Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) Bill due
date. The bill provided to the customer shall include the payment due date
which shall not be less than 16 days after issuance. The issuance date is the
postmark date on the envelope or the issuance date on the bill if there is no
postmark on the envelope. A payment for electric utility service is delinquent
if not received at the electric utility or at the electric utility's authorized
payment agency by the close of business on the due date. If the sixteenth day
falls on a holiday or weekend, then the due date shall be the next work day
after the sixteenth day.
(b)
Penalty on delinquent bills for retail service. A one-time penalty not to
exceed 5.0% may be charged on a delinquent commercial or industrial bill. The
5.0% penalty on delinquent bills may not be applied to any balance to which the
penalty has already been applied. An electric utility providing any service to
the state of Texas shall not assess a fee, penalty, interest, or other charge
to the state for delinquent payment of a bill.
(c) Overbilling. If charges are found to be
higher than authorized in the utility's tariffs, then the customer's bill shall
be corrected.
(1) The correction shall be
made for the entire period of the overbilling.
(2) If the utility corrects the overbilling
within three billing cycles of the error, it need not pay interest on the
amount of the correction.
(3) If
the utility does not correct the overcharge within three billing cycles of the
error, it shall pay interest on the amount of the overcharge at the rate set by
the commission each year.
(A) The interest
rate shall be based on an average of prime commercial paper rates for the
previous 12 months.
(B) Interest on
overcharges that are not adjusted by the electric utility within three billing
cycles of the bill in error shall accrue from the date of payment or from the
date of the bill in error.
(C) All
interest shall be compounded monthly based on the annual rate.
(D) Interest shall not apply to leveling
plans or estimated billings.
(d) Underbilling. If charges are found to be
lower than authorized by the utility's tariffs, or if the electric utility
failed to bill the customer for service, then the customer's bill may be
corrected.
(1) The electric utility may
backbill the customer for the amount that was underbilled. The backbilling
shall not collect charges that extend more than six months from the date the
error was discovered unless the underbilling is a result of theft of service by
the customer.
(2) The electric
utility may disconnect service if the customer fails to pay underbilled
charges.
(3) If the underbilling is
$50 or more, the electric utility shall offer the customer a deferred payment
plan option for the same length of time as that of the underbilling. A deferred
payment plan need not be offered to a customer whose underpayment is due to
theft of service.
(4) The utility
shall not charge interest on underbilled amounts unless such amounts are found
to be the result of theft of service (meter tampering, bypass, or diversion) by
the customer, as defined in §
25.126 of this title (relating to
Adjustments Due to Non-Compliant Meters and Meter Tampering in Areas Where
Customer Choice Has Been Introduced). Interest on underbilled amounts shall be
compounded monthly at the annual rate and shall accrue from the day the
customer is found to have first stolen (tampered, bypassed or diverted) the
service.
(e) Disputed
bills.
(1) If there is a dispute between a
customer and an electric utility about a bill for service, the electric utility
shall investigate and report the results to the customer. If the dispute is not
resolved, the electric utility shall inform the customer of the complaint
procedures of the commission pursuant to §
25.30 of this title (relating to
Complaints).
(2) A customer's
service shall not be disconnected for nonpayment of the disputed portion of the
bill until the dispute is completely resolved by the electric
utility.
(3) If the customer files
a complaint with the commission, a customer's service shall not be disconnected
for nonpayment of the disputed portion of the bill before the commission
completes its informal complaint resolution process and informs the customer of
its determination.
(4) The customer
is obligated to pay any billings not disputed.
(f) Notice of alternate payment programs or
payment assistance. When a customer contacts an electric utility and indicates
inability to pay a bill or a need for assistance with the bill payment, the
electric utility shall inform the customer of all alternative payment and
payment assistance programs available from the electric utility, such as
deferred payment plans, disconnection moratoriums for the ill, payment
assistance program for veterans severely burned in combat, or energy assistance
programs, as applicable, and of the eligibility requirements and procedure for
applying for each.
(g) Level and
average payment plans. Electric utilities with seasonal usage patterns or
seasonal demands are encouraged to offer a level or average payment plan.
(1) The payment plan may use one of the
following methods:
(A) A level payment plan
allowing residential customers to pay one-twelfth of that customer's estimated
annual consumption at the appropriate customer class rates each month, with
provisions for annual adjustments as may be determined based on actual electric
use.
(B) An average payment plan
allowing residential customers to pay one-twelfth of the sum of that customer's
current month's consumption plus the previous 11 months consumption (or an
estimate, for a new customer) at the appropriate customer class rates each
month, plus a portion of any unbilled balance.
(2) If a customer for electric utility
service does not fulfill the terms and obligations of a level payment agreement
or an average payment plan, the electric utility shall have the right to
disconnect service to that customer pursuant to §
25.29 of this title (relating to
Disconnection of Service).
