| (6) In accordance with §25.472(b)(1)(D) of this
title, a REP must provide a SUP to an energy assistance agency within
one business day of receipt of the agency's request, and must not
charge the agency for the SUP.
(i) Deferred payment plans. A deferred payment plan
for a customer taking prepaid service is an agreement between the
REP and a customer that requires a customer to pay a negative current
balance over time. A deferred payment plan may be established in person,
by telephone, or online, but all deferred payment plans must be confirmed
in writing by the REP to the customer.
(1) The REP must place a residential customer on a
deferred payment plan, at the customer's request:
(A) when the customer's current balance reflects a
negative balance of $50 or more during an extreme weather emergency,
as defined in §25.483(j)(1) of this title, if the customer makes
the request within one business day after the weather emergency has
ended; or
(B) during a state of disaster declared by the governor
pursuant to Texas Government Code §418.014 if the customer is
in an area covered by the declaration and the commission directs that
deferred payment plans be offered.
(2) The REP must offer a deferred payment plan to a
residential customer who has been underbilled by $50 or more for reasons
other than theft of service.
(3) The REP may offer a deferred payment plan to a
customer who has expressed an inability to pay.
(4) The deferred payment plan must include both the
negative current balance and the connection balance.
(5) The customer has the right to satisfy the deferred
payment plan before the prescribed time.
(6) The REP may require that:
(A) no more than 50% of each transaction amount be
applied towards the deferred payment plan; or
(B) an initial payment of no greater than 50% of the
amount due be made, with the remainder of the deferred amount paid
in installments. The REP must inform the customer of the right to
pay the remaining deferred balance by reducing the deferred balance
by five equal monthly installments. However, the customer can agree
to fewer or more frequent installments. The installments to repay
the deferred balance must be applied to the customer's account on
a specified day of each month.
(7) The REP may initiate disconnection of service if
the customer does not meet the terms of a deferred payment plan or
if the customer's current balance falls below the disconnection balance,
excluding the remaining deferred amount. However, the REP must not
initiate disconnection of service unless it has provided the customer
at least one day's notice that the customer has not met the terms
of the plan or, pursuant to subsection (c)(7)(D) of this section,
a timely notice that the customer's current balance was estimated
to fall below the disconnection balance, excluding the remaining deferred
amount.
(8) The REP may apply a switch-hold while the customer
is on a deferred payment plan.
(9) A copy of the deferred payment plan must be provided
to the customer.
(A) The plan must include a statement, in clear and
conspicuous type, that states, "If you have any questions regarding
the terms of this agreement, or if the agreement was made by telephone
and you believe this does not reflect your understanding of that agreement,
contact (insert name and contact number of REP)."
(B) If a switch-hold will apply, the plan must include
a statement, in a clear and conspicuous type, that states "By entering
into this agreement, you understand that {company name} will put a
switch-hold on your account. A switch-hold means that you will not
be able to buy electricity from other companies until you pay this
past due amount. The switch-hold will be removed after your final
payment on this past due amount is processed. While a switch-hold
applies, if you are disconnected for not paying, you will need to
pay {us or company name}, to get your electricity turned back on."
(C) If the customer and the REP's representative or
agent meet in person, the representative must read to the customer
the statement in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph and, if applicable,
the statement in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.
(D) The plan may include a one-time penalty in accordance
with §25.480(c) of this title, but must not include a finance
charge.
(E) The plan must include the terms for payment of
deferred amounts, consistent with paragraph (6) of this subsection.
(F) The plan must state the total amount to be paid
under the plan.
(G) The plan must state that a customer's electric
service may be disconnected if the customer does not fulfill the terms
of the deferred payment plan, or if the customer's current balance
falls below the disconnection balance, excluding the remaining deferred
amount.
(10) The REP must not charge the customer a fee for
placing the customer on a deferred payment plan.
(11) The REP, through a standard market process, must
submit a request to remove the switch-hold, pursuant to §25.480(m)(2)
of this title if the customer pays the deferred balance owed to the
REP. On the day the REP submits the request to remove the switch-hold,
the REP must notify the customer that the customer has satisfied the
deferred payment plan and that the switch-hold is being removed.
(j) Disconnection of service. As provided by subsection
(a)(4) of this section, §25.483 (b)(2)(A) and (B), (d), (e)(1)
- (6), and the definition of extreme weather in §25.483(j)(1)
of this title apply to prepaid service. In addition to those provisions,
this subsection applies to disconnection of a customer receiving prepaid
service.
(1) Prohibition on disconnection. A REP must not initiate
disconnection for a customer's failure to maintain a current balance
above the disconnection balance on a weekend day or during any period
during which the mechanisms used for payments specified in the customer's
PDS are unavailable; or during an extreme weather emergency, as this
term is defined in §25.483 of this title, in the county in which
the service is provided.
(2) Initiation of disconnection. A REP may initiate
disconnection of service when the current balance falls below the
disconnection balance, but only if the REP provided the customer a
timely warning pursuant to subsection (c)(7)(D) of this section; or
when a customer fails to comply with a deferred payment plan, but
only if the REP provided the customer a timely warning pursuant to
subsection (i)(7) of this section. A REP may initiate disconnection
if the customer's current balance falls below the disconnection balance
due to reversal of a payment found to have insufficient funds available
or is otherwise rejected by a bank, credit card company, or other
payor.
(3) Pledge from electric assistance agencies. If a
REP receives a pledge, letter of intent, purchase order, or other
commitment from an energy assistance agency to make a payment for
a customer, the REP must immediately credit the customer's current
balance with the amount of the pledge.
(A) The REP must not initiate disconnection of service
if the pledge from the energy assistance agency (or energy assistance
agencies) establishes a current balance above the customer's disconnection
balance or, if the customer has been disconnected, must request reconnection
of service if the pledge from the energy assistance agency establishes
a current balance for the customer that is at or above the customer's
connection balance required for reconnection.
(B) The REP may initiate disconnection of service if
payment from the energy assistance agency is not received within 45
days of the REP's receipt of the commitment or if the payment is not
sufficient to satisfy the customer's disconnection balance in the
case of a currently energized customer, or the customer's connection
balance if the customer has been disconnected for falling below the
disconnection balance.
(4) Reconnection of service. Within one hour of a customer
establishing a connection balance or any otherwise satisfactory correction
of the reasons for disconnection, the REP must request that the TDU
reconnect service or, if the REP disconnected service using its CPDS,
reconnect service. The REP's payment mechanism may include a requirement
that the customer verify the payment using a card, code, or other
similar method in order to establish a connection balance or current
balance above the disconnection balance when payment is made to a
third-party processor acting as an agent of the REP.
(k) Service to Critical Care Residential Customers
and Chronic Condition Residential Customers. A REP must not knowingly
provide prepaid service to a customer who is a critical care residential
customer or chronic condition residential customer as those terms
are defined in §25.497 of this title. In addition, a REP must
not enroll an applicant who states that the applicant is a critical
care residential customer or chronic condition residential customer.
Cont'd... |
