(1) The Public Service Commission shall regulate utilities and enforce the provisions of this chapter. The commission shall be a body corporate, with power to sue and be sued in its corporate name. The commission may adopt a seal bearing the name “Public Service Commission of Kentucky,” which seal shall be affixed to all writs and official documents, and to such other instruments as the commission directs, and all courts shall take judicial note of the seal.
(2) The jurisdiction of the commission shall extend to all utilities in this state. The commission shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the regulation of rates and service of utilities, but with that exception nothing in this chapter is intended to limit or restrict the police jurisdiction, contract rights or powers of cities or political subdivisions.

Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 278.040

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes territories, outlying possessions, and the District of Columbia. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010

(3) The commission may adopt, in keeping with KRS Chapter 13A, reasonable regulations to implement the provisions of KRS Chapter 278 and investigate the methods and practices of utilities to require them to conform to the laws of this state, and to all reasonable rules, regulations and orders of the commission not contrary to law.
Effective: July 15, 1982
History: Amended 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 82, sec. 7, effective July 15, 1982. — Amended
1978 Ky. Acts ch. 379, sec. 8, effective April 1, 1979. — Amended 1976 Ky. Acts ch.
88, sec. 2, effective March 29, 1976. — Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. secs. 3952-2, 3952-12, 3952-13, 3952-27.