Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, March 15, 2024
(1) No
public utility shall offer or grant any of the following promotional practices
for the purpose of inducing any person to select and use the service or use
additional service of the utility:
(A) The
financing of real property, including the construction of any building, when
the property is not owned or otherwise possessed by the utility or its
affiliate;
(B) The furnishing of
consideration to any architect, builder, engineer, subdivider, developer or
other person for work done or to be done on property not owned or otherwise
possessed by the utility or its affiliate, except for studies to determine
comparative capital costs and expenses to show the desirability or feasibility
of selecting one (1) form of energy over another;
(C) The acquisition from any builder,
sub-divider, developer or other person of any easement, right-of-way, license,
lease or other property for consideration in excess of the reasonable cost or
value;
(D) The furnishing of
consideration to any dealer, architect, builder, engineer, subdi-vider,
developer or other person for the sale, installation or use of appliances or
equipment;
(E) The provision of
free, or less than cost or value, wiring, piping, appliances or equipment to
any other person; provided, that a utility, engaged in an appliance
merchandising sales program, shall not be precluded from conducting legitimate
closeouts of appliances, clearance sales and sales of damaged or returned
appliances;
(F) The provision of
free, or less than cost or value, installation, operation, repair, modification
or maintenance of appliances, equipment, wiring or piping of any other
person;
(G) The granting of a
trade-in allowance on the purchase of any appliance or equipment in excess of
the market value of the trade-in as well as the granting of an allowance for
the appliance or equipment when the allowance varies by the type of energy
consumed in the appliance or equipment;
(H) The financing of the acquisition of any
appliance or equipment at a rate of interest or on terms more favorable than
those generally applicable to sales by nonutility dealers in the appliances or
equipment, except sales to company employees;
(I) The furnishing of consideration to any
person for any advertising or publicity purpose of that person, except for
payments not exceeding one-half (1/2) of the reasonable cost or value for joint
advertising or publicity with a dealer in appliances or equipment for the sale
or other provision of same if the utility is prominently identified as a
sponsor of the advertisement; and
(J) The guaranteeing of the maximum cost of
electric or gas utility service, except the guaranteeing of the cost of space
heating or cooling for a single season, when the cost is at or above the cost
of providing service and when the guarantee is for the purpose of improving the
utility's off-peak season load factor.
(2) Nothing contained in this rule shall be
construed to prohibit any activity, practice or business otherwise allowed by
statute and particularly those businesses exempt from the jurisdiction of this
commission as provided under section
393.140(12),
RSMo or employee benefit programs approved by the commission and consistent
with the provisions of
4 CSR
240-14.040.
*Original authority: 386.040, RSMo 1939; 386.250, RSMo
1939, amended 1963, 1967, 1977, 1980, 1987, 1988, 1991; 386.610, RSMo 1939; and
393.140, RSMo 1939, amended 1949, 1967.
