THE WISCONSIN PUBLIC UTILITIES ACT sary for the public is required to the printed and kept open for inspection at the office of the utility concerned. No change may be made by any public utility in its schedule except upon ten days' notice to the Com mission, and the change shall be given the same publicity as the original schedule. No departure by the public utility from the schedule rates is lawful. Upon complaint made against any public utility by any mercantile, agricultural, or manufacturing society, or by any body politic or municipal organization, or by any twenty-five persons, firms or corpora tions, that any rates are unreasonable or unjustly discriminatory, or that any regula tion, measurement, or practice affecting the service is unreasonable or that any service is inadequate, or can not be procured, the Commission shall make an investigation, or may conduct a similar investigation on its own motion without complaint. No order, however, affecting the rates or regulations shall be made without a formal public hearing. If after, a hearing, of which due notice must be given to the utility con cerned, the Commission finds the rate or regulations are unreasonable, or the service inadequate, it is required to fix by order a reasonable rate or regulation and to deter mine what would be adequate service. The order of the Commission becomes effective within twenty days after service on the public utility, or within such time as the Commission may determine, and the public utility is required to conform to such order. The cost of the investigation is to be borne by the public utility found in fault. Any public utility or any person or corpor ation in interest dissatisfied with the order of the Commission may within ninety days after such order is rendered, com mence an action in a designated court to vacate the order on the ground that it is unlawful or unreasonable. Such an action is given precedence over every civil action of a different nature. New or additional
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evidence brought forward for the first time in the court proceedings must be re turned to the Commission for the purpose of permitting the Commission to alter, amend, or rescind its order. If the order is changed, then the court hearing is on the modified order. If it is not changed, then the hearing proceeds on the original order. From the judgment of the trial court, an appeal is provided to the Supreme Court of the State. The rates and regula tions prescribed by the Commission are made prima facie lawful and reasonable, and the parties seeking to vacate them must show by clear and satisfactory evi dence that they are unlawful or unreason able. For the purpose of conducting investiga tions, keeping itself informed of the manage ment of public utilities, and holding public hearings, the Commission is empowered to administer oaths, to compel testimony, and the production of papers and documents, to inspect the books, premises, and equip ment of every public utility. The Commission is required to prescribe convenient standard commercial units of. product or service, standards for the mea surement of service, to establish reasonable rules to secure accuracy of all meters and appliances for measuring service, to ex amine and test all appliances for measuring the product or service of every public utility. SLIDING SCALE AND DIVISION OF SURPLUS PROCEEDS. One of the most important and character istic features of the Act and one which has great possibilities in it for securing energetic and progressive management of public utili ties is found in the following section: 1. " Nothing in this Act shall be taken to prohibit a public utility from entering into any reasonable arrangement with its cus tomers or consumers or with its employees, for the division or distribution of its surplus
