Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) Disconnection
policy. If an electric utility chooses to disconnect a customer, it must follow
the procedures below, or modify them in ways that are more generous to the
customer in terms of the cause for disconnection, the timing of the
disconnection notice, and the period between notice and disconnection. Each
electric utility is encouraged to develop specific policies for disconnection
that treat its customers with dignity and respect its customers' or members'
circumstances and payment history, and to implement those policies in ways that
are consistent and non-discriminatory. Disconnection is an option allowed by
the commission, not a requirement placed upon the utility by the
commission.
(b) Disconnection with
notice. Electric utility service may be disconnected after proper notice for
any of these reasons:
(1) failure to pay a
bill for electric utility service or make deferred payment arrangements by the
date of disconnection;
(2) failure
to comply with the terms of a deferred payment agreement;
(3) violation of the electric utility's rules
on using service in a manner which interferes with the service of others or the
operation of nonstandard equipment, if a reasonable attempt has been made to
notify the customer and the customer is provided with a reasonable opportunity
to remedy the situation;
(4)
failure to pay a deposit as required by §
25.24 of this title (relating to
Credit Requirements and Deposits); or
(5) failure of the guarantor to pay the
amount guaranteed, when the electric utility has a written agreement, signed by
the guarantor, that allows for disconnection of the guarantor's
service.
(c)
Disconnection without prior notice. Electric utility service may be
disconnected without prior notice for any of the following reasons:
(1) where a known dangerous condition exists
for as long as the condition exists. Where reasonable, given the nature of the
hazardous condition, the electric utility shall post a notice of disconnection
and the reason for the disconnection at the place of common entry or upon the
front door of each affected residential unit as soon as possible after service
has been disconnected;
(2) where
service is connected without authority by a person who has not made application
for service;
(3) where service was
reconnected without authority after termination for nonpayment; or
(4) where there has been tampering with the
electric utility company's equipment or evidence of theft of service.
(d) Disconnection prohibited.
Electric utility service may not be disconnected for any of the following
reasons:
(1) delinquency in payment for
electric utility service by a previous occupant of the premises;
(2) failure to pay for merchandise, or
charges for non-electric utility service, including but not limited to
insurance policies or home security systems, provided by the electric
utility;
(3) failure to pay for a
different type or class of electric utility service unless charges for such
service were included on that account's bill at the time service was
initiated;
(4) failure to pay
charges arising from an underbilling, except theft of service, more than six
months prior to the current billing;
(5) failure to pay disputed charges, except
for the required average billing payment, until a determination as to the
accuracy of the charges has been made by the electric utility or the commission
and the customer has been notified of this determination;
(6) failure to pay charges arising from an
underbilling due to any faulty metering, unless the meter has been tampered
with or unless such underbilling charges are due under §
25.126 of this title (relating to
Adjustments Due to Non-Compliant Meters and Meter Tampering in Areas Where
Customer Choice Has Been Introduced); or
(7) failure to pay an estimated bill other
than a bill rendered pursuant to an approved meter-reading plan, unless the
electric utility is unable to read the meter due to circumstances beyond its
control.
(e)
Disconnection on holidays or weekends. Unless a dangerous condition exists or
the customer requests disconnection, service shall not be disconnected on
holidays or weekends, or the day immediately preceding a holiday or weekend,
unless utility personnel are available on those days to take payments and
reconnect service.
(f)
Disconnection due to electric utility abandonment. No electric utility may
abandon a customer or a certified service area without written notice to its
customers and all similar neighboring utilities, and approval from the
commission.
(g) Disconnection of
ill and disabled. No electric utility may disconnect service at a permanent,
individually metered dwelling unit of a delinquent customer when that customer
establishes that disconnection of service will cause some person residing at
that residence to become seriously ill or more seriously ill.
(1) Each time a customer seeks to avoid
disconnection of service under this subsection, the customer must accomplish
all of the following by the stated date of disconnection:
(A) have the person's attending physician
(for purposes of this subsection, the term "physician" shall mean any public
health official, including medical doctors, doctors of osteopathy, nurse
practitioners, registered nurses, and any other similar public health official)
call or contact the electric utility by the stated date of
disconnection;
(B) have the
person's attending physician submit a written statement to the electric
utility; and
(C) enter into a
deferred payment plan.
