1. (1) Except as provided in sub. (2), a municipal regulation that requires a utility to install, at the utility’s expense, transmission or distribution facilities which are not consistent with the utility’s practice for design or construction of utility facilities is unreasonable unless there is an adequate health, safety, or public welfare justification for the requirement. Aesthetics alone is not an adequate basis to justify a requirement to install facilities underground.

2. (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if all of the following conditions are met:

   1. (a) The municipality or a third party agrees to reimburse the utility for the difference in cost between the standard design or construction techniques of the utility and any special design or construction requirement sought by the municipality.
   2. (b) The special design or construction requirement is consistent with safe and reliable utility construction practices.

History

History: CR 01-077: cr. Register June 2003 No. 570, eff. 7-1-03.