Section 185.43. Construction records.

 

(1)  Every utility shall prepare and maintain a record of its utility plant. The records shall include a description of the unit of property, the year of its construction, and its location. They shall be in the form of a map or descriptive table.

(2)  Class AB utilities are required by the uniform system of accounts to institute a perpetual inventory of their assets known as continuing property records. A continuing property record system shall contain the following criteria and detail:

(a) The system shall be arranged by plant accounts as prescribed by the Uniform System of Accounts;

(b) All property units shall be described in sufficient detail to permit their identification and shall have location information to allow verification of their physical existence;

(c) All property units shall be identified with construction costs to establish their original cost for capitalization and retirement accounting;

(d) The age and service life of property units shall be calculable for depreciation studies. The original cost, description, and age of the property unit at retirement shall be converted into mortality records and permanently retained. (See s. PSC 185.19 );

(e) Source documents supporting the original cost and quantities of property units shall be preserved for a period of 6 years after the plant is retired. (See s. PSC 185.19 .) An exception is when a utility maintains approved continuing property records and permanent mortality records, then supporting documents need only be preserved for a period of 6 years after construction is completed. This provision meets commission requirements but may not satisfy other record-keeping needs;

(f) Maps may be part of the continuing property records if they contain the description of the unit, its location, and the year of its construction. For maps to become the Continuing Property Record, the units shall be referenced to their original cost.

(3)  A utility may apply for a waiver from any portion of subs. (1) and (2) . Such application shall state the paragraphs to which a waiver is requested. Also, the utility shall provide the reasons it cannot or shall not have to comply with subs. (1) through (2) (f) and the impacts such a waiver would have on the utility's ability to maintain usable continuing property records, if any.

Cr. Register, January, 1997, No. 493 , eff. 2-1-97.