(a)
Definitions. As used in this section:
(1) "Customer" or "customer of account" means
any person or entity which has contracted with a utility company for utility
service. If residential utility service has gone to the joint benefit of
spouses or to the support of their family then both spouses are customers of
the utility company even if only one spouse expressly contracted with the
company for residential utility service. For the purposes of subsection (j) of
this section, the spouse who expressly contracted for residential utility
service is the named customer and the spouse who did not expressly contract for
such service is the unnamed customer;
(2) "Residential customer" means a customer
who contracts with a utility company for utility service at residential
premises for domestic purposes;
(3)
"Commercial customer" or "Industrial customer" means a customer who contracts
with a utility company for utility service at nonresidential premises, whether
for profit or not for profit;
(4)
"Interruptible customer" means a commercial or industrial customer who
contracts with a utility company for utility service on an interruptible basis
which usually requires the availability of an alternate fuel;
(5) "Delinquent account" means a bill for
utility service which has remained unpaid for a period of more than 33 days
from the date a bill is mailed by a utility company which bills upon a monthly
basis; or a bill for utility service which has remained unpaid for a period of
more than 63 days from the date a bill is mailed by a utility company which
bills on a bi-monthly or quarterly basis, except for a bill for utility service
from a municipal water utility which becomes delinquent in accordance with the
regulations of the governing body. No partial payment of any delinquent account
shall affect the delinquent status of the amount remaining unpaid on such
account;
(6) "Hardship" or
"hardship case" means a person receiving or seeking reinstatement of
residential gas or electric utility service from November 1st to April 15th who
lacks the financial resources to pay his or her entire bill for gas and
electric utility service, including but not limited to:
(A) A person receiving local, state, or
federal public assistance, including but not limited to:
(i) aid to the blind;
(ii) aid to families with dependent
children;
(iii) old age
assistance;
(iv) aid to the
disabled;
(v) Medicaid;
(vi) supplemental security income;
or
(vii) general
assistance;
(B) A person
whose sole source of financial support is derived from social security,
veterans' administration or unemployment compensation benefits;
(C) A person who is head of the household and
unemployed, and whose household income is less than three hundred per cent of
the poverty level determined by the federal government;
(D) A person or any resident of the person's
home who is seriously ill, as certified by a registered physician in accordance
with subsection (e) (2) of this section, or has a life threatening
situation;
(E) A person whose
income falls below one hundred twenty five per cent of the poverty level as
determined by the federal government in accordance with the income poverty
guidelines from the regional office of family assistance, Department of Health
and Human Services or its successor agency; or
(F) A person whose circumstances threaten a
deprivation of the necessities of life for himself or herself or dependent
children of his or her household if payment of a delinquent utility bill is
required;
(7) "Head of
household" means a customer who provides the major source of income for himself
or herself and dependent children of the household;
(8) "Necessities of life" means those things
without which survival would be endangered, including but not limited to food,
clothing, shelter, medical expenses, and heat;
(9) "Department of Public Utility Control" or
"DPUC" means the Department of Public Utility Control;
(10) "DPUC hearing officer" means a hearing
officer designated by the DPUC to conduct hearings pursuant to subsections (f)
and (g) of this section. A DPUC hearing officer may be a member of the DPUC's
staff who performs functions unrelated to conducting hearings but shall not be
a person who has participated in the investigation in the same case pursuant to
subsections (f)(3) and (g)(2) of this section;
(11) "Reasonable amortization agreement"
means a promise to a utility company to pay a delinquent account over a period
of time;
(12) "Receipt" or
"received" means three days after the date of mailing, or, if a bill, notice or
other document is delivered rather than mailed, the date of delivery, unless
another date can be shown;
(13)
"Residential utility service" means utility service provided by a utility
company to a customer at a place of residence;
(14) "Review officer" means a person
designated by a utility company to investigate customer complaints and to
undertake informal reviews as provided in subsections (f) and (g) of this
section. A review officer may be any employee of the utility company other than
a member of the utility company's credit department who has previously
participated in the investigation; provided, however, that if the utility
company employs fewer than 25 full time employees, a member of the credit
department may act as review officer. A review officer shall be empowered to
review and overrule determinations of members of the utility company's credit
department on subjects within the review officer's authority as prescribed in
subsections (f) and (g) of this section;
(15) "Termination" or "terminate" means the
voluntary discontinuance of service to an individual utility customer but shall
not include interruption or curtailment of service consistent with interruption
pursuant to DPUC-approved tariffs or resulting from forced outages, energy or
capacity shortages or other emergencies;
(16) "Utility company" or "company" means any
gas, electric, or water company, corporation or other entity within the
jurisdiction of the DPUC which provides utility service and any municipal
utility which furnishes electric, gas or water service. In the case of
municipal utilities, the provisions of this section shall apply to termination
of residential service for nonpayment of a delinquent account. Subsections
(b)(3)(A), (b)(3)(B) and (f) of this section shall apply only to companies
