(a) Unless governed by AS 42.06.240(b), a certificate shall be issued to a qualified applicant, authorizing the whole or any part of the operation, service, construction, extension, or acquisition covered by the application, if it is found that the applicant is able and willing properly to do the acts and to perform the service proposed and to conform to the provisions of this chapter and the requirements and regulations of the commission, and that the proposed service, operation, construction, extension, or acquisition, to the extent authorized by the certificate, is or will be required by the present or future public convenience and necessity; otherwise the application shall be denied.
(b) The commission, after a hearing upon its own motion or upon application, may determine the gathering areas, or the routes over which, the fixed termini between which, and the intermediate and off route points, if any, to which each authorization under this section is to be limited.
(c) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed as a limitation upon the power of the commission to grant certificates of public convenience and necessity for service of an area, or routes, already being served by another pipeline.