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Cal. PUC § 874

This is the official text of Cal. PUC § 874, part of California’s Public Utilities Code — regulates utilities such as electricity, gas, water, and transportation carriers.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Official statutory text

The lifeline telephone service rates and charges shall be as follows:

(a) In a residential subscriber’s service area where measured service is not available, the lifeline telephone service rates shall not be more than 50 percent of the rates for basic flat rate service, exclusive of federally mandated end user access charges, available to the residential subscriber.

(b) In a residential subscriber’s service area where measured service is available, the subscriber may elect either of the following:

(1) A lifeline telephone service measured rate of not more than 50 percent of the basic rate for measured service, exclusive of federally mandated end user access charges, available to the residential subscriber.

(2) A lifeline flat rate of not more than 50 percent of the rates for basic flat rate service, exclusive of federally mandated end user access charges, available to the residential subscriber.

(c) The lifeline telephone service installation or connection charge, or both, shall not be more than 50 percent of the charge for basic residential service installation or connection, or both. The commission may limit the number of installation and connection charges, or both, that may be incurred at the reduced rate in any given period.

(d) There shall be no charge to the residential customer who has filed a valid eligibility statement for changing out of lifeline service.

(e) The commission shall assess whether there is a problem with customers who fraudulently obtain lifeline telephone service. If the commission determines that there is a problem, it shall recommend and promulgate appropriate solutions. This assessment and the solutions determined by the commission shall not, in and of themselves, change the procedures developed pursuant to Section 876.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.