§ 740 Utility Research Costs

• •Companies that provide electricity, gas, heat, or phone services can ask for permission to include research and development costs in their prices.
• •The commission (a group that oversees these companies) can say yes or no to this request.
• •This rule was added in 1973.

A phone company wants to charge customers more money to pay for new technology they are testing.

The company has to ask the commission first. If the commission says yes, the company can add those costs to your bill.