(a) Credit requirements for residential customers.
A retail electric provider (REP) may require a residential customer
or applicant to establish and maintain satisfactory credit as a condition
of providing service pursuant to the requirements of this section.
(1) Establishment of satisfactory credit shall not
relieve any customer from complying with the requirements for payment
of bills by the due date of the bill.
(2) The credit worthiness of spouses established during
shared service in the 12 months prior to their divorce will be equally
applied to both spouses for 12 months immediately after their divorce.
(3) A residential customer or applicant seeking to
establish service with an affiliated REP or provider of last resort
(POLR) can demonstrate satisfactory credit using one of the criteria
listed in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of this paragraph.
(A) A residential customer or applicant may be deemed
as having established satisfactory credit if the customer or applicant:
(i) has been a customer of any REP or an electric utility
within the two years prior to the request for electric service;
(ii) is not delinquent in payment of any such electric
service account; and
(iii) during the last 12 consecutive months of service
was not late in paying a bill more than once.
(B) A residential customer or applicant may be deemed
as having established satisfactory credit if the customer or applicant
possesses a satisfactory credit rating obtained through a consumer
reporting agency, as defined by the Federal Trade Commission.
(C) A residential customer or applicant may be deemed
as having established satisfactory credit if the customer or applicant
is 65 years of age or older and the customer is not currently delinquent
in payment of any electric service account.
(D) A residential customer or applicant may be deemed
as having established satisfactory credit if the customer or applicant
has been determined to be a victim of family violence as defined in
the Texas Family Code §71.004, by a family violence center as
defined in Texas Human Resources Code §51.002, by treating medical
personnel, by law enforcement personnel, by the Office of a Texas
District Attorney or County Attorney, by the Office of the Attorney
General, or by a grantee of the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation.
This determination shall be evidenced by submission of a certification
letter developed by the Texas Council on Family Violence. The certification
letter may be submitted directly by use of a toll-free fax number
to the affiliated REP or POLR.
(E) A residential customer or applicant seeking to
establish service may be deemed as having established satisfactory
credit if the customer is medically indigent. In order for a customer
or applicant to be considered medically indigent, the customer or
applicant must make a demonstration that the following criteria are
met. Such demonstration must be made annually:
(i) the customer's or applicant's household income
must be at or below 150% of the poverty guidelines as certified by
a governmental entity or government funded energy assistance program
provider; and
(ii) the customer or applicant or the spouse of the
customer or applicant must have been certified by that person's physician
as being unable to perform three or more activities of daily living
as defined in 22 TAC §224.4, or the customer's or applicant's
monthly out-of-pocket medical expenses must exceed 20% of the household's
gross income. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "physician"
shall mean any medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, nurse practitioner,
registered nurse, state-licensed social workers, state-licensed physical
and occupational therapists, and an employee of an agency certified
to provide home health services pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1395 et
seq.
(4) A residential customer or applicant seeking to
establish service with a REP other than an affiliated REP or POLR
can demonstrate satisfactory credit using one of the criteria listed
in subparagraphs (A) through (B) of this paragraph. Notice of these
options for customers or applicants shall be included in any written
or oral notice to a customer or applicant when a deposit is requested.
A REP other than an affiliated REP or POLR may establish additional
methods by which a customer or applicant not meeting the criteria
of subparagraphs (A) or (B) of this paragraph can demonstrate satisfactory
credit, so long as such criteria are not discriminatory pursuant to §25.471(c)
of this title (relating to General Provisions of Customer Protection
Rules).
(A) The residential customer or applicant is 65 years
of age or older and the customer is not currently delinquent in payment
of any electric service account.
(B) The customer or applicant has been determined to
be a victim of family violence as defined in the Texas Family Code §71.004,
by a family violence center as defined in Texas Human Resources Code §51.002,
by treating medical personnel, by law enforcement personnel, by the
Office of a Texas District Attorney or County Attorney, by the Office
of the Attorney General, or by a grantee of the Texas Equal Access
to Justice Foundation. This determination shall be evidenced by submission
of a certification letter developed by the Texas Council on Family
Violence. The certification letter may be submitted directly by use
of a toll-free fax number to the REP.
(5) The REP may obtain payment history information
from any REP that has served the applicant in the previous two years
or from a consumer reporting agency, as defined by the Federal Trade
Commission. The REP shall obtain the customer's or applicant's authorization
prior to obtaining such information from the customer's or applicant's
prior REP. A REP shall maintain payment history information for two
years after a customer's electric service has been terminated or disconnected
in order to be able to provide credit history information at the request
of the former customer.
(b) Credit requirements for non-residential customers.
A REP may establish nondiscriminatory criteria pursuant to §25.471(c)
of this title to evaluate the credit requirements for a non-residential
customer or applicant and apply those criteria in a nondiscriminatory
manner. If satisfactory credit cannot be demonstrated by the non-residential
customer or applicant using the criteria established by the REP, the
customer may be required to pay an initial or additional deposit.
No such deposit shall be required if the customer or applicant is
a governmental entity.
(c) Initial deposits for applicants and existing customers.
(1) If satisfactory credit cannot be demonstrated by
a residential applicant, a REP may require the applicant to pay a
deposit prior to receiving service.
(2) An affiliated REP or POLR shall offer a residential
customer or applicant who is required to pay an initial deposit the
option of providing a written letter of guarantee pursuant to subsection
(i) of this section, instead of paying a cash deposit.
(3) A REP shall not require an initial deposit from
an existing customer unless the customer was late paying a bill more
than once during the last 12 months of service or had service terminated
or disconnected for nonpayment during the last 12 months of service.
The customer may be required to pay this initial deposit within ten
days after issuance of a written disconnection notice that requests
such deposit. The disconnection notice may be combined with or issued
concurrently with the request for deposit. The disconnection notice
shall comply with the requirements in §25.483(m) of this title
(relating to Disconnection of Service).
(d) Additional deposits by existing customers.
(1) A REP may request an additional deposit from an
existing customer if:
(A) the average of the customer's actual billings for
the last 12 months are at least twice the amount of the original average
of the estimated annual billings; and
(B) a termination or disconnection notice has been
issued or the account disconnected within the previous 12 months.
(2) A REP may require the customer to pay an additional
deposit within ten days after the REP has requested the additional
deposit.
(3) A REP may disconnect service if the additional
deposit is not paid within ten days of the request, provided a written
disconnection notice has been issued to the customer. A disconnection
notice may be combined with or issued concurrently with the written
request for the additional deposit. The disconnection notice shall
comply with the requirements in §25.483(m) of this title.
(e) Amount of deposit.
(1) The total of all deposits, initial and additional,
required by a REP from any residential customer or applicant:
(A) shall not exceed an amount equivalent to the greater
of:
(i) one-fifth of the customer's estimated annual billing;
or
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