Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) This rule
applies to all gas or natural gas company bills, including those issued on
behalf of any retail natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator. Gas or
natural gas companies shall make dual billing and consolidated billing
available to retail natural gas suppliers and governmental
aggregators.
(B) Bills issued by or
for the gas or natural gas company shall be accurate and rendered at monthly
intervals . Each bill shall display all of the following
information:
(1) The customer's name, billing
address, service address, account number, and, if applicable, the retail
natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator account number.
(2) The gas or natural gas company's name and
its payment address.
(3) The gas or
natural gas company's twenty-four hour, local or toll-free telephone number for
reporting service emergencies.
(4)
A statement that customers with bill questions or complaints should call or
write the gas or natural gas company first. The bill shall list the gas or
natural gas company's local or toll-free telephone number(s) and the address
where a question or complaint may be sent.
(5) The following text:
"If your complaint is not resolved after you have called (name
of utility), or for general utility information, residential and business
customers may contact the public utilities commission of Ohio (PUCO) for
assistance at 1-800-686-7826 (toll free) from eight a.m. to five p.m. weekdays,
or at http://www.puco.ohio.gov.
Hearing or speech impaired customers may contact the PUCO via 7-1-1 (Ohio relay
service).
The Ohio consumers' counsel (OCC) represents residential
utility customers in matters before the PUCO. The OCC can be contacted at
1-877-742-5622 (toll free) from eight a.m. to five p.m. weekdays, or at
http://www.pickocc.org."
(6) The identification of the
applicable rate schedule.
(7) The
dates of the service period covered by the bill.
(8) The billing determinants, if applicable:
(a) Beginning meter reading(s).
(b) Ending meter reading(s).
(c) Multiplier(s).
(d) Consumption(s).
(e) Fixed monthly customer charge.
(9) The rate for purchase of the
gas or natural gas commodity, expressed in dollars and cents per Mcf or Ccf,
reflecting either of the following:
(a) The
gas cost recovery rate; or
(b)
The rate for the commodity service, if the company has been granted an
exemption under section
4929.04 of the Revised
Code.
(10) The total
charge attributable to the rate for purchase of the gas or natural gas
commodity, expressed in dollars and cents, reflecting either of the following:
(a) The gas cost recovery rate.
(b) The rate for the commodity sales service,
if the company has been granted an exemption under section
4929.04 of the Revised
Code.
(11) If
applicable, the name of the retail natural gas supplier or governmental
aggregator in close proximity to the retail natural gas supplier or
governmental aggregator commodity charges, as well as a toll-free or local
telephone number and address for customer billing questions or complaints
regarding retail natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator
charges.
(12) The total charge
attributable to the gross receipts tax, expressed in dollars and cents, and the
gross receipts tax rate. This requirement only applies to gas or natural gas
companies that allow for competitive retail natural gas services on their
system.
(13) The following
prominently displayed price to compare statement on residential and small
commercial customer bills, if the company has a choice program:
"When shopping for a natural gas supplier, it may be useful to
compare supplier offers with the standard choice offer (SCO) rate [or, if
applicable, the gas cost recovery (GCR) rate] available to eligible customers,
which varies monthly based on the market price of natural gas. Price represents
one feature of any offer; there may be other features which you consider of
value. More information about the SCO [or GCR, if applicable] and other
suppliers' offers is available at energychoice.ohio.gov or by contacting the
PUCO."
(14) The
identification of estimated bills.
(15) The due date for payment.
(16) The total charges for the current
billing period.
(17) Any late
payment charge or gross and net charges, if applicable.
(18) Any unpaid amounts due from previous
bills, customer credits, and total amounts due and payable.
(19) The current balance of the account, if
the residential customer is billed according to a budget plan.
(20) The current gas and electric charges
separately, if the customer is billed for gas and electric service on the same
bill.
(21) If applicable, each
charge for a service that is either nontariffed or nonregulated and, with
regard to services that are, the name and toll-free telephone number of each
provider of service.
(22) Any
nonrecurring charge(s).
(23) Any
payment(s) or credit(s) applied to the account during the current billing
period.
(24) If applicable, all the
percentage of income payment plan plus (PIPP plus) billing information:
(a) Current PIPP plus payment.
(b) PIPP plus payments defaulted (i.e., past
due).
(c) Total PIPP plus amount
due.
(d) Total account arrearage.
(25) An explanation of codes and
abbreviations used.
(26) If a
customer's selected retail natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator
bills separately for its supplier charges, the supplier's name and a statement
that such supplier is responsible for billing the gas supplier charges and such
supplier will separately bill the customer for that component of natural gas
service.
(27) The customer's
historical consumption during each of the preceding twelve months, with a total
and average consumption for such twelve-month period, if the company has a
choice program.
(28) A statement,
either appearing directly on the bill, in a bill insert, or as a separate
mailing, of any payment arrangement agreed upon by the customer and the
company.
(C) All bills shall be due no earlier than
fourteen days from the date of the postmark on the bill. If the bill is sent
electronically, the bill shall not be due earlier than fourteen days from the
date of the electronic postmark on the bill. If the bill is mailed by means
that does not place a postmark on the bill (i.e., such as permit mailing), the
bill shall not be due earlier than fourteen days from the date on the actual
bill. All bills mailed without postmarks shall be mailed no later than the day
listed on the bill. For residential bills being issued from outside the state
of Ohio, the due date shall be no less than seventeen days from the date on the
actual bill.