providing residential electric or gas service;
(17) "Utility service" means the provision of
gas, electricity, or water by a utility company to a customer at retail rates
and shall include, without limitation, residential utility service;
(18) "Identification" means a social security
number, the number of an identity card issued pursuant to section
1-1h of the
Connecticut General Statutes, the number of a motor vehicle operator's license
issued pursuant to section
14-36
of the Connecticut General Statutes or any other means of identification
approved by the Department of Public Utility Control;
(19) "Household income" means the combined
income over a twelve month period for the customer and all adults, except minor
children of the customer, who are and have been members of the household for
six months or more;
(20) "Life
threatening situation" means a condition certified by a registered physician
that would endanger the life of the customer or a member of the customer's
household if gas or electric service were terminated;
(21) "Business office" means any office
facility that is operated by the utility company;
(22) "Energy assistance" means any payment
credited to the customer's account which is administered by the Department of
Social Services (DSS) and drawn from programs funded, administered or offered
by any local, state or federal government, including but not limited to, the
Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) and State Appropriated Fuel
Assistance Program (SAFA);
(23)
"Customer payment" means any payment or payments, other than energy assistance,
made by or on the behalf of a customer; and
(24) "Day" means calendar day.
(b)
Grounds for termination;
termination with and without notice: utility service may be terminated
only for the reasons listed below.
(1)
Grounds for termination of service without notice. Utility service may be
terminated without notice only for the reasons listed below:
(A) in the event that the provision of the
utility service would constitute a condition determined by the utility company
to be hazardous.
(2)
Grounds for termination of service with notice. Utility service may be
terminated with notice for the reasons specified below only in accordance with
the procedures set forth in subsection (d) of this section:
(A) in the event that the furnishing of
service would be in contravention of any orders, ordinances or laws of the
federal government or by the State of Connecticut or any political subdivision
thereof;
(B) where residential
service is being provided pursuant to an agreement whereunder the customer is
permitted to amortize the delinquent balance of an account for service provided
to that customer over a reasonable period of time, and the customer fails to
comply with the terms of the agreement, or to simultaneously keep current the
customer's account for utility service as charges accrue in each subsequent
billing period. Where the customer has made a payment or payments amounting to
20% of the balance due, notice pursuant to subsections (d)(1)(A) and (d)(1)(B)
of this section of the conditions the customer must meet to avoid termination
of service shall be required. Such notice shall not entitle the customer to
further review as provided by subsection (f) of these regulations or to
additional notice upon subsequent payment of 20% of the balance due. The
provisions of this subparagraph (B) shall not apply from November 1st to April
15th to residential customers receiving electric utility service, who have been
determined to be hardship cases and to lack the financial resources to pay the
entire account. From November first to April fifteenth, inclusive, no gas
company and no municipal utility furnishing gas shall terminate or refuse to
reinstate residential gas service in hardship cases where the customer uses
such gas for heat and lacks the financial resources to pay his or her entire
account, except a gas company that, between April sixteenth and October
thirty-first, terminated gas service to a residential customer who uses gas for
heat and who, during the previous period of November first to April fifteenth,
had gas service maintained because of hardship status, may refuse to reinstate
the gas service from November first to April fifteenth, inclusive, only if the
customer has failed, since the preceding November first, to make a customer
payment of the lesser of:
(i) twenty percent
of the outstanding principal balance owed the gas company as of the date of
termination;
(ii) one hundred
dollars, or
(iii) the minimum
payments due under the customer's reasonable amortization agreement;
(C) in the event of tampering with
water pipes, meters or other utility equipment by the customer of a water
company;
(D) fraud or material
misrepresentation in obtaining utility service;
(E) customer use of equipment in such a
manner as to adversely affect the utility's equipment or the utility's service
to others, after the customer has first been notified and afforded an
opportunity to remedy the interfering influence;
(F) violation of or non-compliance with the
rules of the utility which have been filed with and approved by the
DPUC;
(G) failure of the customer
to provide the utility reasonable access to its equipment, or in the event
access thereto is obstructed or hazardous;
(H) customer failure or refusal to reimburse
the utility for repairs to or loss of utility property on the customer's
property when such repairs are necessitated or loss is occasioned by the
intentional or negligent acts of the customer or his agents; provided, however,
that for the purpose of this section 16-3-100 "utility property on the
customer's property" shall not be deemed to include hot water heaters or other
similar equipment furnished to the customer under a separate contract and not
used in connection with the furnishing of utility service;
(I) failure of the customer to furnish such
service, equipment, permits, certificates or rights-of-way as shall have been
specified by the utility company as a condition to obtaining service, or if
such equipment or permissions are withdrawn or terminated;
(J) non-payment of a delinquent account,
provided that the utility company has notified the customer of the delinquency
and has made a diligent effort to have the customer pay the delinquent account.
