Texas Administrative Code
Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION
Part 2 - PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS
Chapter 24 - SUBSTANTIVE RULES APPLICABLE TO WATER AND SEWER SERVICE PROVIDERS
Subchapter F - CUSTOMER SERVICE AND PROTECTION
Section 24.157 - Refusal of Service
Universal Citation: 16 TX Admin Code § 24.157
Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) Grounds for refusal to serve. A utility may decline to serve a service applicant for the following reasons:
(1) the service applicant
is not in compliance with state or municipal regulations applicable to the type
of service requested;
(2) the
service applicant is not in compliance with the rules and regulations of the
utility governing the type of service requested which are in its approved
tariff on file with the commission;
(3) the service applicant is indebted to any
utility for the same type of service as that requested. However, in the event
the indebtedness of the service applicant is in dispute, the service applicant
shall be served upon complying with the deposit requirements in §
24.159 of this title (relating to
the Service Applicant and Customer Deposit) and upon a demonstration that the
service applicant has complied with all of the provisions of §
24.165(1) of
this title (relating to Billing);
(4) the service applicant's primary point of
use is outside the certificated area;
(5) standby fees authorized under §
24.165(p) of
this title have not been paid for the specific property or lot on which service
is being requested; or
(6) the
utility is prohibited from providing service under Vernon's Texas Civil
Statutes, Local Government Code, §
212.012 or
§
232.029.
(b) Service Applicant's recourse. In the event the utility refuses to serve a service applicant under the provisions of these sections, the utility shall inform the service applicant in writing of the basis of its refusal and that the service applicant may file a complaint with the commission thereon.
(c) Insufficient grounds for refusal to serve. The following shall not constitute sufficient cause for refusal of service to a present customer or service applicant:
(1) delinquency in payment for
service by a previous occupant of the premises to be served;
(2) violation of the utility's rules
pertaining to operation of nonstandard equipment or unauthorized attachments
which interferes with the service of others, unless the customer has first been
notified and been afforded reasonable opportunity to comply with said
rules;
(3) failure to pay a bill of
another customer as guarantor thereof, unless the guarantee was made in writing
to the utility as a condition precedent to service;
(4) failure to pay the bill of another
customer at the same address except where a change of customer identity is made
to avoid or evade payment of a utility bill;
(5) failure to pay for the restoration of a
tap removed by the utility at its option or removed as the result of tampering
or delinquency in payment by a previous customer;
(6) the service applicant or customer chooses
to use a type of backflow prevention assembly approved under 30 TAC §
290.44(h)
(relating to Water Distribution) even if the assembly is not the one preferred
by the utility; or
(7) failure to
comply with regulations or rules for anything other than the type of utility
service specifically requested including failure to comply with septic tank
regulations or sewer hook-up requirements.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Texas may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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