(D) A gas or natural
gas company proposing any new bill format shall file its proposed bill format
with the commission for approval. If the commission does not act upon an
application for a new bill format approval within forty-five days, the proposed
bill format shall automatically be approved on the forty-sixth day.
(E) Payment methodologies and parameters.
(1) Each gas or natural gas company shall
make payment options available to customers.
(a) Payment options may include, but are not
limited to: cash, check, or money order payments in person to the company or a
payment agent; check or money order through the mail; check over the telephone;
credit card; or electronic money transfers.
(b) Each gas or natural gas company shall,
upon request, provide customers with an updated list of its available payment
options and descriptions thereof, and shall post the updated list on its
website.
(c) The list of available
payment options shall include the name and street address/location of the
nearest payment center and/or local authorized agent, and all applicable fees
for utilizing the various methods available for payment of customer
bills.
(d) The gas or natural gas
company may not deny a customer the use of one or more of the payment options
solely because the customer's account is in arrears.
(2) If a gas or natural gas company accepts
payments from customers via authorized agents, the company shall provide
signage to the authorized agent with its logo, or other appropriate indicators,
that affirm the payment location as an authorized agent of the gas or natural
gas company.
(3) Each gas or
natural gas company shall not charge more than two dollars for processing
payments by cash, check, or money order at authorized agent locations.
Customers may not be charged for processing their payments by check or money
order through the mail. Customers may be charged for processing their payments
by check over the telephone, by credit card, or electronic money transfers and
such charges will be evaluated by the commission.
(4) When a customer pays the bill at the gas
or natural gas company's business office or to an authorized agent of the
company, the payment, including any partial payment, shall be immediately
credited to the customer's account where feasible, and, in any event, be
credited to the customer's account as of the date received at the business
office or by the agent. When payment is received at the company's business
office through other means, such as by mail or on line, the payment shall be
posted immediately upon receipt to the customer's account, where feasible, and
in any event, be credited to the customer's account on the date
received.
(5) No gas or natural gas
company shall disconnect service to a customer who pays the total amount due
(or an amount agreed upon between the gas or natural gas company and the
customer to prevent disconnection) on the account by the close of business on
the disconnection date listed on the disconnection notice. Payment received by
an authorized agent of the gas or natural gas company shall constitute receipt
of payment by the company.
(6) Each
gas or natural gas company shall establish a written policy for its personnel
at its business offices and for its authorized agents to handle billing
disputes, requests for payment arrangements, and for the reporting of payments
made by customers due to their receipt of a disconnection notice, in order to
prevent disconnection of service. If such matters cannot be handled by an agent
authorized to accept payments, the agent shall provide customers with the gas
or natural gas company's local or toll-free telephone number.
(7) When applicable, a supplier agreement
between a gas or natural gas company and a retail natural gas supplier must
provide that if the gas or natural gas company collects customer payments on
behalf of the retail natural gas supplier, then customer's liability to the
retail natural gas supplier ceases to the extent of a payment made and
applicable to the customer's retail natural gas supplier account.
(F) Any gas or natural gas company
that issues billing statements electronically shall comply with each of the
following requirements:
(1)
All payment methods shall
continue to be available to the customer.
(2) No enrollment or usage fees shall be
assessed to a customer who chooses to receive bills and/or customer information
electronically.
(3) The electronic
billing statement shall include all requirements listed in paragraph (B) of
this rule.
(4) The gas or natural
gas company shall maintain a secure and encrypted internet location that is to
be accessed only by the customer of record after completing a secure
registration process.
(5) Any fees
to accept electronic payments shall be clearly disclosed in payment
window(s).
(6) Any payment made
electronically shall be treated as a payment made at the company business
office . The time needed to post
the payment to the account shall be clearly stated.
(G) Handling partial payments.
(1) Nonconsolidated bills. Each gas or
natural gas company shall credit any customer's partial payments in the
following order:
(a) First, credit past due
distribution and sales service charges.
(b) Second, credit current distribution and
sales service charges.
(c) Third,
credit past due and current nonregulated or nontariffed charges.
(2) Consolidated bills. Partial
payments applied towards any past due amount on a bill or the balance due on a
disconnection notice must be apportioned in the following order:
(a) First, credit past due gas or natural gas
company service and delivery charges.
(b) Second, credit current gas or natural gas
company service and delivery charges.
(c) Third, credit retail natural gas supplier
or governmental aggregator charges.
(d)
Fourth, credit past due and current nonregulated or
nontariffed charges.
If the customer pays the entire amount
past due or more, any amount paid over the amount past due shall be applied
first to gas or natural gas company service and delivery charges.
(3) Budget billing
payments and payments in full of the undisputed amount related to a bona fide
dispute do not constitute partial payments. Payments made on accounts for which
there is a bona fide dispute shall be credited to the undisputed portion of the
account.
(H) Transfer of
customer billing information.
(1) The
nonbilling retail natural gas supplier shall furnish the applicable required
bill content information to the billing party in a timely manner and in a
mutually agreed upon electronic format for inclusion in the consolidated
customer bill.
(2) The billing gas
or natural gas company shall include in the consolidated bill all required bill
content information furnished by the nonbilling retail natural gas
supplier.
(3) An entity ordered by
the commission to provide any bill content, message, insert, or notice remains
responsible to provide such information to its customers, although the
information may be provided through the consolidated bill.