(2) The prohibition against service
termination provided by this subsection shall last 63 days from the issuance of
the electric utility bill or a shorter period agreed upon by the electric
utility and the customer or physician.
(h) Disconnection of energy assistance
clients. No electric utility may terminate service to a delinquent residential
customer for a billing period in which the electric utility receives a pledge,
letter of intent, purchase order, or other notification that the energy
assistance provider is forwarding sufficient payment to continue
service.
(i) Disconnection during
extreme weather. An electric utility cannot disconnect a customer anywhere in
its service territory on a day when:
(1) the
previous day's highest temperature did not exceed 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and
the temperature is predicted to remain at or below that level for the next 24
hours, according to the nearest National Weather Service (NWS) reports;
or
(2) the NWS issues a heat
advisory for any county in the electric utility's service territory, or when
such advisory has been issued on any one of the preceding two calendar
days.
(j) Disconnection
of master-metered apartments. When a bill for electric utility services is
delinquent for a master-metered apartment complex:
(1) The electric utility shall send a notice
to the customer as required in subsection (k) of this section. At the time such
notice is issued, the electric utility shall also inform the customer that
notice of possible disconnection will be provided to the tenants of the
apartment complex in six days if payment is not made before that
time.
(2) At least six days after
providing notice to the customer and at least four days before disconnecting,
the electric utility shall post a minimum of five notices in conspicuous areas
in the corridors or other public places of the apartment complex. Language in
the notice shall be in large type and shall read: "Notice to residents of (name
and address of apartment complex): Electric utility service to this apartment
complex is scheduled for disconnection on (date), because (reason for
disconnection)."
(k)
Disconnection notices. Any disconnection notice issued by an electric utility
to a customer must:
(1) not be issued before
the first day after the bill is due, to enable the utility to determine whether
the payment was received by the due date. Payment of the delinquent bill at the
electric utility's authorized payment agency is considered payment to the
electric utility.
(2) be a separate
mailing or hand delivered with a stated date of disconnection with the words
"disconnection notice" or similar language prominently displayed.
(3) have a disconnection date that is not a
holiday or weekend day, not less than ten days after the notice is
issued.
(4) be in English and in
Spanish.
(5) include a statement
notifying the customer that if they need assistance paying their bill by the
due date, or are ill and unable to pay their bill, they may be able to make
some alternate payment arrangement, establish deferred payment plan, or
possibly secure payment assistance. The notice shall also advise the customer
to contact the electric utility for more information.
(l) Electric service disconnection of a
non-submetered master metered multifamily property.
(1) In this subsection, "non-submetered
master metered multifamily property" means an apartment, a leased or
owner-occupied condominium, or one or more buildings containing at least 10
dwellings that receive electric utility service that is master metered but not
submetered.
(2) An electric utility
in an area where customer choice has not been introduced shall send a written
notice of service disconnection to a municipality before disconnecting service
to a non-submetered master metered multifamily property for nonpayment if:
(A) the property is located in the
municipality; and
(B) the
municipality establishes an authorized representative to receive the notice as
described by paragraph (3) of this subsection.
(3) No later than January 1st of every year,
a municipality wishing to receive notice of disconnection of electric service
to a non-submetered master metered multifamily property shall provide the
commission with the contact information for the municipality's authorized
representative referenced by paragraph (2) of this subsection by submitting
that person's name, title, direct mailing address, telephone number, and email
address in a P.U.C. Project Number to be established annually for that purpose.
The email address provided by the municipality may be for a general mailbox
accessible by the authorized representative established for the purpose of
receiving such notices.
(4) After
January 1st, but no later than January 15th of every year, the commission shall
post on its public website the contact information received from every
municipality pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection. The contact
information posted by the commission shall remain in effect during the
subsequent 12-month period of February 1 through January 31 for the purpose of
the written notice of disconnection required by paragraph (2) of this
subsection.
(5) The electric
utility shall email the written notice required by this subsection to the
municipality's authorized representative not later than the 10th day before the
date electric service is scheduled for disconnection. Additional notice may be
provided by third-party commercial carrier delivery or certified
mail.
(6) The customer safeguards
provided by this subsection are in addition to safeguards provided by other law
or agency rules.
(7) This
subsection does not prohibit a municipality or the commission from adopting
customer safeguards that exceed the safeguards provided by this
chapter.