The utility company shall be deemed to have made a diligent effort to have the
customer pay the delinquent account if it complies with all procedures
prescribed in subsections (c) through (h) of this section;
(K) failure of a non-residential customer to
fulfill any other obligation under the customer's contract with the utility
company;
(L) in the event
unauthorized unmetered service or unauthorized metered service is found to be
used; or
(M) In the event of a
person's failure to provide identification no later than 15 days of opening an
account.
(3) Exceptions.
Notwithstanding subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, no utility company
shall:
(A) terminate service to any gas or
electric residential customer whose service is subject to termination for a
delinquent amount until the company first offers the customer an opportunity to
enter into a reasonable amortization agreement. The specifics of the reasonable
amortization agreement may vary according to the particular case and shall be
determined by both utility company and customer receiving residential utility
service. Such agreement shall be subject to change upon the showing by the
customer of a change in financial circumstances. When a reasonable amortization
agreement has been made with a residential utility customer, the company may
charge a rate of interest on the unpaid balance of that customer's delinquent
account. This interest shall be simple non-cumulative interest, at the rate of
6% per annum or 1/2 of 1% per month;
(B) terminate or refuse to reinstate, from
November 1st to April 15th, inclusive, residential electric or gas service in
hardship cases, provided, however, from November first to April fifteenth,
inclusive, no gas company and no municipal utility furnishing gas shall
terminate or refuse to reinstate residential gas service in hardship cases
where the customer uses such gas for heat and lacks the financial resources to
pay his or her entire account, except a gas company that, between April
sixteenth and October thirty-first, terminated gas service to a residential
customer who uses gas for heat and who, during the previous period of November
first to April fifteenth, had gas service maintained because of hardship
status, may refuse to reinstate the gas service from November first to April
fifteenth, inclusive, only if the customer has failed, since the preceding
November first, to make a customer payment of the lesser of:
(i) twenty percent of the outstanding
principal balance owed the gas company as of the date of termination;
(ii) one hundred dollars, or
(iii) the minimum payments due
under the customer's reasonable amortization agreement;
(C) terminate residential utility service to
the home of any customer during such time as any resident therein is seriously
ill or in a life threatening situation, as certified to the utility company by
a registered physician in accordance with the procedures prescribed in section
16-3-100(e);
(D) terminate utility service to a customer
during the pendency of any complaint, investigation, hearing or appeal
initiated by such customer under subsections (f) and (g) of this section;
provided, however, that nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed to
relieve a customer of the obligation to pay any undisputed bill or portion
thereof during the pendency of any such complaint, investigation, hearing or
appeal nor shall prohibit the company from interrupting service to
interruptible customers consistent with DPUC-approved tariffs;
(E) terminate utility service in any manner
which would violate any provision of the Connecticut General
Statutes;
(F) refuse to reinstate
utility service to the home of any former customer if any resident therein
becomes seriously ill or a life threatening situation occurs, and as certified
to the utility company by a registered physician in accordance with the
procedures prescribed in section
16-3-100(e);
(G) terminate or deny utility service for
failure to pay for merchandise purchased from the utility;
(H) terminate or deny utility service for
failure to pay for a different type of utility service (i.e. electric and gas
or repair of customer owned or rented equipment) or for a different class of
service (i.e. commercial or residential) at the same or another location or for
repair of customer owned or rented equipment;
(I) terminate or deny utility service for
failure to pay the bill of another customer as guarantor thereof;
(K) terminate or deny utility service for
failure to pay an estimated bill unless the customer refuses to provide access
for the reading of the meter during the company's normal working day or to
provide a customer reading, except where the company may estimate a bill in
accordance with sections
16-3-102,
16-11-34,
16-11-35,
16-11-71,
16-11-107,
and
16-11-102 of
the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies;
(L) terminate or deny utility service for
delinquency in payment for service by a previous occupant of the premises to be
served;
(M) threaten to terminate
or to take other actions that cannot legally be taken;
