Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) Application.
Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, in this section the term
"utility" or "public utility" refers to a dominant carrier.
(b) Purpose. This section establishes
standards for the form, filing and review of a dominant certificated
telecommunications utility's (DCTU's) tariff.
(c) Effective tariff. A utility is prohibited
from directly or indirectly demanding, charging, or collecting any rate or
charge, or imposing any classifications, practices, rules, or regulations
different from those prescribed in its currently effective tariff filed with
and approved by the commission.
(d)
Tariff required.
(1) A public utility, or an
affiliate of the public utility or a trade association on behalf of the public
utility, must file with the commission a tariff showing each rate that is
subject to the commission's jurisdiction and is in effect for a utility
service, product, or commodity offered by the utility. A current or proposed
tariff must:
(A) include a cover letter that
lists each rule that relates to or affects a rate of the utility, or a utility
service, product, or commodity furnished by the utility;
(B) be filed prior to or concurrently with an
application for certification, including a certificate amendment, under
§26.111 (relating to Certificate of Operating Authority (COA) and Service
Provider Certificate of Operating Authority (SPCOA) Criteria); and
(C) as applicable, comply with the
requirements of this section and §
26.208 of this title (relating to
General Tariff Procedures), §
26.209 of this title (relating to
New and Experimental Services), or §
26.211 of this title (relating to
Rate-Setting Flexibility for Services Subject to Significant Competitive
Challenges).
(2) A public
utility must also file each subsequent tariff revision with the commission.
Each revision must be accompanied by a cover page which contains a list of
pages being revised, a statement describing each change, the effect of the
change if it revises an existing rate, and a statement describing the impact on
rates of the change for each customer class, if any. If a proposed tariff
revision constitutes an increase in existing rates of a particular customer
class, then the commission may require that notice be given.
(3) A telecommunications utility, upon the
issuance of a commission order determining that the telecommunications utility
is a dominant carrier, must file a tariff complying with the requirements of
this subsection. Such a tariff must be filed within the time specified in the
commission order, or within 60 days in the absence of such a
specification.
(e) Filing
of public utility tariff by affiliate or trade association. An affiliate of a
public utility or trade association may file a tariff or tariff revision under
this section or other applicable law, on behalf of a public utility.
(1) For each filing, the public utility must
authorize the affiliate of the nondominant carrier or trade association, via
written affidavit filed with the commission, to file such information on its
behalf.
(2) The authorization
specified by paragraph (1) of this subsection may be included in the filing by
the affiliate of the public utility or trade association.
(3) The filing by affiliate of the public
utility or trade association must comply with the requirements of this section
and other applicable law.
(f) Tariff filing requirements.
(1) The front page of the tariff must include
the name of the utility and location of its principal office and the type of
service rendered.
(2) Each rate
schedule must clearly state the territory, city, county, or exchange where the
rate schedule applies.
(3) Tariff
sheets must be numbered consecutively per schedule. Each sheet must show an
effective date, a revision number, section number, sheet number, name of the
utility, the name of the tariff, and title of the section in a consistent
manner. Sheets issued under new numbers must be designated as original sheets.
Sheets being revised must show the number of the revision, and the sheet
numbers must be the same.
(g) Composition of tariffs. A tariff must
contain sections setting forth:
(2) a preliminary
statement containing a brief description of the utility's operations;
(3) a list of the cities, exchanges, and
counties in which service is provided;
(4) the rate schedules; and
(5) the service rules and regulations,
including forms of the service agreements.
(h) Tariff filings in response to commission
orders. A tariff filed in response to a commission order must include a
transmittal letter affirming that the tariff is in compliance with the order,
provide the control number, date of the order, a list of tariff sheets filed,
and any other necessary information. The tariff sheets must comply with all
other rules of this title and must include only the changes ordered. The
effective date or wording of the tariffs must comply with the provisions of the
order.
(i) Symbols for changes.
Each proposed tariff sheet must contain notations in the right-hand margin
indicating each change made. Notations to be used are: (C) to denote a change
in regulations; (D) to denote discontinued rates or regulations; (E) to denote
the correction of an error made during a revision, such as the revision which
resulted in the error must be one connected to some material contained in the
tariff prior to the revision;
(I) to denote a
rate increase; (N) to denote a new rate or regulation; (R) to denote a rate
reduction; and (T) to denote a change in text, but no change in rate or
regulation. Each changed provision in the tariff must contain a vertical line
in the right-hand margin of the page which clearly shows the exact number of
lines being changed.
(j)
Availability of tariffs. Each utility must make available to the public
electronically and at each of its business offices or designated sales offices
within Texas, each tariff that is currently on file with the commission. The
utility must assist persons seeking information on its tariffs and permit such
persons the opportunity to examine any tariff upon request. The utility must
also provide copies of each of its tariffs at a reasonable cost.
