§ 160A-332. Electric service within city limits. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 160A‑332.  Electric service within citylimits.

(a)        The suppliers of electric service inside the corporatelimits of any city in which a secondary supplier was furnishing electricservice on the determination date (as defined in G.S. 160A‑331(1)) shallhave rights and be subject to restrictions as follows:

(1)        The secondary supplier shall have the right to serve allpremises being served by it, or to which any of its facilities are attached, onthe determination date.

(2)        The secondary supplier shall have the right, subject tosubdivision (3) of this section, to serve all premises initially requiringelectric service after the determination date which are located wholly within300 feet of its lines and located wholly more than 300 feet from the lines of theprimary supplier, as such suppliers' lines existed on the determination date.

(3)        Any premises initially requiring electric service after thedetermination date which are located wholly within 300 feet of a secondarysupplier's lines and wholly within 300 feet of another secondary supplier'slines, but wholly more than 300 feet from the primary supplier's lines, as thelines of all suppliers existed on the determination date, may be served by thesecondary supplier which the consumer chooses, and no other supplier shallthereafter furnish electric service to such premises, except with the writtenconsent of the supplier then serving the premises.

(4)        A primary supplier shall not furnish electric service to anypremises which a secondary supplier has the right to serve as set forth insubdivisions (1), (2), and (3) of this section, except with the written consentof the secondary supplier.

(5)        Any premises initially requiring electric service after thedetermination date which are located wholly or partially within 300 feet of theprimary supplier's lines and are located wholly or partially within 300 feet ofthe secondary supplier's lines, as such suppliers' lines existed on thedetermination date, may be served by either the secondary supplier or the primarysupplier, whichever the consumer chooses, and no other supplier shallthereafter furnish service to such premises, except with the written consent ofthe supplier then serving the premises.

(6)        Any premises initially requiring electric service after the determinationdate, which are located only partially within 300 feet of the secondarysupplier's lines and are located wholly more than 300 feet from the primarysupplier's lines, as such supplier's lines existed on the determination date,may be served either by the secondary supplier or the primary supplier,whichever the consumer chooses, and no other supplier shall thereafter furnishservice to such premises, except with the written consent of the supplier thenserving the premises.

(6a)      Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a secondarysupplier, upon obtaining the prior written consent of the city, shall be theexclusive provider of electric service within (i) any assigned area for whichthat secondary supplier had been assigned supplier prior to the determinationdate; or (ii) any area previously unassigned by the North Carolina UtilitiesCommission pursuant to G.S. 62‑110.2. However, any rights of otherelectric suppliers existing under G.S. 62‑110.2 prior to thedetermination date to provide service shall continue to exist withoutimpairment in the areas described in (i) and (ii) above.

(6b)      A primary supplier or secondary supplier that, after thedetermination date, offers to serve any premises initially requiring electricservice for which a consumer has a right to choose suppliers under subsections(5) or (6) of this section, without providing the consumer written notice thatthe consumer may be entitled to choose another electric supplier for thepremises, shall not have the right to serve those premises.

(7)        Except as provided in subdivisions (1), (2), (3), (5), (6),and (6a) of this section, a secondary supplier shall not furnish electricservice within the corporate limits of any city unless it first obtains thewritten consent of the city and the primary supplier.

(b)        In any city that is first incorporated after April 20, 1965,in which, on the effective date of the incorporation, there is more than onesupplier of electric service, all suppliers of electric service therein shallcontinue to have the rights and be subject to the restrictions in effect beforethe city was incorporated until there is a primary supplier within the city.

(c)        It shall be unlawful for a primary supplier or secondarysupplier to serve premises within a city that the supplier does not have theright to serve under the provisions of this Article. Upon receiving writtennotice from another supplier of electric service that has authority to lawfullyprovide service to the premises in dispute that the provision of service by thecurrent supplier is unlawful, the primary supplier or secondary supplier thatis providing electric service shall be obligated to discontinue service andremove all of its facilities used in the provision of the unlawful servicewithin 30 days after substitute electric service can be provided by an electricsupplier with authority to lawfully provide service to the premises, unless thesupplier currently providing service has a good faith basis for believing ithas authority to continue rendering such service. If the primary or secondarysupplier is determined to be providing electric services unlawfully, and isfound to have unreasonably failed to fulfill its obligation to discontinueservice as required above, the supplier of electric service that has authorityto lawfully provide service to the premises may bring an action to compelperformance of those obligations, and may recover in that action its costs ofenforcing this subsection, including its reasonable attorneys' fees. (1965, c. 287, s. 1; 1971, c. 698, s. 1; 1997‑346, s. 2; 1999‑111,s. 1; 2003‑24, s. 1; 2005‑150, ss. 4, 5.)