Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 38, September 20, 2024
A. Utility
responsibility
1. Each utility shall be
responsible for the safe transmission and distribution of gas until it passes
the point of delivery to the customer.
2. Each utility shall be responsible for
maintaining in safe operating condition all meters, regulators, service pipe or
other fixtures installed on the customer's premises by the utility for the
purpose of delivering gas to the customer.
3. Each utility may, at its option, refuse
service until the customer's pipes and appliances have been tested and found to
be safe, free from leaks, and in good operating condition. Proof of such
testing shall be in the form of a certificate executed by a licensed plumber or
local inspector, certifying that the customer's facilities have been tested and
are in safe operating condition.
4.
Each utility shall be required to test the customer's piping for leaks when the
gas is turned on. If such tests indicate leakage in the customer's piping, the
utility shall refuse to provide service until such time as the customer has had
the leakage corrected.
B. Customer responsibility
1. Each customer shall be responsible for
maintaining all customer piping, fixtures and appliances on the customer's side
of the point of delivery in safe operating condition.
2. Each customer shall be responsible for
safeguarding all utility property installed in or on the customer's premises
for the purpose of supplying utility service.
3. Each customer shall exercise all
reasonable care to prevent loss or damage to utility property, excluding
ordinary wear and tear. The customer shall be responsible for loss of or damage
to utility property on the customer's premises arising from neglect,
carelessness, or misuse and shall reimburse the utility for the cost of
necessary repairs or replacements.
4. Each customer shall be responsible for
payment for any equipment damage and/or estimated unmetered usage resulting
from unauthorized breaking of seals, interfering, tampering or bypassing the
utility meter.
5. Each customer
shall be responsible for notifying the utility of any gas leakage identified in
the customer's or the utility's equipment.
C. Continuity of service. Each utility shall
make reasonable efforts to supply a satisfactory and continuous level of
service. However, no utility shall be responsible for any damage or claim of
damage attributable to any interruption or discontinuation of service resulting
from:
1. Any cause that the utility could not
have reasonably foreseen or made provision for, such as force majeure
;
2. Intentional service
interruptions to make repairs or perform routine maintenance; or
3. Curtailment.
D. Change in character of service. When a
change is made by the utility in the type of service rendered which would
adversely affect the efficiency of operation or require the adjustment of the
equipment of customers, all customers who may be affected shall be notified by
the utility at least 30 days in advance of the change or, if such notice is not
possible, as early as feasible. Where adjustments or replacements of the
utility's standard equipment must be made to permit use under such changed
conditions, adjustments shall be made by the utility without charge to the
customers.
E. Service Interruptions
1. Each utility shall make reasonable efforts
to reestablish service within the shortest possible time when service
interruptions occur.
2. Each
utility shall make reasonable provisions to meet emergencies resulting from
failure of service, and each utility shall issue instructions to its employees
covering procedures to be followed in the event of emergency in order to
prevent or mitigate interruption or impairment of service.
3. In the event of a national emergency or
local disaster resulting in disruption of normal service, the utility may, in
the public interest, interrupt service to other customers to provide necessary
service to civil defense or other emergency service agencies on a temporary
basis until normal service to these agencies can be restored.
4. When a utility plans to interrupt service
for more than four hours to perform necessary repairs or maintenance, the
utility shall attempt to inform affected customers and the Commission's
Consumer Services Section, at least 48 hours in advance, of the scheduled date
and time and of the estimated duration of the service interruption. A utility
shall complete repairs in the shortest possible time to minimize the
inconvenience to the customers of the utility.
F. Heat value standard for natural gas. Each
gas utility operating under the jurisdiction of the Commission shall supply gas
to its customers with an average total heating value of not less than 900 Btu's
per cubic foot. The number of Btu's per cubic foot actually delivered through
the customer's meter will vary according to the altitude/elevation of the
location where the customer is being provided service.
G. Standard delivery pressure
1. Each utility shall maintain a standard
delivery pressure at the outlet of the customer's meter of approximately 0.25
pounds per square inch gauge subject to variation under load
conditions.
2. In cases where a
customer desires service at greater than standard delivery pressure, the
utility may supply at its option such greater pressure if and only as long as
the furnishing of gas to such customer at higher than standard delivery
pressure will not be detrimental to the service of other customers of the
utility. The utility reserves the right to lower said delivery pressure or
discontinue the delivery of gas at higher pressure at any time upon reasonable
notice to the customer. Where service is provided at such higher pressure, the
meter volumes shall be corrected to that higher pressure.
H. Curtailment. Each utility shall file with
the Commission as a part of its general tariffs a procedural plan for handling
severe supply shortages or service curtailments. The plan shall provide for
equitable treatment of individual customer classes in the most reasonable and
effective manner given the existing circumstances. When the availability of
service is so restricted that the reduction of service on a proportionate basis
to all customer classes will not maintain the integrity of the total system,
the utility shall develop procedures to curtail service giving service priority
to those customers and/or customer classes where health, safety and welfare
would be adversely affected.
