Summary
The used and useful test is clearly not unusable and useless in the world of traditional regulation. It is still viable and valuable in Utah and is one of the regulatory oversight tools that should be used to protect ratepayers.
1. Often title of ownership does not pass to the utility until the asset becomes commercially in-service. If the utility begins recovering costs before the facilities become used and useful, ratepayers are paying the electric utility for assets it actually does not even yet own.
2. The used and useful principle is thus a balancing between the public service provider and the public. The public has certain rights to what is otherwise private property and the public must pay for those rights, but only to the extent that the public may actually physically enjoy those rights.