25 Cfr 175

Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior

§ 175.1
Subpart E—System Extensions and
Upgrades

been compensated, shall be deposited
to the credit of the proper tribe.
§ 173.23

175.40 Financing
grades.

Organized tribes.

Concessions and leases on tribal
lands withdrawn or reserved for the
purposes specified in the act of April 4,
1938 (52 Stat. 193) and dealt with in this
part, of any Indian tribe organized
under section 16 of the act of June 18,
1934 (48 Stat. 984; 25 U.S.C. 476) for
which the tribe has not been compensated shall be made by the organized tribe pursuant to its constitution
or charter: Provided, No lease or concession so made shall be inconsistent
with the primary purpose for which the
lands were reserved or withdrawn.

extensions

up-

Subpart F—Rights-of-Way
175.50
175.51

Obtaining rights-of-way.
Ownership.

Subpart G—Appeals
175.60 Appeals to the area director.
175.61 Appeals to the Interior Board of Indian Appeals.
175.62 Utility actions pending the appeal
process.
AUTHORITY: 5 U.S.C. 301; sec. 2, 49 Stat.
1039–1040; 54 Stat. 422; sec. 5, 43 Stat. 475–476;
45 Stat. 210–211; and sec. 7, 62 Stat. 273.
SOURCE: 56 FR 15136, Apr. 15, 1991, unless
otherwise noted.

Subpart A—General Provisions

Subpart A—General Provisions
§ 175.1

Subpart B—Service Fees, Electric Power
Rates and Revenues
175.10 Revenues collected from power operations.
175.11 Procedures for setting service fees.
175.12 Procedures for adjusting electric
power rates except for adjustments due
to changes in the cost of purchased
power or energy.
175.13 Procedures for adjusting electric
power rates to reflect changes in the cost
of purchased power or energy.

Subpart C—Utility Service Administration
175.20 Gratuities.
175.21 Discontinuance of service.
175.22 Requirements for receiving electrical
service.
175.23 Customer responsibilities.
175.24 Utility responsibilities.

Subpart D—Billing, Payments, and
Collections
175.30
175.31
175.32

Billing.
Methods and terms of payment.
Collections.

Definitions.

Appellant means any person who files
an appeal under this part.
Area Director means the Bureau of Indian Affairs official in charge of a designated Bureau of Indian Affairs Area,
or an authorized delegate.
Customer means any individual, business, or government entity which is
provided, or which seeks to have provided, services of the utility.
Customer service means the assistance
or service provided to customers, other
than the actual delivery of electric
power or energy, including but not limited to such items as: Line extension,
system upgrade, meter testing, connections or disconnection, special meterreading, or other assistance or service
as provided in the operations manual.
Electric power utility or Utility means
that program administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs which provides
for the marketing of electric power or
energy.
Electric service means the delivery of
electric energy or power by the utility
to the point of delivery pursuant to a
service agreement or special contract.
The requirements for such delivery are
set forth in the operations manual.
Officer-in-Charge means the individual designated by the Area Director

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and

PART 175—INDIAN ELECTRIC
POWER UTILITIES

Sec.
175.1 Definitions.
175.2 Purpose.
175.3 Compliance.
175.4 Authority of area director.
175.5 Operations manual.
175.6 Information collection.

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§ 175.2

25 CFR Ch. I (4–1–10 Edition)

as the official having day-to-day authority and responsibility for administering the utility, consistent with
this part.
Operations manual means the utility’s
written compilation of its procedures
and practices which govern service provided by the utility.
Power rates means the charges established in a rate schedule(s) for electric
service provided to a customer.
Service means electric service and
customer service provided by the utility.
Service agreement means the written
form provided by the utility which constitutes a binding agreement between
the customer and the utility for service
except for service provided under a special contract.
Service fees means the charge for providing administrative or customer
service to customers, prospective customers, and other entities having business relationships with the utility.
Special contract means a written
agreement between the utility and a
customer for special conditions of service. A special contract may include,
but is not limited to, such items as:
Street or area lights, traffic lights,
telephone booths, irrigation pumping,
unmetered services, system extensions
and extended payment agreements.
Utility office(s) means the current or
future facility or facilities of the utility which are used for conducting general business with customers.
§ 175.2 Purpose.
The purpose of this part is to regulate the electric power utilities administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
§ 175.3 Compliance.
All utility customers and the utilities are bound by the rule in this part.

