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HomePublic Utilities CodeDiv. 1Pt. 1Ch. 2.5Art. 3§ 431 Public Utility Annual Fees

§ 431 Public Utility Annual Fees

Public Utilities Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 431 Public Utility Annual Fees

Key Takeaways

  • •Every year, companies like electric, gas, and phone companies have to pay a fee to the government.
  • •The fee amount is decided so that the government can pay for its work to watch over these companies.
  • •The fee is calculated based on how much money the government needs for its budget, minus any other money it already has.
  • •Some companies, like electrical cooperatives, don’t have to pay this fee.

Example

If a phone company operates in California, it has to pay a fee every year to help fund the government’s work in making sure the company follows the rules.

The government looks at how much money it needs to do its job, like checking on these companies. Then, it figures out how much each company should pay so that all the fees add up to that amount. If the government already has some money left from last year or gets money from other places, the companies pay less.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 431 Public Utility Annual Fees

(a) The commission shall annually determine a fee to be paid by every electrical, gas, telephone, telegraph, water, sewer system, and heat corporation and every other public utility providing service directly to customers or subscribers and subject to the jurisdiction of the commission other than a railroad, except as otherwise provided in Article 2 (commencing with Section 421). (b) The annual fee shall be established to produce a total amount equal to that amount established in the authorized commission budget for the same year, including adjustments for increases in employee compensation, other increases appropriated by the Legislature, and an appropriate reserve to regulate public utilities less the amount to be paid from special accounts or funds pursuant to Section 402, reimbursements, federal funds, and any other revenues, and the amount of unencumbered funds from the preceding year. (c) This article shall not apply to any electrical cooperative as defined in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2776) of Part 2. (d) On and after January 1, 1985, this article shall apply to radiotelephone utilities as defined in Section 4902 as those provisions read on December 31, 1984. (e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2020. (Repealed (in Sec. 2) and added by Stats. 2014, Ch. 885, Sec. 3. (AB 1717) Effective September 30, 2014. Section operative January 1, 2020, by its own provisions.)

Last verified: January 23, 2026

Key Terms

corporationroadfinecommissionlegislatureemployeecalifornia public utilitieseffective september

Related Statutes

  • § 421 Common Carrier Annual Fees
  • § 524 Media Advertising Transit Discounts
  • § 913.4 Annual Renewable Energy Progress Report
  • § 99234.7 Rail Service Contract Limits
  • § 404 Fee Recovery And Adjustment

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Public Utilities Code. Section 431.
View Official Source