LawWiki
HomeCodesSearchGlossaryAPIAbout
LawWiki

Plain English summaries of California law with zero-hallucination AI. Every summary is verified against official source text.

Product

  • Search
  • Codes
  • About

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer

© 2026 LawWiki. All rights reserved.

HomePublic Utilities CodeDiv. 1Pt. 1Ch. 4Art. 5§ 817 Public Utility Financing Purposes

§ 817 Public Utility Financing Purposes

Public Utilities Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 817 Public Utility Financing Purposes

Key Takeaways

  • •Public utilities (like electric or water companies) can borrow money or sell parts of the company to get funds for big projects.
  • •They can only use this money for specific things like buying property, building or fixing their facilities, improving their service, paying off old debts, or helping customers buy appliances.
  • •They can also use the money to reorganize the company or pay back people who already invested in the company.
  • •They must keep good records to show how they spent the money if they want to get paid back later.

Example

A power company wants to build new power lines to give electricity to more houses.

The company can sell stocks or borrow money by issuing bonds to pay for the new power lines. This is allowed because building new facilities is one of the reasons listed in the law.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 817 Public Utility Financing Purposes

A public utility may issue stocks and stock certificates or other evidence of interest or ownership, and bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness payable at periods of more than 12 months after the date thereof, for any one or more of the following purposes and no others: (a) For the acquisition of property. (b) For the construction, completion, extension, or improvement of its facilities. (c) For the improvement or maintenance of its service. (d) For the discharge or lawful refunding of its obligations. (e) For the financing of the acquisition and installation of electrical and plumbing appliances and agricultural equipment which are sold by other than a public utility, for use within the service area of the public utility. (f) For the reorganization or readjustment of its indebtedness or capitalization upon a merger, consolidation, or other reorganization. (g) For the retirement of or in exchange for one or more outstanding stocks or stock certificates or other evidence of interest or ownership of such public utility, or bonds, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness of such public utility, with or without the payment of cash. (h) For the reimbursement of moneys actually expended from income or from any other money in the treasury of the public utility not secured by or obtained from the issue of stocks or stock certificates or other evidence of interest or ownership, or bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness of the public utility, for any of the aforesaid purposes except maintenance of service and replacements, in cases where the applicant has kept its accounts and vouchers for such expenditures in such manner as to enable the commission to ascertain the amount of money so expended and the purposes for which such expenditure was made. (Amended by Stats. 1959, Ch. 1370.)

Last verified: January 23, 2026

Key Terms

utilityownershipacquisitionretirementevidenceobligationpropertycommission

Related Statutes

  • § 818 Public Utility Securities Issuance
  • § 823 Utility Securities And Financing
  • § 825 Public Utility Securities Validity
  • § 70123 Public Utility Employee Protections
  • § 819 Commission Securities Approval Authority

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Public Utilities Code. Section 817.
View Official Source