New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 14 - PUBLIC UTILITIES
Chapter 3 - ALL UTILITIES
Subchapter 7 - BILLS AND PAYMENTS FOR SERVICE
Section 14:3-7.1 - Billing general provisions
Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 6, March 18, 2024
(a) The customer(s) of record, as defined at 14:3-1.1, shall be responsible for payment for all utility service rendered.
(b) Except pursuant to (c) below, each utility shall provide an option for discontinuance notices in Spanish, by including on each bill a statement, written in Spanish, informing the customer that they may request that any notice of discontinuance be provided to them in Spanish. The bill shall provide a toll free telephone number for the customer to call in order to make such a request. Once the utility receives a request to provide a written notice of discontinuance in Spanish, all subsequent written notices of discontinuance to the requesting customer shall be provided in both Spanish and English.
(c) A utility that provides all written notices of discontinuance in both Spanish and English shall not be required to provide the option and toll free telephone numbers for Spanish discontinuance notices, required under (b) above. Such a utility shall instead demonstrate to the Board that it provides all discontinuance notices in Spanish, as well as English. The utility shall submit copies of the notices, and shall certify that the utility's notice practices provide Spanish speaking customers with a notice of discontinuance that is equivalent to or better than that which would be provided through compliance with (b) above. If such a utility stops providing all written notices of discontinuance in both Spanish and English, the utility shall provide the option and toll free telephone number in accordance with (b) above.
(d) A public utility shall pay or credit interest at the rate prescribed by the Board in 14:3-3.5, Return of deposits, on any overpayment made by a residential customer due to a billing error, unless the overpayment is fully refunded or credited to the customer's account within two billing cycles after the customer notifies the utility in writing, identifying, describing and documenting the error in detail. The following shall apply to this provision:
(e) A utility shall not assess a late payment charge on a residential customer, or on a State, county or municipal government entity. In addition, a utility shall not apply a late payment charge sooner than 25 days after a bill is rendered.
(f) (Reserved)
(g) If a notice of discontinuance is not in Spanish, the notice shall include a statement in Spanish, in boldface type, identifying the notice as a discontinuance notice, and providing the toll-free number required under 14:3-7.1(b).