(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 Cont'd... |