1. (a) Certificates of convenience and necessity for existing service areas and facilities. For purposes of granting these certificates for those facilities and areas in which a utility was providing service on September 1, 1975, or was actively engaged in the construction, installation, extension, improvement of, or addition to any facility actually used or to be used in providing public utility service on September 1, 1975, unless found by the commission to be otherwise, the following provisions shall prevail for certification purposes:

   1. (1) The telephone central office facilities and service area boundary of a utility having such facilities in place or being actively engaged in the construction, installation, extension, improvement of, or addition to such facilities or the utility's system as of September 1, 1975, shall be limited, unless otherwise provided, to the facilities and real property on which the facilities were actually located, used, or dedicated as of September 1, 1975.
   2. (2) The interexchange trunk facilities and service area boundary of a utility having such facilities in place or being actively engaged in the construction, installation, extension, improvement of, or addition to such facilities or the utility's system as of September 1, 1975, shall be, unless otherwise provided, the facilities and a corridor extending 100 feet on either side of the interexchange trunk facilities in place, used or dedicated as of September 1, 1975.
   3. (3) The facilities and service area boundary for the public utilities providing distribution or collection service to any area, or actively engaged in the construction, installation, extension, improvement of, or addition to such facilities or the utility's system as of September 1, 1975, shall be limited, unless otherwise found by the commission, to the facilities and the area which lie within 200 feet of any point along a local service distribution and service drop line for telecommunications utilities

2. (b) Certificates of convenience and necessity for new service areas and facilities. Except for certificates granted under subsection (a) of this section, the commission may grant an application and issue a certificate only if it finds that the certificate is necessary for the service, accommodation, convenience, or safety of the public.

   1. (1) The commission may issue a certificate as applied for, or refuse to issue it, or issue it for the construction of a portion of the contemplated system or facility or extension thereof, or for the partial exercise only of the right or privilege. The commission may amend or revoke any certificate issued under this section if it finds that the public convenience and necessity requires such amendment or revocation. A certificate, or certificate amendment, is required for a change in service area.

   2. (2) A certificate is not required for the following:

      1. (A) a contiguous extension of those facilities described in the Public Utility Regulatory Act §54.002 and §54.003;
      2. (B) the construction or upgrading of distribution facilities within the utility's service area;
      3. (C) new telephone central offices;
      4. (D) however, any extension, upgrading, or construction of facilities described in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph in excess of $250,000 must be reported to the commission as prescribed in §26.82 of this title (relating to Construction Reports), and the commission may require additional facts or call a public hearing thereon; and
      5. (E) use or provision of pay telephones registered under Title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 68.
   3. (3) The term construction and/or extension, as used in this subsection, shall not include the purchase or condemnation of real property for use as facility sites or right-of-way. However, prior acquisition of such sites or right-of- way shall not be deemed to entitle a utility to the grant of a certificate of convenience and necessity without showing that the proposed extension is necessary for the service, accommodation, convenience, or safety of the public.
   4. (4) The commission shall render a decision approving or denying an application for a certificate required under paragraph (1) of this subsection, submitted by an entity not currently certificated to provide telephone utility service within this state, within one year of the date of filing of a complete application for such a certificate, unless good cause is shown for exceeding that period.
3. (c) Transferability of certificates. Any certificate granted under this section is not transferable without approval of the commission and shall continue in force until further order of the commission.
4. (d) Exclusiveness of certificate. Any certificate granted under this section shall not be construed to vest exclusive service or property rights in and to the area certificated. The commission may grant, upon finding that the public convenience and necessity requires additional certification to another utility or utilities, additional certification to any other utility or utilities to all or any part of the area heretofore certificated under this section.
5. (e) Certification forms. The commission shall adopt a form or forms which will facilitate the granting of certificates so that the granting of certificates, both contested and uncontested, will be expedited. Forms may be obtained from central records.
6. (f) Radio-telephone service provided by a telecommunications utility. A telecommunications utility subject to the jurisdiction of the commission shall not be required to obtain a certificate of convenience and necessity or an amendment thereto to provide paging service, mobile telephone service, or rural radio service unless a base station or repeater facility is to be located outside the area certificated to the utility for wireline telephone service.

Source Note:The provisions of this §26.101 adopted to be effective March 25, 1999, 24 TexReg 2021.