(3) The
electric utility may require a customer deposit from all customers entering
into level payment plans or average payment plans pursuant to the requirements
§
25.24 of this title (relating to
Credit Requirements and Deposits). The electric utility shall pay interest on
the deposit and may retain the deposit for the duration of the level or average
payment plan.
(h)
Payment arrangements. A payment arrangement is any agreement between the
electric utility and a customer that allows a customer to pay the outstanding
bill after its due date but before the due date of the next bill. If the
utility issued a disconnection notice before the payment arrangement was made,
that disconnection should be suspended until after the due date for the payment
arrangement. If a customer does not fulfill the terms of the payment
arrangements, the electric utility may disconnect service after the later of
the due date for the payment arrangement or the disconnection date indicated in
the disconnection notice, pursuant to §
25.29 of this title without
issuing an additional disconnection notice.
(i) Deferred payment plans. A deferred
payment plan is any written arrangement between the electric utility and a
customer that allows a customer to pay an outstanding bill in installments that
extend beyond the due date of the next bill. A deferred payment plan may be
established in person or by telephone, and all deferred payment plans shall be
put in writing.
(1) The electric utility
shall offer a deferred payment plan to any residential customer, including a
guarantor of any residential customer, who has expressed an inability to pay
all of the bill, if that customer has not been issued more than two
disconnection notices during the preceding 12 months.
(2) Every deferred payment plan shall provide
that the delinquent amount may be paid in equal installments lasting at least
three billing cycles.
(3) When a
customer has received service from its current electric utility for less than
three months, the electric utility is not required to offer a deferred payment
plan if the customer lacks:
(A) sufficient
credit; or
(B) a satisfactory
history of payment for service from a previous utility.
(4) Every deferred payment plan offered by an
electric utility:
(A) shall state,
immediately preceding the space provided for the customer's signature and in
boldface type no smaller than 14 point size, the following: "If you are not
satisfied with this contract, or if agreement was made by telephone and you
feel this contract does not reflect your understanding of that agreement,
contact the electric utility immediately and do not sign this contract. If you
do not contact the electric utility, or if you sign this agreement, you may
give up your right to dispute the amount due under the agreement except for the
electric utility's failure or refusal to comply with the terms of this
agreement." In addition, where the customer and the electric utility
representative or agent meet in person, the electric utility representative
shall read the preceding statement to the customer. The electric utility shall
provide information to the customer in English and Spanish as necessary to make
the preceding boldface language understandable to the customer;
(B) may include a 5.0% penalty for late
payment but shall not include a finance charge;
(C) shall state the length of time covered by
the plan;
(D) shall state the total
amount to be paid under the plan;
(E) shall state the specific amount of each
installment;
(F) shall allow the
electric utility to disconnect service if the customer does not fulfill the
terms of the deferred payment plan, and shall state the terms for
disconnection;
(G) shall not refuse
a customer participation in such a program on the basis of race, color, sex,
nationality, religion, or marital status;
(H) shall be signed by the customer and a
copy of the signed plan must be provided to the customer. If the agreement is
made over the telephone, then the electric utility shall send a copy of the
plan to the customer for signature; and
(I) shall allow either the customer or the
electric utility to initiate a renegotiation of the deferred payment plan if
the customer's economic or financial circumstances change substantially during
the time of the deferred payment plan.
(5) An electric utility may disconnect a
customer who does not meet the terms of a deferred payment plan. However, the
electric utility may not disconnect service until a disconnection notice has
been issued to the customer indicating that the customer has not met the terms
of the plan. The notice and disconnection shall conform with the disconnection
rules in §
25.29 of this title. The electric
utility may renegotiate the deferred payment plan agreement prior to
disconnection. If the customer did not sign the deferred payment plan, and is
not otherwise fulfilling the terms of the plan, and the customer was previously
provided a disconnection notice for the outstanding amount, no additional
disconnection notice shall be required.
(j) Recovery of costs associated with burned
veteran payment assistance program.
(1) An
electric utility shall be allowed to recover a cost or expense of the bill
payment assistance program established for military veterans when a medical
doctor has certified that the veteran has significantly decreased ability to
regulate the body temperature because of severe burns received in
combat.
(2) The electric utility is
entitled to:
(A) Fully recover all costs and
expenses related to the bill payment assistance program;
(B) Defer each cost or expense related to the
bill payment assistance program not explicitly included in base rates;
and
(C) Apply carrying charges at
the utility's weighted average cost of capital to the extent related to the
bill payment assistance program. Carrying charges shall be calculated by
multiplying the balance of deferred costs and expenses of the bill payment
assistance program by the utility's weighted-average cost of capital (WACC) as
established for the utility in a final commission order in a base rate case,
provided that the order was filed within three years prior to the initiation of
the bill payment assistance program. Otherwise, a proxy WACC shall be used,
with a cost of equity of 10%; and the capital structure and cost of debt as
reported in the utility's most recent Earnings Monitoring Report filed pursuant
to §
25.73 of this title (relating to
Financial and Operating Reports), adjusted for known and measurable
changes.