(N) terminate utility service for any of the
reasons provided in subsection (b)(2) of this section, on any Friday, Saturday,
Sunday, state or federal holiday or day before any state or federal holiday or
at any time during which the business offices of the company are not open to
the public or within one hour before the closing of such offices, except that a
commercial or industrial customer's utility service may be terminated on a
Friday provided that the utility company's business offices are open on
Saturdays;
(O) terminate, between
November 1 and April 15, gas or electric service to a residential customer
whose service is subject to termination for nonpayment of a delinquent account
until the company first gives the customer, in person or by certified mail,
notice of the customer rights as filed with the DPUC in accordance with
subsection (c)(2) of this section; or
(P) terminate or refuse to reinstate gas or
electric service provided at interruptible rates to singly metered multi-unit
residential buildings in cases where the customer has failed to curtail usage.
In such cases the company shall comply with the requirements of subsection (I)
of this section, and may transfer the customer to the most advantageous firm
rate.
(c)
Notice to customers of rights under this section:
(1) Every utility company shall file with the
DPUC no later than 45 days of the enactment of these regulations a brief
explanation of the rights of customers provided under this section. The DPUC
may require any modification in the explanation as it deems necessary to insure
actual notice to customers of the provisions of this section.
(A) Such explanation shall be available upon
request at each office of the company;
(B) Every utility company shall send to each
of its customers at least once a year and to each new customer upon initiation
of service notice that such explanation is available upon request to the
company;
(C) Every termination
notice issued by a utility company shall contain or be accompanied by such
explanation; and
(D) Any utility
company which has a substantial number of Spanish speaking people living within
its service area shall provide the foregoing explanation in Spanish and in
English.
(2) In addition
to the requirements set forth in subdivision (1) of this subsection, every gas
and electric company shall file with the DPUC no later than 45 days of the
enactment of these regulations an explanation of the rights of the customers
provided under subsection (f) of this section.
(d)
Notice of termination.
(1) Service may be terminated only in
accordance with the following notice requirements:
(A) Except where service is disconnected
pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) (1) of this section no utility
company shall terminate service to a customer prior to 13 days after notice of
the proposed termination has been sent by first class mail to the address of
and addressed to the customer to whom service is billed and to any third party
designated by the customer pursuant to section
16-3-100(h)
and prior to compliance with section
16-3-100(i).
When a person opening an account with a utility company does not provide
identification, the company shall furnish the service and provide notice that
the service may be terminated pursuant to section
16-3-100(b)(2)(M)
if, after fifteen days, identification is not provided.
(B) If service is not terminated prior to the
mailing of a subsequent termination notice, service may not be terminated prior
to the latest date specified by the company pursuant to subdivision (2)(c) of
this subsection, except that, if an electric or gas company has issued a notice
under subsection (d)(1)(A) of this section but failed to terminate the electric
or gas service prior to issuing a new bill to the customer, the company shall
mail an additional notice of the impending termination to the customer prior to
termination of the electric or gas service. Such notice shall be addressed to
the customer and sent via first class mail at least thirteen days, or certified
mail at least seven days, prior to termination of the electric or gas service.
If the electric or gas company provides multiple dates of termination to the
customer, the company shall not terminate the electric or gas service prior to
the latest of said dates, or for balances that are not delinquent in accordance
with subsection (d)(1)(A) of this section. For purposes of this section, the
thirteen-day period and seven-day period shall commence on the date that the
notice is mailed.
(C) If an
electric or gas company fails to terminate the electric or gas service in 120
days or less after the mailing of a notice of termination, the company shall
mail another notice to the customer at least 13 days prior to
termination.
(D) In addition to the
termination notices required in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this subdivision,
an electric or gas company shall send a notice via first class mail to the
customer, which notice shall state the amount of the delinquent balance of the
customer's account and inform the customer that the termination notice remains
in effect.
