| (a) Applicability. This section applies to a retail
public utility that is required to possess a certificate of convenience
and necessity to provide retail water or sewer utility service under §24.225
of this title, (relating to Certificate of Convenience and Necessity
(CCN) Required) an affiliate of such a retail public utility, and
a district or affected county that provides retail water or sewer
utility service.
(b) Definitions. The following words and terms, when
used in this section, have the following meanings, unless the context
indicates otherwise:
(1) Affected customer--a customer of an entity to which
this section applies that receives retail water or sewer service from
that entity in an area experiencing an extreme weather emergency and
has a bill due during the extreme weather emergency.
(2) Extreme weather emergency--a period beginning when
the previous day's highest temperature in an area did not exceed 28
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 reports for that area. For purposes of this section,
an extreme weather emergency is over on the second business day the
temperature exceeds 28 degrees Fahrenheit.
(3) Payment schedule--an agreement between an entity
to which this section applies and an affected customer that allows
the customer to pay, in one or more installments, an unpaid bill due
during an extreme weather emergency after its due date.
(c) Prohibited actions. An entity to which this section
applies is prohibited from imposing a late fee on, or disconnecting
the retail water or sewer service of, an affected customer for nonpayment
of a bill that is due during an extreme weather emergency until after
the extreme weather emergency is over.
(d) One-time notice. On or before January 31, 2023,
an entity to which this section applies must provide to each water
or sewer customer a one-time written notice of the requirements of
this section.
(1) The written notice must be in plain English and
Spanish and inform the customer that its retail water or sewer service
provider is:
(A) prohibited from imposing late fees or disconnecting
retail water or sewer service for nonpayment of bills that are due
during an extreme weather emergency until after the emergency is over;
(B) required to offer a payment schedule to a requesting
affected customer for unpaid bills due during an extreme weather emergency;
and
(C) prohibited from disconnecting the retail water
or sewer service for nonpayment of bills due during an extreme weather
emergency of an affected customer that has requested a payment schedule
until after the payment schedule has been offered and the affected
customer has either declined to accept the payment schedule in a timely
fashion or violated the terms of the payment schedule.
(2) The written notice may be provided as a billing
insert or a separate communication, and must be delivered by first
class mail, hand delivered, or provided electronically to affected
customers that have agreed to receive communications electronically.
(3) Commission staff may develop standard notice language
in English and Spanish and post the standard notice language on the
commission's website. An entity may use this standard notice language
as part of its written notice to comply with paragraph (1) of this
subsection.
(e) Payment schedule. An affected customer may request
to establish a payment schedule for unpaid bills that are due during
an extreme weather emergency. An entity to which this section applies
that receives such a request within 30 days from the date the extreme
weather emergency ends must offer the requesting affected customer
a payment schedule and a deadline for accepting the payment schedule.
A payment schedule may be established in person, by telephone, or
online, but all payment schedules must be reduced to writing and provided
to the customer.
(1) A payment schedule offered under this subsection
may:
(A) include a finance charge, conspicuously stated
on the payment schedule, for late fees on the payment schedule not
to exceed an annual rate of 10 percent simple interest; and
(B) require payment in one or more installments.
(2) A payment schedule offered under this subsection
must:
(A) be written in plain language in English and, if
requested, Spanish;
(B) identify the total amount due, and, if payment
is to be made in multiple installments, the number of installments
and the amount of each installment;
(C) the deadline for payment, or if payment is to be
made in multiple installments, the deadline for each installment;
(D) identify the dates the extreme weather event occurred,
and the due dates and amounts owed of any bills that were due during
the extreme weather event; and
(E) include a statement, in a clear and conspicuous
type, that states "If you are not satisfied with this agreement, or
if the agreement was made by telephone and you feel this does not
reflect your understanding of that agreement, contact (insert name
and contact information of service provider)."
(3) An entity to which this section applies is prohibited
from disconnecting the retail water or sewer service for nonpayment
of bills due during an extreme weather emergency of an affected customer
that has requested a payment schedule until after the payment schedule
has been offered and the customer has either declined to accept the
payment schedule in a timely fashion or violated the terms of the
payment schedule. Any preexisting disconnection notices issued to
an affected customer for nonpayment of a bill due during an extreme
weather emergency are suspended upon the timely request for a payment
schedule under this subsection. If the affected customer does not
timely accept the offered payment schedule or violates the terms of
the payment schedule, any suspended disconnection notices are reinstated,
and the entity may renegotiate the terms of the payment schedule or
disconnect service on or after the disconnection date listed on the
disconnection notice. If the affected customer does not timely accept
the offered payment schedule or violates the terms of the payment
schedule and there is not a preexisting disconnection notice, the
entity must issue a disconnection notice under §24.167 of this
title (related to Discontinuance of Service) prior to disconnecting
the water or sewer service of the affected customer.
(f) Enforcement. An entity that violates this section
may be subject to civil penalties under §24.364 of this title
(relating to Civil Penalties for Late Fees and Disconnections During
an Extreme Weather Emergency for Nonpayment) and any other enforcement
actions permitted by law.
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