| (ii) in which a customer's sewer service is provided
by a municipality or conservation and reclamation district that also
provides water service to other customers and the same customer's
water service is provided by another entity.
(B) For each person the water service provider serves
in an area to which this section applies, the water service provider
shall provide the municipality or district with any relevant customer
information so that the municipality or district may bill users of
the sewer service directly and verify the water consumption of users.
Relevant customer information provided under this section includes
the name, address, and telephone number of the customer of the water
service provider, the monthly meter readings of the customer, monthly
consumption information, including any billing adjustments, and certain
meter information, such as brand, model, age, and location.
(C) The municipality or district shall reimburse the
water service provider for its reasonable and actual incremental costs
for providing services to the municipality or district under this
section. Incremental costs are limited to only those costs that are
in addition to the water service provider's costs in providing its
services to its customers, and those costs must be consistent with
the costs incurred by other water utility providers. Only if requested
by the wastewater provider, the water service provider must provide
the municipality or district with documentation certified by a certified
public accountant of the reasonable and actual incremental costs for
providing services to the municipality or district under this section.
(D) A municipality or conservation and reclamation
district may provide written notice to a person to whom the municipality's
or district's sewer service system provides service if the person
has failed to pay for the service for more than 90 days. The notice
must state the past due amount owed and the deadline by which the
past due amount must be paid or the person will lose water service.
The notice may be sent by First Class mail or hand-delivered to the
location at which the sewer service is provided.
(E) The municipality or district may notify the water
service provider of a person who fails to make timely payment after
the person receives notice under subparagraph (D) of this paragraph.
The notice must indicate the number of days the person has failed
to pay for sewer service and the total amount past due. On receipt
of the notice, the water service provider shall discontinue water
service to the person.
(F) This subsection does not apply to a nonprofit water
supply or sewer service corporation created under Texas Water Code,
Chapter 67, or a district created under Texas Water Code, Chapter
65.
(f) Disconnection for ill customers. No utility may
discontinue service to a delinquent residential customer when that
customer establishes that some person residing at that residence will
become seriously ill or more seriously ill if service is discontinued.
To avoid disconnection under these circumstances, the customer must
provide a written statement from a physician to the utility prior
to the stated date of disconnection. Service may be disconnected in
accordance with subsection (a) of this section if the next month's
bill and the past due bill are not paid by the due date of the next
month's bill, unless the customer enters into a deferred payment plan
with the utility.
(g) Disconnection upon customer request. A utility
shall disconnect service no later than the end of the next working
day after receiving a written request from the customer.
(h) Service restoration.
(1) Utility personnel must be available during normal
business hours to accept payment on the day service is disconnected
and the day after service is disconnected, unless the disconnection
is at the customer's request or due to the existence of a dangerous
condition related to the type of service provided. Once the past due
service charges and applicable reconnect fees are paid or other circumstances
which resulted in disconnection are corrected, the utility must restore
service within 36 hours.
(2) Reconnect Fees.
(A) A reconnect fee, or seasonal reconnect fee as appropriate,
may be charged for restoring service if listed on the utility's approved
tariff.
(B) A reconnect fee may not be charged where service
was not disconnected, except in circumstances where a utility representative
arrives at a customer's service location with the intent to disconnect
service because of a delinquent bill, and the customer prevents the
utility from disconnecting the service.
(C) Except as provided under §24.169(c) of this
title when a customer prevents disconnection at the water meter or
connecting point between the utility and customer sewer lines, a reconnect
fee charged for restoring water or sewer service after disconnection
for nonpayment of monthly charges shall not exceed $25 provided the
customer pays the delinquent charges and requests to have service
restored within 45 days. If a request to have service reconnected
is not made within 45 days of the date of disconnection, the utility
may charge its approved reconnect fee or seasonal reconnect fee.
(D) A reconnect fee cannot be charged for reconnecting
service after disconnection for failure to pay solid waste disposal
fees collected under a contract with a county or other public agency.
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