(2) Every
termination notice shall contain or be accompanied by:
(A) a statement of the grounds for the
proposed termination;
(B) the
conditions required to prevent termination of service;
(C) the date after which service may be
terminated unless the required conditions are met;
(D) the conditions for restoration of service
if service is terminated, including but is not limited to, any reconnection fee
or the possibility of the requirement of a deposit; and
(E) a brief explanation of the customer's
rights under section
16-3-100(c).
(3) No termination notice shall be
sent to any customer prior to the time said customer has a delinquent account
as defined in section
16-3-100(a)(2),
or prior to the existence of any of the grounds for termination set forth in
section
16-3-100(b)(2).
(4) If, following the receipt of a
terminization notice or the entering into of a reasonable amortization
agreement, the customer makes payment or payments total-ling 20% of the balance
due, service may not be terminated prior to 13 days after the mailing of a
subsequent termination notice in accordance with the provisions of subsections
(d)(1) and (d)(2) of this section. Such subsequent notice shall not entitle
such customer to further review as provided by section
16-3-100(g)
or to additional notice upon subsequent payment of 20% of the balance due.
If utility service is terminated without notice the company
shall keep a record of the conditions which caused the termination. In addition
the company shall attempt to notify the customer in a reasonable manner at the
time of termination of the conditions which justified the termination, the
conditions which must be met to have service restored and the appropriate means
of contacting the company for restoral of service. If the customer is not so
notified at the time of termination a statement of the above required
information shall be left at the premises of the customer.
(e)
Termination and serious
illness.
(1) As provided by section
16-3-100(c),
every termination notice sent to a customer receiving residential utility
service shall include or be accompanied by an explanation of the customer's
rights under this section. Such explanation shall plainly indicate that the
utility company may not terminate residential utility service to the home of
any customer during such time as any resident therein is seriously ill, if the
existence of such serious illness is certified to the utility company in
accordance with the requirements of section
16-3-100(e)(2)
no later than 13 days after the mailing of the termination notice and if the
certification is renewed every 15 days if the doctor has not specified the
length of the illness. Such serious illness notice shall also plainly indicate
that the utility company has the right to contest before the DPUC the validity
of any serious illness certification it might receive.
(2) A registered physician's certification of
serious illness or life threatening situation shall be sufficient if initially
made by telephone, subject to the right of the utility company to confirm the
validity of the physician's call. If the certification is made by telephone,
the utility company shall send to the physician a copy of its certification
form, and the certifying physician shall complete and return the certification
form to the company no later than seven days after receipt of such form. All
certification forms shall contain information required by the department,
including but not limited to the following:
(A) The name and address of the patient,
(B) whether the condition is a
serious illness or a life threatening situation,
(C) the length of the serious illness or life
threatening situation, and
(D) the
certifying physician's office address and telephone number.
(3) In cases where residential
utility service is continued pursuant to a serious illness certificate or life
threatening situation certificate, the customer shalll:
(A) Enter into an agreement whereunder the
customer is permitted to amortize the unpaid balance of the account over a
reasonable period of time, but only while the customer simultaneously keeps
current his or her account for utility service as charges accrue in each
subsequent billing period except (i) in cases where residential utility service
is continued due to a life threatening situation. Customers who are current
with the physician's certificate of life threatening situation are expected to
remain current with their account or an established reasonable amortization
agreement, however they shall not be terminated for failure to remain current
with their account or an established reasonable amortization agreement, or (ii)
where the customer is determined to be a hardship in accordance with
subsections (b)(3)(B) and (f) of this section in which case no such agreement
is required between November 1 and April 15; and
(B) renew the serious illness certificate or
life threatening situation certificate no later than the last day of the period
specified by the physician as the length of the illness or life threatening
situation; provided, however, that if the physician has failed to specify the
length of the illness or life threatening situation or if the physician has
indicated that the length of the illness or life threatening situation is not
readily ascertainable, then the serious illness or life threatening situation
certificate shall be renewed every 15 days. Each renewal certificate shall be
forwarded to the company.
(4) If service is continued pursuant to this
subsection and the customer fails to comply with the provisions of
subparagraphs (A) or (B) of this subsection, the company may terminate service
after providing notice of termination as provided by subsection (d) of this
section except that such notice shall not entitle the customer to further
review as provided by subsection (f) of this section and service may be
terminated after 13 days from the date of mailing of the notice.
