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the terms of this agreement." In addition, where the customer and
the electric utility representative or agent meet in person, the electric
utility representative shall read the preceding statement to the customer.
The electric utility shall provide information to the customer in
English and Spanish as necessary to make the preceding boldface language
understandable to the customer;
(B) may include a 5.0% penalty for late payment but
shall not include a finance charge;
(C) shall state the length of time covered by the plan;
(D) shall state the total amount to be paid under the
plan;
(E) shall state the specific amount of each installment;
(F) shall allow the electric utility to disconnect
service if the customer does not fulfill the terms of the deferred
payment plan, and shall state the terms for disconnection;
(G) shall not refuse a customer participation in such
a program on the basis of race, color, sex, nationality, religion,
or marital status;
(H) shall be signed by the customer and a copy of the
signed plan must be provided to the customer. If the agreement is
made over the telephone, then the electric utility shall send a copy
of the plan to the customer for signature; and
(I) shall allow either the customer or the electric
utility to initiate a renegotiation of the deferred payment plan if
the customer's economic or financial circumstances change substantially
during the time of the deferred payment plan.
(5) An electric utility may disconnect a customer who
does not meet the terms of a deferred payment plan. However, the electric
utility may not disconnect service until a disconnection notice has
been issued to the customer indicating that the customer has not met
the terms of the plan. The notice and disconnection shall conform
with the disconnection rules in §25.29 of this title. The electric
utility may renegotiate the deferred payment plan agreement prior
to disconnection. If the customer did not sign the deferred payment
plan, and is not otherwise fulfilling the terms of the plan, and the
customer was previously provided a disconnection notice for the outstanding
amount, no additional disconnection notice shall be required.
(j) Recovery of costs associated with burned veteran
payment assistance program.
(1) An electric utility shall be allowed to recover
a cost or expense of the bill payment assistance program established
for military veterans when a medical doctor has certified that the
veteran has significantly decreased ability to regulate the body temperature
because of severe burns received in combat.
(2) The electric utility is entitled to:
(A) Fully recover all costs and expenses related to
the bill payment assistance program;
(B) Defer each cost or expense related to the bill
payment assistance program not explicitly included in base rates;
and
(C) Apply carrying charges at the utility's weighted
average cost of capital to the extent related to the bill payment
assistance program. Carrying charges shall be calculated by multiplying
the balance of deferred costs and expenses of the bill payment assistance
program by the utility's weighted-average cost of capital (WACC) as
established for the utility in a final commission order in a base
rate case, provided that the order was filed within three years prior
to the initiation of the bill payment assistance program. Otherwise,
a proxy WACC shall be used, with a cost of equity of 10%; and the
capital structure and cost of debt as reported in the utility's most
recent Earnings Monitoring Report filed pursuant to §25.73 of
this title (relating to Financial and Operating Reports), adjusted
for known and measurable changes.
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