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§ 175.4 Authority of area director.
The Area Director may delegate authority under this part to the Officerin-Charge except for the authority to
set rates as described in §§ 175.10
through 175.13.
§ 175.5 Operations manual.
(a) The Area Director shall establish
an operations manual for the administration of the utility, consistent with

this part and all applicable laws and
regulations. The Area Director shall
amend the operations manual as needed.
(b) The public shall be notified by the
Area Director of a proposed action to
establish or amend the operations manual. Notices of the proposed action
shall be published in local newspaper(s)
of general circulation, posted at the
utility office(s), and provided by such
other means, if any, as determined by
the Area Director. The notice shall
contain: A brief description of the proposed action; the effective date; the
name, address, and telephone number
for addressing comments and inquiries;
and the period of time in which comments will be received. Notices shall be
published and posted at least 30 days
before the scheduled effective date of
the operations manual, or amendments
thereto.
(c) After giving consideration to all
comments received, the Area Director
shall establish or amend the operations
manual, as appropriate. A notice of the
Area Director’s decision and the basis
for the decision shall be published and
posted in the same manner as the previous notices.
§ 175.6

Information collection.

The information collection requirements contained in § 175.22 have been
approved by the Office of Management
and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
and assigned clearance number 1076–
0021. This information is being collected to provide electric power service
to customers. Response to this request
is ‘‘required to obtain a benefit.’’ Public reporting for this information collection is estimated to average .5 hours
per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and
maintaining data, and completing and
reviewing the information collection.
Direct comments regarding the burden
estimate or any other aspect of this information collection to the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, Information Collection
Clearance Officer, room 337–SIB, 1849 C
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240; and
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Project 1076–0021, Office
of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20502.

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Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior

§ 175.12

Subpart B—Service Fees, Electric
Power Rates and Revenues
§ 175.10 Revenues
collected
power operations.

from

The Area Director shall set service
fees and electric power rates in accordance with the procedures in §§ 175.11
and 175.12 to generate power revenue.
(a) Revenues. Revenues collected from
power operations shall be administered
for the following purposes, as provided
in the Act of August 7, 1946 (60 Stat.
895), as amended by the Act of August
31, 1951 (65 Stat. 254):
(1) Payment of the expenses of operating and maintaining the utility;
(2) Creation and maintenance of reserve Funds to be available for making
repairs and replacements to, defraying
emergency expenses for, and insuring
continuous operation of the utility;
(3) Amortization, in accordance with
repayment provisions of the applicable
statutes or contracts, of construction
costs allocated to be returned from
power revenues; and
(4) Payment of other expenses and
obligations chargeable to power revenues to the extent required or permitted by law.
(b) Rate and fee reviews. Rates and
fees shall be reviewed at least annually
to determine if project revenues are
sufficient to meet the requirements set
forth in paragraph (a) of this section.
The review process shall be as prescribed by the Area Director.

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§ 175.11 Procedures for setting service
fees.
The Area Director shall establish,
and amend as needed, service fees to
cover the expense of customer service.
Service fees shall be set by unilateral
action of the Area Director and remain
in effect until amended by the Area Director pursuant to this section. At
least 30 days prior to the effective date,
a schedule of the service fees, together
with the effective date, shall be published in local newspaper(s) of general
circulation and posted in the utility office(s). The Area Director’s decision
shall be final for the Department of the
Interior.

§ 175.12 Procedures for adjusting electric power rates except for adjustments due to changes in the cost of
purchased power or energy.
Except for adjustments to rates due
to changes in the cost of purchased
power or energy, the Area Director
shall adjust electric power rates according to the following procedures:
(a) Whenever the review described in
§ 175.10(b) of this part indicates that an
adjustment in rates may be necessary
for reasons other than a change in cost
of purchased power or energy, the Area
Director shall direct further studies to
determine whether a rate adjustment
is necessary and, if indicated, prepare
rate schedules.
(b) Upon completion of the rate studies, and where a rate adjustment has
been determined necessary, the Area
Director shall conduct public information meetings as follows:
(1) Notices of public meetings shall
be published in local newspapers of
general circulation, posted at the utility office(s), and provided by such
other means, if any, as determined by
the Area Director. The notice shall
provide: The date, time, and place of
the scheduled meeting; a brief description of the action; the name, the address, and the telephone number for addressing comments and inquiries; and
the period of time in which comments
will be received. Notices shall be published and posted at least 15 days before the scheduled date of the meeting.
(2) Written and oral statements shall
be received at the public meetings. The
record of the public meeting shall remain open for the filing of written
statements for five days following the
meeting.
(c) After giving consideration to all
written and oral statements, the Area
Director shall make a decision about a
rate adjustment. A notice of the Area
Director’s decision, the basis for the
decision, and the adjusted rate schedule(s), if any, shall be published and
posted in the same manner as the previous notices of public meetings.
(d) Rates shall remain in effect until
further adjustments are approved by
the Area Director pursuant to this
part.