(5) If a utility company wishes to contest
the validity of a written serious illness certificate, it may request an
investigation by the DPUC and a hearing before a DPUC hearing officer pursuant
to section
16-3-100(g).
Section
16-3-100(g)(3)
shall apply in all respects to such hearing.
(f)
Review of reasonable amortization
agreements and hardship cases.
(1) If
a residential customer and an electric or gas utility company are unable to
reach a reasonable amortization agreement as specified in subsection (b)(3)(A)
of this section, or from November 1st to April 15th are unable to agree on
whether the customer is a hardship case and lacks the financial resources to
pay his or her entire account, the company shall not terminate service, but
shall refer the customer to a specified review officer. The review officer
shall attempt to reach a reasonable amortization agreement with the
customer.
(2) From November 1st to
April 15th inclusive, if a review officer cannot reach a reasonable
amortization agreement with a residential customer, the review officer shall
determine if the customer is a hardship case. The company may request that the
residential customer provide written documentation certifying that he or she is
a hardship case and may require such documentation from a social service or
other aid agency. All gas and electric utility companies shall file their
procedures and requirements for determining hardship cases with the DPUC for
its review no later than 45 days of the enactment of this section and
periodically thereafter as determined by the DPUC.
(3) If the residential customer disagrees
with a review officer on a reasonable amortization agreement or on a decision
by the review officer as to whether or not the customer qualifies as a hardship
case (November 1st to April 15th), the review officer shall provide a written
report to said customer. Such report shall provide the DPUC's Consumer
Assistance and Information Division's toll free telephone number and inform the
customer that, no later than 5 days after the receipt of the report, he or she
has the right to appeal to the DPUC's Consumer Assistance and Information
Division for an informal investigation. The DPUC's Consumer Assistance and
Information Division shall investigate the dispute no later than 5 days after
the customer's request.
(4) If the
DPUC's Consumer Assistance and Information Division is unable to settle the
dispute to the satisfaction of both customer and company, either the customer
or the company may appeal in the form of a formal complaint with the DPUC
pursuant to part I of article 4 of the DPUC's rules of practice requesting a
hearing before a DPUC hearing officer. The provisions of section
16-3-100(g)(3)
shall apply. During the time which a customer is appealing a reasonable
amortization agreement or denial of hardship status to a utility company or to
the DPUC, no terminations shall be effected.
(5) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a
gas or electric utility company from terminating gas or electric service after
April 15th and prior to November 1st where a customer has a delinquent account
and where no amortization agreement has been made, or where such an agreement
made pursuant to these regulations has been broken during the last 12 months
except where a customer and the company have agreed to change the terms of an
amortization agreement in accordance with the changed financial circumstances
of the customer as provided in section
16-3-100(b)(3)(A),
or where the customer has filed an appeal with the DPUC in accordance with this
subsection based upon any of the following grounds: (i) a reasonable
amortization agreement could not be reached; (ii) a reasonable amortization
agreement was broken; or (iii) the customer has a serious illness certificate
or life threatening situation certificate in accordance with subsection (e)(2)
of this section.
(g)
Review of disputed accounts.
Utility service shall not be terminated for any of the reasons
listed in section
16-3-100(b)(2)
while any matter pertaining to a reason for termination is in dispute provided
the customer has notified the company of the dispute and the customer pursues
the dispute according to the following procedure:
(1) investigation by the company.
(A) If the company has mailed a termination
notice to a customer and the customer has made a complaint to the company
subsequent to issuance of a termination notice, the company shall not terminate
service until it has notified the customer orally or in writing of its
resolution of the complaint and that the customer may, no later than 7 days
after receipt of such notice, request orally or in writing that the complaint
be referred to a review officer. If no request is received no later than 7 days
from such notification, service may be terminated with no further
notice.
(B) If a matter has been
referred to a review officer pursuant to subsection (g)(1)(A) of this section,
or if, after contacting a customer service representative of the utility
company, a customer notifies the review officer by telephone, by mail or in
person no later than 13 days after the mailing of a termination notice that any
matter related to the proposed termination remains in dispute, including,
without limitation, the existence of serious illness in the customer's
residence, the accuracy of the amount of the bill or the proper party to be
billed, then the review officer shall investigate the customer's complaint,
using any procedures appropriate under the circumstances, including but not
limited to actual meter readings, and shall send notice in writing to the
customer of the review officer's determination of the dispute. In addition, if
requested by the customer, the review officer shall consider whether or not it
is appropriate to enter into an agreement whereunder the customer is permitted
to amortize the unpaid balance of the account over a reasonable period of time
while simultaneously keeping current his or her account for utility service as
charges accrue in each subsequent billing period.
