                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PUBLIC UTILITY AND SCHEDULES DEFINED (§ 56-232)

A. The term &#8220;public utility&#8221; as used in §§ 56-233 to 56-240 and
56-246 to 56-250:

   1. Shall mean and embrace every corporation (other than a municipality),
   company, individual, or association of individuals or cooperative, their
   lessees, trustees, or receivers, appointed by any court whatsoever, that now
   or hereafter may own, manage or control any plant or equipment or any part of
   a plant or equipment within the Commonwealth for the conveyance of telephone
   messages or for the production, transmission, delivery, or furnishing of heat,
   chilled air, chilled water, light, power, or water, or sewerage facilities,
   either directly or indirectly, to or for the public.

   2. Notwithstanding any provision of subdivision 1 of this subsection or
   subsection G of &#xA7; 13.1-620, shall also include any governmental entity
   established pursuant to the laws of any other state, corporation (other than a
   municipality established under the laws of this Commonwealth), company,
   individual, or association of individuals or cooperative, their lessees,
   trustees, or receivers, appointed by any court whatsoever, that at any time
   owns, manages or controls any plant or equipment, or any part thereof, located
   within the Commonwealth, which plant or equipment is used in the provision of
   sewage treatment services to or for an authority as defined in &#xA7;
   15.2-5101; however, the Commission shall have no jurisdiction to regulate the
   rates, terms and conditions of sewage treatment services that are provided by
   any such public utility directly to persons pursuant to the terms of a
   franchise agreement between the public utility and a municipality established
   under the laws of this Commonwealth.

   3. Except as provided in subdivision 2, shall not be construed to include any
   corporation created under the provisions of Title 13.1 unless the articles of
   incorporation expressly state that the corporation is to conduct business as a
   public service company.

B. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no person, firm,
corporation, or other entity shall be deemed a public utility or public service
company, solely by virtue of engaging in production, transmission, or sale at
retail of electric power as a qualifying small power producer using renewable or
nondepletable primary energy sources within the meaning of regulations adopted
by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in implementation of the Public
Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-617) and not exceeding 7.5
megawatts of rated capacity, nor solely by virtue of serving as an aggregator of
the production of such small power producers, provided that the portion of the
output of any qualifying small power producer which is sold at retail shall not
be sold to residential consumers.

C. No qualifying small power producer, within the meaning of regulations adopted
by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, shall be deemed a public utility
within the meaning of Chapter 7 (&#xA7; 62.1-80 et seq.) of Title 62.1.

D. The term &#8220;public utility&#8221; as herein defined shall not be
construed to include any chilled water air-conditioning cooperative serving
residences in less than a one square mile area, or any company that is excluded
from the definition of &#8220;public utility&#8221; by subdivision (b)(4),
(b)(8), (b)(9), or (b)(10) of &#xA7; 56-265.1.

E. Subject to the provisions of &#xA7; 56-232.1, the term
&#8220;schedules&#8221; as used in &#xA7;&#xA7; 56-234 through 56-245 shall
include schedules of rates and charges for service to the public and also
contracts for rates and charges in sales at wholesale to other public utilities
or for divisions of rates between public utilities, but shall not include
contracts of telephone companies with the state government or contracts of other
public utilities with municipal corporations or the federal or state government,
or any contract executed prior to July 1, 1950.

HISTORY: Code 1919, § 4067; 1918, p. 413; 1922, p. 887; 1942, p. 20; 1950, pp.
54, 481; 1954, c. 525; 1956, c. 436; 1964, c. 195; 1966, c. 620; 1975, c. 358;
1981, c. 385; 1984, c. 341; 1985, cc. 2, 41; 1990, c. 488; 1999, c. 419; 2000,
cc. 528, 543; 2002, c. 813; 2003, c. 172; 2006, c. 411; 2009, c. 746.