GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1995 SESSION

CHAPTER 271
HOUSE BILL 792

AN ACT TO DIRECT THE UTILITIES COMMISSION TO PROVIDE THAT EACH FRANCHISED NATURAL GAS DISTRIBUTION COMPANY SHALL EXPAND SERVICE TO ALL AREAS OF ITS FRANCHISE TERRITORY WITHIN THREE YEARS OR LOSE ITS EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO THE FRANCHISE TERRITORY.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 62-36A(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	The Commission shall develop rules to carry out the intent of subsection (a) of this section, and to produce an orderly system for reviewing current levels of natural gas service and planning the orderly expansion of natural gas service to areas not served.  These rules shall provide for expansion of service by each franchised natural gas local distribution company to all areas of its franchise territory by July 1, 1998 or within three years of the time the franchise territory is awarded, whichever is later, and shall provide that any local distribution company that the Commission determines is not providing adequate service to at least some portion of each county within its franchise territory by July 1, 1998 or within three years of the time the franchise territory is awarded, whichever is later, shall forfeit its exclusive franchise rights to that portion of its territory not being served."
Sec. 2.  This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 15th day of June, 1995.

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Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate

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Harold J. Brubaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives