R7‑37 BONDS

1. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (f), before temporary operating authority, or a certificate of convenience and necessity is granted to a water or sewer utility company, or before a water or sewer utility company extends service into territory contiguous to that already occupied, without regard to the date of the issuance of the existing franchise, the company must furnish a bond to the Commission as required by G.S. 62 110.3. The company shall ensure that the bond is renewed as necessary to maintain it in continuous force in conformity to the rules herein.
2. (b) The form of the bond shall be as in the Appendix to this Chapter.

3. (c) The amount of the bond shall be set by the Commission on the basis of evidence presented during the application proceeding. In the case of a no-protest application proceeding, the amount of the bond shall be based on information in the application. In the event that the parties cannot agree on the appropriate amount, the issue shall be referred to the Commission for final decision. In setting the amount of a bond, the Commission shall consider and make appropriate findings as to the following:

   1. (1) Whether the applicant holds other water or sewer franchises in this State, and if so its record of operation,
   2. (2) The number of customers the applicant now serves and proposes to serve,
   3. (3) The likelihood of future expansion needs of the service,
   4. (4) If the applicant is acquiring an existing company, the age, condition and type of the equipment,
   5. (5) Any other relevant factors, including the design of the system, and

   6. (6) In the case of a contiguous extension, both the original service area and the proposed extension.

      The bond shall be in an amount, not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), sufficient to provide financial responsibility in a manner acceptable to the Commission.

4. (d) The bond may be secured by the joinder of a commercial bonding company or other surety acceptable to the Commission. An acceptable surety is an individual or corporation with a net worth, not including the value of the utility, of at least twenty (20) times the amount of the bond or five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), whichever is less. The net worth of a proposed surety must be demonstrated by the annual filing with the Commission of an audited financial statement. Where a utility proposes to secure its bond by means of a commercial surety bond of nonperpetual duration issued by a corporate surety, the bond and commercial surety bond must specify that (a) if, for any reason, the surety bond is not to be renewed upon its expiration, the financial institution shall, at least 60 days prior to the expiration date of the surety bond, provide written notification by means of certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Chief Clerk of the North Carolina Utilities Commission, 4325 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-4325, that the surety bond will not be renewed beyond the then current maturity date for an additional period, (b) failure to renew the surety bond shall, without the necessity of the Commission being required to hold a hearing or appoint an emergency operator, allow the Commission to convert the surety bond to cash and deposit said cash proceeds with the administrator of the Commission's bonding program, and (c) the cash proceeds from the converted surety bond shall be used to post a cash bond on behalf of the utility pursuant to section (e)(3) of this rule.

5. (e) The bond may also be secured by posting with the Commission cash or securities acceptable to the Commission at least equal in value to the amount of bond. If the aggregate value of the securities posted declines below the amount required to guarantee the full bond, the utility shall make any additional deposits necessary to guarantee the bond. If the aggregate value of the securities posted increases above the amount required to guarantee the bond, the utility may withdraw securities as long as the aggregate value remains at least equal to the amount required.

   1. (1) Obligations of the United States of America
   2. (2) Obligations of the State of North Carolina
   3. (3) Certificates of deposit drawn on and accepted by commercial banks and savings and loan associations incorporated in the State of North Carolina
   4. (4) Irrevocable letters of credit issued by financial institutions acceptable to the Commission. If the irrevocable letter of credit is nonperpetual in duration, the bond and letter of credit must specify that (a) if, for any reason, the irrevocable letter of credit is not to be renewed upon its expiration, the financial institution shall, at least 60 days prior to the expiration date of the irrevocable letter of credit, provide written notification by means of certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Chief Clerk of the North Carolina Utilities Commission, 4325 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-4325, that the irrevocable letter of credit will not be renewed beyond the then current maturity date for an additional period, (b) failure to renew the irrevocable letter of credit shall, without the necessity of the Commission being required to hold a hearing or appoint an emergency operator, allow the Commission to convert the irrevocable letter of credit to cash and deposit said cash proceeds with the administrator of the Commission's bonding program, and (c) the cash proceeds from the converted irrevocable letter of credit shall be used to post a cash bond on behalf of the utility pursuant to section (e)(3) of this rule.
   5. (5) Such other evidence of financial responsibility deemed acceptable to the Commission. If the utility proposes to post evidence of financial responsibility other than that permitted in (1), (2), (3), and (4) above, a hearing will be held to determine if the form of the proposed security serves the public interest and if the amount of the bond proposed by the utility should be higher due to its lack of liquidity. At this hearing, the burden of proof will be on the utility to show that the proposed security under subparagraph (5) and the proposed amount of the bond will be in the public interest.

   Acceptable securities are:

6. (f) If a utility subject to the Commission's jurisdiction is operating without a franchise and either

   1. (1) it applies for a franchise, or
   2. (2) the Commission asserts jurisdiction over it, the utility shall satisfy the bonding requirement. If the Commission finds that such a utility cannot meet that requirement, it may grant the utility temporary operating authority for a reasonable period of time until it can transfer the system or post the bond. If after the expiration of the time period the company has neither posted the bond nor transferred the system, the Commission may seek fines and penalties under G.S. 62-310.
7. (g) The company shall attach a separate statement to its annual report which is due on or before April 30th of each year signed under penalty of perjury stating the amount of the bond, whether the bond is still in effect, and the date of next renewal.

(NCUC Docket No. W‑100, Sub 5, 9/2/87; 3/18/88; 7/19/94; 8/31/94; 9/8/94; 5/3/95; 5/4/95; 5/23/95; 11/7/97; NCUC Docket No. M-100, Sub 128, 4/14/00; NCUC Docket No. W-100, Sub 42, 01/21/04; NCUC Docket No. M-100, Sub 160, 3/30/2022.)