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§ 175.13

25 CFR Ch. I (4–1–10 Edition)

§ 175.13 Procedures for adjusting electric power rates to reflect changes
in the cost of purchased power or
energy.
Whenever the cost of purchased
power or energy changes, the effect of
the change on the cost of service shall
be determined and the Area Director
shall adjust the power rates accordingly. Rate adjustments due to the
change in cost of purchased power or
energy shall become effective upon the
unilateral action of the Area Director
and shall remain in effect until amended by the Area Director pursuant to
this section. A notice of the rate adjustment, the basis for the adjustment,
the rate schedule(s) shall be published
and posted in the same manner as described in § 175.12(c) of this part. The
Area Director’s decision shall be final
for the Department of the Interior.

Subpart C—Utility Service
Administration
§ 175.20

Gratuities.

All employees of the utility are forbidden to accept from a customer any
personal compensation or gratuity rendered related to employment by the
utility.
§ 175.21

Discontinuance of service.

Failure of customer(s) to comply
with utility requirements as set forth
in this part and the operations manual
may result in discontinuance of service. The procedure(s) for discontinuance of service shall be set forth in the
operations manual.
§ 175.22 Requirements
electrical service.

for

receiving

In addition to the other requirements
of this part, the customer, in order to
receive electrical service, shall enter
into a written service agreement or
special contract for electrical power
services.

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§ 175.23

Fire Underwriters for Electric Wiring
and Apparatus as they apply to the installation and operation of customerowned equipment;
(b) Be responsible for payment of all
financial obligations resulting from receiving utility service;
(c) Comply with additional requirements as further defined in the operations manual;
(d) Not operate or handle the utility’s facilities without the express permission of the utility;
(e) Not allow the unauthorized-use of
electricity; and
(f) Not install or utilize equipment
which will adversely affect the utility
system or other customers of the utility.
§ 175.24 Utility responsibilities.
A utility subject to this part shall:
(a) Endeavor to provide safe and reliable energy to its customers. The specific types of service and limitations
shall be further defined in the operations manual;
(b) Construct and operate facilities in
accordance with accepted industry
practice;
(c) Exercise reasonable care in protecting customer-owned equipment and
property;
(d) Comply with additional requirements as further defined in the operations manual;
(e) Read meters or authorize the customer(s) to read meters at intervals
prescribed in the operations manual,
service agreement, or special contract,
except in those situations where the
meter cannot be read due to conditions
described in the operations manual;
(f) Not operate or handle customerowned equipment without the express
permission of the customer, except to
eliminate what, in the judgment of the
utility, is an unsafe condition; and
(g) Not allow the unauthorized use of
electricity.

Subpart D—Billing, Payments, and
Collections

Customer responsibilities.

The customer(s) of a utility subject
to this part shall:
(a) Comply with the National Electrical
Manufacturers
Association
Standards and/or the National Electrical Code of the National Board of

§ 175.30 Billing.
(a) Metered customers. The utility
shall render bills at monthly intervals
unless otherwise provided in special
contracts. Bills shall be based on the

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Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior

§ 175.60

applicable rate schedule(s). Unless otherwise determined, the amount of energy and/or power demand used by the
customer shall be as determined from
the register on the utility’s meter at
the customer’s point of delivery. A reasonable estimate of the amount of energy and/or power demand may be
made by the utility in the event a
meter is found with the seal broken,
the utility’s meter fails, utility personnel are unable to obtain actual
meter registrations, or as otherwise
agreed by the customer and the utility.
Estimates shall be based on the pattern
of the customer’s prior consumption,
or on an estimate of the customer’s
electric load where no billing history
exists.
(b) Unmetered customers. Bills shall be
determined and rendered as provided in
the customer’s special contract.
(c) Service fee billing. The utility shall
render service fee bills to the customer(s) as a special billing.

(b) If funds are not available, but the
construction would not be adverse to
the interests of the utility, a customer
may contract with the utility to finance all necessary construction.
(1) A customer may be allowed to furnish required material or equipment
for an extension or upgrade or to install such items or to pay the utility
for such installation. Any items furnished or construction performed by
the customer shall comply with the applicable plans and specifications approved by the utility.
(2) The utility may arrange to refund
all or part of a customer’s payment of
construction costs if additional customers are later served by the same extension or if the Area Director determines that the service will provide substantial economic benefits to the utility. All arrangements for refunds shall
be stipulated in a special contract.

§ 175.31 Methods and terms of payment.

§ 175.50

Payments shall be made in person or
by mail to the utility’s office designated in the operations manual. The
utility may refuse, for cause, to accept
personal checks for payment of bills.

Subpart F—Rights-of-Way

§ 175.51
§ 175.32

Collections.

