of trustees, the city commission or any other governing body of any political subdivision of the state;

(v) "Person" means and includes individuals, associations of individuals, firms, partnerships, companies, corporations, their lessees, trustees, or receivers, appointed by any court whatsoever in the singular number, as well as the plural;

(vi) "Public utility" means and includes every person that owns, operates, leases, controls or has power to operate, lease or control:

(A) Repealed By Laws 2012, Ch. 84, § 104.

(B) Repealed by Laws 1995, ch. 181, § 3.

(C) Any plant, property or facility for the generation, transmission, distribution, sale or furnishing to or for the public of electricity for light, heat or power, including any conduits, ducts or other devices, materials, apparatus or property for containing, holding or carrying conductors used or to be used for the transmission of electricity for light, heat or power;

(D) Any plant, property or facility for the manufacture, distribution, sale or furnishing to or for the public of natural or manufactured gas for lights, heat or power;

(E) Any plant, property or facility for the supply, storage, distribution or furnishing to or for the public of water for manufacturing, municipal, agriculture or domestic uses, except and excluding any such plant, property or facility owned by a municipality;

(F) Repealed By Laws 2012, Ch. 84, § 104.

(G) Any plant, property or equipment for the transportation or conveyance to or for the public of oil or gas by pipeline, or any plant, property, or equipment, used for the purpose of transporting, selling or furnishing natural gas to any consumer or consumers within the state of Wyoming for industrial, commercial or residential use, except any such plant, property or equipment used for any of the following purposes is exempted from this and all other provisions of this chapter to the extent of such use:

(I) For the transportation or sale of natural gas within or between oil and gas fields or potential oil and gas fields for residential, commercial, industrial or other use reasonably necessary in the exploration, development or operation of the field;

(II) For drilling, producing, repressuring, or other oil or gas field operations;

(III) For operation of natural gas processing plants;

(IV) For the sale of natural gas by the producer to a consumer for use in industrial or commercial plants or establishments of any kind or nature.

(H) None of the provisions of this chapter shall apply to:

(I) Interstate commerce except when a regulatory field has not been preempted by the United States government;

(II) To public utilities owned and operated by a municipality of the state of Wyoming or owned and operated by a joint powers entity formed pursuant to the Wyoming Joint Powers Act, W.S. 16-1-102 through 16-1-110, and comprised of two (2) or more municipalities, except as to that portion of a municipality owned and operated public utility or joint powers entity owned and operated public utility, if any, as may extend services outside the corporate limits of a municipality and except that if any municipal or joint powers utility owns an undivided interest in a facility for the production of electricity which is also partly owned by an agency subject to the jurisdiction of the public service commission, the sale of electricity in excess of the participating municipalities' or joint powers entities' need is subject to this act;

(III) To farmers' mutual telephone associations having no capital stock and furnishing service to members of associations only and without tolls, except as provided in W.S. 37-2-205;

(IV) To mutual water companies or associations having no capital stock and furnishing water service to members of companies or associations only, and without charges other than assessments of members to reimburse companies or associations for expenses incurred in their establishment or operation;

(V) To any person who is not otherwise affiliated with a utility, that owns, leases, controls or has power to lease or control any plant, property or facility which, in a transaction approved or authorized by the commission, is leased to one (1) or more public utilities, and is to be operated by the lessee or lessees for the generation, transmission, distribution, sale or furnishing to or for the public of electricity for light, heat, power or other utility purposes;

(VI) To the generation, transmission or distribution of electricity, or to the manufacture or distribution of gas, or to the furnishing or distribution of water, nor to the production, delivery or furnishing of steam or any other substance, by a producer or other person, for the sole use of a producer or other person, or for the use of tenants of a producer or other person and not for sale to others. Such exemptions shall not apply to metered or other direct sales of a utility commodity by a producer or other person to his tenants;

(VII) The retail sale of compressed natural gas for use as motor vehicle fuel by a company which is not otherwise regulated under this title;

(VIII) Metered and other direct sales of water by a person to his tenants when the metered or other direct sales are solely for purposes of allocating usage among tenants and includes no additional fees or charges;

(IX) Metered and other direct sales of water by a person operating a water system that:

(1) Has less than fifteen (15) potential service connections;

(2) Is not owned, controlled or otherwise affiliated with a water utility or any other utility that provides water service;

(3) Is not a centralized water supply system associated with a subdivision; and

(4) Is not located within the established service territory of a water utility or the corporate limits of a municipality.

(J) The term "public utility" shall mean and include two (2) or more public utilities rendering joint service;

(K) Any person furnishing coal, water or other raw materials to an electric power company shall not by this fact alone be designated as a public utility;

(M) The provisions of W.S. 37-6-101 through 37-6-106, relating to the issuance and sale of securities shall not apply to:

(I) Any gas pipeline corporation making direct sales to Wyoming consumers in interstate commerce and not for resale;

(II) Any cooperative electrical generation and transmission association operating in interstate commerce whose rates are not regulated by the Wyoming public service commission.