Eminent domain: public utilities.

(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including gas corporations, as defined. The existing Public Utilities Act prohibits any gas corporation from beginning the construction of, among other things, a line, plant, or system, or of any extension thereof, without having first obtained from the commission a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity require or will require that construction (certificate of public convenience and necessity) . Existing law authorizes certain public utilities to condemn property, as prescribed, but prohibits specified public utilities that offer competitive services from condemning any property for the purpose of competing with another entity in the offering of those competitive services, unless the commission finds, pursuant to a petition or complaint filed by the public utility, in accordance with specified provisions that such an action would serve the public interest. This bill would provide that the existing prohibition upon specified public utilities condemning property if they offer competitive services does not apply to a gas corporation seeking to develop a natural gas storage facility in a natural gas reservoir if the need for the storage project at the proposed location was determined in an evidentiary hearing before the commission pursuant to an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity. (2) The Eminent Domain Law provides the procedure for the exercise of the power of eminent domain by governmental entities and public utilities and authorizes the plaintiff to make an application to the court to take possession of property prior to judgment and sets forth the procedures the plaintiff must follow. Existing law authorizes a court to issue an order of possession upon an ex parte application by a water, wastewater, gas, electric, or telephone utility, as the court deems appropriate under the circumstances of the case, if the court finds that (A) an emergency exists and as a consequence the utility has an urgent need for possession of the property, and (B) an emergency order of possession will not displace or unreasonably affect any person in actual and lawful possession of the property to be taken or the larger parcel of which it is a part. Existing law authorizes a defendant or occupant of the property to move for relief from an order of possession issued on behalf of a utility because of an emergency and authorizes the court to modify, stay, or vacate the order upon consideration of the relevant facts and any objections raised, and upon completion of a hearing, if requested. This bill would authorize a court to issue an order for possession upon an ex parte application by a water, wastewater, gas, electrical, or telephone utility if the court finds that (A) the commission has issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the project, (B) the need for the proposed project at the proposed location was determined through an evidentiary hearing before the commission pursuant to an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity, and (C) the order of possession will not displace or unreasonably affect any person in actual and lawful possession of the property to be taken or the larger parcel of which it is a part. The existing right of a defendant or occupant of the property to move for relief would be applicable to any order of possession issued pursuant to this authority. This bill would provide that an order of possession may be served by mail upon an owner or occupant who previously appeared in or was provided with notice pursuant to the notice procedures of the commission in a prior proceeding of the commission acting upon an application by the plaintiff for a certificate of public convenience and necessity as to the project for which possession of the property is required.