Sec. 16-11. Safety of public and employees. Powers. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 16-11. Safety of public and employees. Powers. The Department of Public Utility Control shall, so far as is practicable, keep fully informed as to the condition of the plant, equipment and manner of operation of all public service companies in respect to their adequacy and suitability to accomplish the duties imposed upon such companies by law and in respect to their relation to the safety of the public and of the employees of such companies. The department may order such reasonable improvements, repairs or alterations in such plant or equipment, or such changes in the manner of operation, as may be reasonably necessary in the public interest. The general purposes of this section and sections 16-19, 16-25, 16-43 and 16-47 are to assure to the state of Connecticut its full powers to regulate its public service companies, to increase the powers of the Department of Public Utility Control and to promote local control of the public service companies of this state, and said sections shall be so construed as to effectuate these purposes.

      (1949 Rev., S. 5401; P.A. 75-486, S. 1, 69; P.A. 77-614, S. 162, 610; P.A. 80-482, S. 4, 40, 345, 348; P.A. 82-150, S. 2.)

      History: P.A. 75-486 replaced public utilities commission with public utilities control authority; P.A. 77-614 replaced public utilities control authority with division of public utility control within the department of business regulation, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-482 made division an independent department and deleted reference to abolished department of business regulation; P.A. 82-150 deleted an obsolete reference to Sec. 16-37 and substituted "companies" for "corporations".

      In case of conflict of powers between commission and local authorities, latter yield. 66 C. 211; 103 C. 212. Duties are administrative rather than judicial. 43 C. 382; 75 C. 471; 78 C. 306; 80 C. 640; 86 C. 36; 88 C. 471; 89 C. 537; 97 C. 458; Id., 733. Have no powers of arbitration; conditional decrees. 41 C. 355; 104 U.S. 1. Except for local regulations, such as traffic rules, municipalities have no power to regulate street railways. 103 C. 212. Cited. 140 C. 650. Cited. 144 C. 516. Contract of a public utility company affecting its service and the public interest is subject to scrutiny of commission. 145 C. 526. Does not provide that a transfer of control under section 16-47 can be made only to inhabitants of the franchise area. 146 C. 1. Dispute concerning private property rights of various riparian owners, including defendant water company, does not fall within administrative process of commission and was properly brought before superior court. 155 C. 477. Within their scope the regulations of the commission have the force of statutes and a violation of a valid regulation is negligence per se. Defendant electric utility exercised every reasonable precaution to safeguard the public against live wires in a severe storm and could plead and prove contributory negligence by the plaintiff. 158 C. 600. Cited. 162 C. 93. Cited. 219 C. 121.

      Cited. 43 CA 196.

      Cited. 30 CS 36. Cited. 40 CS 520.