State ex rel. City of Spokane v. Kuykendall

Citations

• 119 Wash. 107
• 205 P. 3
• 1922 Wash. LEXIS 747

Syllabus

<p>Gas (3) — Charges—Public Service Commission. It is the policy of the public service law to permit a public utility to receive a fair and reasonable return upon the reasonable value of its property, and the department has the right to order a departure from a franchise contract, which by Laws 1911, p. 561, § 34, is binding until the department has ordered a departure therefrom.</p> <p>Same. Under the Public Service Act, Rem. Code, § 8626-92 [Rem. Comp. Stat., § 10441] the physical value of a gas company’s property once fixed, is an established base; and at subsequent hearings, the commission must ascertain the betterments, additions and .improvements and reproducing costs; but an allowance of cost price is not prejudicial to a company where it is not shown that there has been any advance in the cost of material used in making the betterments.</p> <p>Same. The reasonableness of an expenditure incurred in obtaining new business by a gas company is within the regulatory power of the department of public works, and hence part may be disallowed in considering the value of its property for rate making.</p>