| (6) Overbilling and underbilling. If submetered billings
are found to be in error, the owner shall calculate a billing adjustment.
If the tenant is due a refund, an adjustment shall be made for the
entire period of the overcharges. If the tenant was undercharged,
the owner may backbill the tenant for the amount which was underbilled.
The backbilling is not to exceed six months unless the owner can produce
records to identify and justify the additional amount of backbilling.
If the underbilling is $50 or more, the owner shall offer to the tenant
a deferred payment plan option, for the same length of time as that
of the underbilling. However, in a mobile home park, the mobile home
park owner may not disconnect electric service to a mobile home not
leased by the mobile home park owner if the pad site tenant fails
to pay charges arising from an underbilling more than six months prior
to the date the tenant was initially notified of the amount of the
undercharges and the total additional amount due. Furthermore, adjustments
for usage by a previous tenant may not be backbilled to the current
tenant.
(7) Level and average payment plans. An owner may offer
a level payment plan or average payment plan consistent with this
paragraph.
(A) The payment plan may be one of the following methods:
(i) A level payment plan allowing eligible tenants
to pay on a monthly basis a fixed billing rate of one-twelfth of that
tenant's estimated annual consumption at the appropriate rates, with
provisions for quarterly adjustments as may be determined based on
actual usage.
(ii) An average payment plan allowing tenants to pay
on a monthly basis one-twelfth of the sum of that tenant's current
month's consumption plus the previous 11 month's consumption (or an
estimate thereof, for a new customer) at the appropriate customer
class rates, plus a portion of any unbilled balance. Provisions for
annual adjustments as may be determined based on actual usage shall
be provided. If at the end of a year the owner determines that he
has collected an amount different than he has been charged by the
utility or retail electric provider, the owner must refund any overcollection
and may surcharge any undercollection over the next year.
(B) Under either of the plans outlined in subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph the owner is prohibited from charging the tenant
any interest that may accrue. Any seasonal overcharges or undercharges
will be carried by the owner of the complex.
(C) A mobile home park owner may disconnect service
to a mobile home not leased by the mobile home park owner, pursuant
to subsection (e) of this section, if the pad site tenant does not
fulfill the terms of a level payment plan or an average payment plan.
(D) The owner may collect a deposit from all tenants
entering into level payment plans or average payment plans; the deposit
will not exceed an amount equivalent to one-sixth of the estimated
annual billing. Notwithstanding any other provision in these sections,
the owner may retain said deposit for the duration of the level or
average payment plan; however, the owner shall pay interest on the
deposit as is provided in §25.24 of this title (relating to Credit
Requirements and Deposits).
(e) Discontinuance of electric service.
(1) Application. This subsection applies only to mobile
homes in a mobile home park that are not leased by the mobile home
park owner. Disconnection of any other dwelling unit by the owner
is governed by Texas Property Code §92.008(b).
(2) Disconnection for delinquent bills.
(A) Electric service may be disconnected only for nonpayment
of electric bills. A pad site tenant's electric service may be disconnected
if a bill has not been paid within 12 days from the date of issuance
and proper notice has been given. Proper notice shall consist of a
separate mailing or hand delivery at least five days prior to a stated
date of disconnection, with the words "termination notice" or similar
language prominently displayed on the notice. The notice shall include
the office or street address where a tenant can go during normal working
hours to make arrangements for payment of the bill and for reconnection
of service.
(B) Under these provisions, a pad site tenant's electric
service may be discontinued only for nonpayment of electric service.
(3) Disconnection on holidays or weekends. Unless a
dangerous condition exists, or unless the pad site tenant requests
disconnection, electric service shall not be disconnected on a day,
or on a day immediately preceding a day, when personnel of the mobile
home park are not available for the purpose of making collections
and reconnecting electric service.
(4) Disconnection under special circumstances.
(A) Disconnection of ill and disabled. A mobile home
park owner shall not disconnect electric service to a pad site tenant
when that tenant establishes that disconnection of electric service
will cause some person residing at the tenant's mobile home to become
seriously ill or more seriously ill;
(i) Each time a pad site tenant seeks to avoid disconnection
of electric service under this subparagraph, the tenant must accomplish
all of the following by the stated date of disconnection:
(I) 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 mobile home park owner by the stated
date of disconnection;
(II) have the person's attending physician submit a
written statement to the mobile home park owner; and
(III) enter into a deferred payment plan.
(ii) The prohibition against electric service termination
provided by this subparagraph shall last 63 days from the issuance
of the electric bill or a shorter period agreed upon by the mobile
home park owner and the customer or physician.
(B) Disconnection of energy assistance clients. A mobile
home park owner shall not disconnect electric service to a pad site
tenant for a billing period in which the mobile home park owner receives
a pledge, letter of intent, purchase order, or other notification
that the energy assistance provider is forwarding sufficient payment
to continue service; and
(C) Disconnection during extreme weather. A mobile
home park owner shall not disconnect electric service to a pad site
tenant on a day when:
(i) 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
(ii) the NWS issues a heat advisory for any county
in which the mobile home park is located, or when such advisory has
been issued on any one of the preceding two calendar days.
(f) Submeters.
(1) Submeter requirements.
(A) Use of submeter. All electrical energy sold by
an owner shall be charged for by meter measurements.
(B) Installation by owner. Unless otherwise authorized
by the commission, each owner shall be responsible for providing,
installing, and maintaining all submeters necessary for the measurement
of electrical energy to its tenants.
(2) Submeter records. Each owner shall keep the following
records:
(A) Submeter equipment record. Each owner shall keep
a record of all of its submeters, showing the tenant's address and
date of the last test.
(B) Records of submeter tests. All submeter tests shall
be properly referenced to the submeter record provided in this section.
The record of each test made shall show the identifying number of
the submeter, the standard meter and other measuring devices used,
the date and kind of test made, by whom made, the error (or percentage
of accuracy), and sufficient data to permit verification of all calculations.
(3) Submeter unit indication. Each meter shall indicate
clearly the kilowatt-hours consumed by the tenant.
(4) Submeter tests on request of tenant. Each owner
shall, upon the request of a tenant, and if the tenant so desires,
in the tenant's or the tenant's authorized representative's presence,
make a test of the accuracy of the tenant's submeter. The test shall
be made during reasonable business hours at a time convenient to the
tenant desiring to observe the test. If the submeter tests within
the accuracy standards for self-contained watt-hour meters as established
by the latest edition of American National Standards Institute, Incorporated,
(ANSI), Standard C12 (American National Code for Electricity Metering),
a charge of up to $15 may be charged the tenant for making the test.
However, if the submeter has not been tested within a period of one
year, or if the submeter's accuracy is not within the appropriate
accuracy standards, no charge shall be made to the tenant for making
the test. Following completion of any requested test, the owner shall
promptly advise the tenant of the Cont'd... |
