69-3-108. Standards for and examinations of products and services. (1) The commission shall ascertain and prescribe for each kind of public utility suitable and convenient commercial units of product or service. These are lawful units for the purposes of this chapter.
     (2) The commission shall ascertain and fix adequate and serviceable standards for the measurement of quality, pressure, initial voltage, or other conditions pertaining to the supply of the product or service rendered by any public utility and establish reasonable standards for examination and testing of the product or service and for the measurement of the product or service.
     (3) The commission shall provide for the examination and testing of appliances used for the measuring of any product or service of a public utility. A consumer or user may have appliances tested upon payment of the fees fixed by the commission. The commission shall establish reasonable fees to be paid for testing appliances on the request of the consumers or users, the fee to be paid by the consumer or user at the time of the request. These fees must be paid by the public utility and repaid to the complaining party if the quality or quantity of the product or the character of the service is found by the commission defective or insufficient in a degree to justify the demand for testing, or the commission may apportion the fees between the parties as justice may require.
     (4) The commission may, in its discretion, purchase materials, apparatus, and standard measuring instruments for examinations and tests as it considers necessary.
     (5) The commission or its agents, experts, or examiners may enter upon any premises occupied by a public utility for the purpose of making the examinations and tests provided in this chapter and set up and use on the premises any apparatus and appliances and occupy reasonable space for the examinations and tests. A public utility refusing to allow examinations to be made, as provided in this chapter, is subject to the penalties prescribed in 69-3-206.
     (6) The standards and fees established by the commission pursuant to this section must be established through administrative rules or ordered tariff provisions, in accordance with the Montana Administrative Procedure Act.

     History: En. Sec. 10, Ch. 52, L. 1913; re-en. Sec. 3890, R.C.M. 1921; re-en. Sec. 3890, R.C.M. 1935; R.C.M. 1947, 70-112; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 117, L. 1993.