Effective 28 Aug 2002

393.130. Safe and adequate service — charges — certain home rule cities, interest accrual, when. — 1. Every gas corporation, every electrical corporation, every water corporation, and every sewer corporation shall furnish and provide such service instrumentalities and facilities as shall be safe and adequate and in all respects just and reasonable. All charges made or demanded by any such gas corporation, electrical corporation, water corporation or sewer corporation for gas, electricity, water, sewer or any service rendered or to be rendered shall be just and reasonable and not more than allowed by law or by order or decision of the commission. Every unjust or unreasonable charge made or demanded for gas, electricity, water, sewer or any such service, or in connection therewith, or in excess of that allowed by law or by order or decision of the commission is prohibited.

2. No gas corporation, electrical corporation, water corporation or sewer corporation shall directly or indirectly by any special rate, rebate, drawback or other device or method, charge, demand, collect or receive from any person or corporation a greater or less compensation for gas, electricity, water, sewer or for any service rendered or to be rendered or in connection therewith, except as authorized in this chapter, than it charges, demands, collects or receives from any other person or corporation for doing a like and contemporaneous service with respect thereto under the same or substantially similar circumstances or conditions.

3. No gas corporation, electrical corporation, water corporation or sewer corporation shall make or grant any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any person, corporation or locality, or to any particular description of service in any respect whatsoever, or subject any particular person, corporation or locality or any particular description of service to any undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage in any respect whatsoever.

4. Nothing in this section shall be taken to prohibit a gas corporation, electrical corporation, water corporation or sewer corporation from establishing a sliding scale for a fixed period for the automatic adjustment of charges for gas, electricity, water, sewer or any service rendered or to be rendered and the dividends to be paid stockholders of such gas corporation, electrical corporation, water corporation or sewer corporation; provided, that the sliding scale shall first have been filed with and approved by the commission; but nothing in this subsection shall operate to prevent the commission after the expiration of such fixed period from fixing proper, just and reasonable rates and charges to be made for service as authorized in sections 393.110 to 393.285.

5. No water corporation shall be permitted to charge any municipality or fire protection district a rate for the placing and providing of fire hydrants for distribution of water for use in protecting life and property from the hazards of fire within such municipality or fire protection district. Nothing herein shall prevent such water corporation from including the cost of placement and maintenance of such fire hydrants in its cost basis in determining a fair and reasonable rate to be charged for water. Any such fee or rental charge being made for such fire hydrants whether by contract or otherwise at the time this act shall take effect may remain in effect for a period of one hundred twenty days after this section shall take effect.

6. In any home rule city with more than four hundred thousand inhabitants and located in more than one county, any deposits held by the city for any water or sewerage services provided to a customer at any premises shall accrue interest if the customer is current in payments for water and sewerage services and if the city has held the deposit for two or more years. Interest for each year, or part thereof, shall accrue at the rate set for six month United States treasury bills effective December thirty-first of the preceding year. For any deposit held by the city on or before the December thirty-first prior to August 28, 2002, if that deposit is still held by the city on the December thirty-first one year next following August 28, 2002, interest accruing pursuant to this section from the effective date shall be credited to the customer's individual account, or paid to the customer, at the city's discretion.

­­--------

(RSMo 1939 § 5645, A. 1949 H.B. 2165, A.L. 1967 p. 578, A.L. 1969 H.B. 24, A.L. 2002 H.B. 1635)

Prior revisions: 1929 § 5189; 1919 § 10477