The utility shall attempt collection
on checks returned by the customer’s
bank due to insufficient funds or other
cause. An administrative fee shall be
charged for each collection action
taken by the utility other than court
proceedings. An unredeemed check
shall cause the customer’s account to
become delinquent, which may be
cause for discontinuance of service.
Only legal tender, a cashier’s check, or
a money order shall be accepted by the
utility to cover an unredeemed check
and associated charges.

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Subpart E—System Extensions and
Upgrades
§ 175.40 Financing of extensions and
upgrades.
(a) The utility may extend or upgrade its electric system to serve additional loads (new or increased loads).

Obtaining rights-of-way.

Where there is no existing right(s)-ofway for the utility’s facilities, the customer shall be responsible for obtaining all rights-of-way necessary to the
furnishing of service.
Ownership.

All rights-of-way, material, or equipment furnished and/or installed by a
customer pursuant to this part shall be
and remain the property of the United
States.

Subpart G—Appeals
§ 175.60

Appeals to the area director.

(a) Any person adversely affected by
a decision made under this part by a
person under the authority of an Area
Director may file a notice of appeal
with the Area Director within 30 days
of the personal delivery or mailing of
the decision. The notice of appeal shall
be in writing and shall clearly identify
the decision being appealed. No extension of time shall be granted for filing
a notice of appeal.
(b) Within 30 days after a notice of
appeal has been filed, the appellant
shall file a statement of reason(s) with
the Area Director. The statement of

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wwoods2 on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with CFR

§ 175.61

25 CFR Ch. I (4–1–10 Edition)

reason(s) shall explain why the appellant believes the decision being appealed is in error, and shall include any
argument(s) that the appellant wishes
to make and any supporting document(s). The statement of reason(s)
may be filed at the same time as the
notice of appeal. If no statement of reason(s) is filed, the Area Director may
summarily dismiss the appeal.
(c) Documents are properly filed with
the Area Director when they are received in the facility officially designated for receipt of mail addressed to
the Area Director, or in the immediate
office of the Area Director.
(d) Within 30 days of filing of the
statement of reason(s), the Area Director shall:
(1) Render a written decision on the
appeal, or
(2) Refer the appeal to the Office of
Hearings and Appeals Board of Indian
Appeals for decision.
(e) Where the Area Director has not
rendered a decision with 30 days of filing of the statement of reasons, the appellant may file an appeal with the Office of Hearings and Appeals Board of
Indian Appeals pursuant to § 175.61.

§ 175.62 Utility actions pending the appeal process.

§ 175.61 Appeals to the Interior Board
of Indian Appeals.

PART 179—LIFE ESTATES AND
FUTURE INTERESTS

(a) An Area Director’s decision under
this part, except a decision under
§ 175.11 or 175.13, may be appealed to the
Office of Hearings and Appeals Board of
Indian Appeals pursuant to the provisions of 43 CFR part 4, subpart D, except that a notice of appeal from a decision under § 175.12 shall be filed within 30 days of publication of the decision. The address for the Interior Board
of Indian Appeals shall be included in
the operations manual.
(b) Where the Area Director determines to refer an appeal to the Office
of Hearings and Appeals Board of Indian Appeals, in lieu of deciding the appeal, he/she shall be responsible for
making the referral.
(c) If no appeal is timely filed with
the Office of Hearings and Appeals
Board of Indian Appeals, the Area Director’s decision shall be final for the
Department of the Interior.

Pending an appeal, utility actions relating to the subject of the appeal shall
be as follows:
(a) If the appeal involves discontinuance of service, the utility is not required to resume such service during
the appeal process unless the customer
meets the utility’s requirements.
(b) If the appeal involves the amount
of a bill and:
(1) The customer has paid the bill,
the customer shall be deemed to have
paid the bill under protest until the
final decision has been rendered on the
appeal; or
(2) The customer has not paid the bill
and the final decision rendered in the
appeal requires payment of the bill, the
bill shall be handled as a delinquent account and the amount of the bill shall
be subject to interest, penalties, and
administrative costs pursuant to section 3 of the Federal Claims Collection
Act of 1966, As amended, 31 U.S.C. 3717.
(c) If the appeal involves an electric
power rate, the rate shall be implemented and remain in effect subject to
the final decision on the appeal.

Subpart A—General
Sec.
179.1 What is the purpose of this part?
179.2 What definitions do I need to know?
179.3 What law applies to life estates?
179.4 When does a life estate terminate?
179.5 What documents will the BIA use to
record termination of a life estate?

Subpart B—Life Estates Not Created Under
AIPRA
179.101 How does the Secretary distribute
principal and income to the holder of a
life estate?
179.102 How does the Secretary calculate
the value of a remainder and a life estate?

Subpart C—Life Estates Created Under
AIPRA
179.201 How does the Secretary distribute
principal and income to the holder of a
life estate without regard to waste?

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