(C) The written notice of the decision of the
review officer shall be sent to the customer no later than 10 days of the
receipt of the customer's complaint and shall contain the following statement:
"If you still consider our bill to be inaccurate in any respect or if you have
any other complaint pertaining to this matter, you have a right to request a
further investigation by the Department of Public Utility Control no later than
10 days of the date of the mailing or delivering of this decision."
(2) Investigation by the DPUC.
(A) Not later than 10 days after the mailing
or delivering of the review officer's decision to the customer, the customer or
the utility company may request in writing that the DPUC conduct an
investigation of the matter in dispute pursuant to section
16-1-116
of the DPUC regulations, and the DPUC shall issue an order forthwith directing
that such an investigation be commenced by the DPUC staff no later than seven
days after receipt of said request.
(B) After completing its investigation, the
DPUC staff shall, if requested by either party, prepare a written report
summarizing its findings and shall cause both parties to receive a copy of such
report no more than 10 days after the commencement of such investigation,
except, the DPUC, within its discretion and for good cause shown, may have an
additional seven days after the expiration of the initial 10 day period to
prepare its staff report.
(3) Right to a hearing before a DPUC hearing
officer.
(A) If the utility and customer are
unable to resolve the dispute based upon the report of the DPUC staff, then no
later than 10 days after the mailing of the DPUC staff report, either the
customer or the utility company may file a formal complaint with the DPUC
pursuant to part 1 of article 4 of the DPUC rules of practice requesting a
hearing before a DPUC hearing officer.
(B) Upon the timely filing of such a
complaint, the DPUC shall issue an order appointing a hearing officer and
requiring that such a hearing be commenced not more than 20 nor less than 10
days after the date of filing, provided the DPUC shall mail notice thereof to
the parties in interest at least seven days prior to any such
hearing.
(C) Such hearing shall be
deemed to be a "contested case" within the meaning of Connecticut General
Statutes section
4-166(2)
and section
16-1-2(e)
and sections
16-1-16
through
16-1-44,
inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.
(D) The report of the DPUC staff shall be
part of the record in such hearing and shall be given whatever weight the
hearing officer and the DPUC may deem appropriate.
(E) Pending final determination, the DPUC may
enter any temporary order which it deems just and equitable.
(F) The hearing officer shall ascertain the
facts and report thereon to the DPUC and may prepare the DPUC's docket file and
order.
(G) Not later than 20 days
after the closing of the hearing, the DPUC shall issue a final order in
writing.
(H) The final order shall
direct services to be continued or terminated forthwith and may impose such
terms and conditions as the DPUC deems equitable to both the customer and the
company. Nothing in this section
16-3-100(g)
shall prevent either the customer or the utility company from pursuing any
available legal or equitable remedies with respect to the DPUC's
decision.
(4) Legal
remedies preserved. Except when a customer has entered into an arrangement for
the payment of past due bills pursuant to subsections (e) or (g) of this
section and has complied with all requirements of such arrangement and of
subsection (e), (f), or (g) of this section, as appropriate, none of the
provisions of this section shall be construed to prevent a utility company or a
customer from pursuing, at any time, any legal remedies regarding customer
accounts provided, however, that nothing in subsections (f) and (g)(4) of this
section shall be construed to entitle a utility company or a customer to more
than one hearing concerning the same issues in dispute.
(h)
Notification of third
parties:
Not later than 45 days after the effective date of this
section, each company shall file with the DPUC procedures reasonably designed
to implement the provisions of this subsection. The DPUC may require any
modifications in the procedure which it deems necessary.
(1) Any customer may request, through the
procedure specified in the rules and regulations of the company, that a third
person designated by the customer receive copies of all notices sent to the
customer pertaining to termination of service.
(2) In no event shall the third party so
designated be liable for the bills of the customer, except where that party has
previously agreed to be responsible for the bills of the customer.
(3) Following receipt of such a request the
company shall send copies of all notices of termination to the designated third
party in addition to the termination notice sent to the customer. In no event
shall the company be held to warrant that such notice will be received by the
third party.
(4) Each company shall
maintain a list of the names and addresses of organizations which have notified
the company that they are available as third parties to be notified as provided
by subsection (h) of this section. Copies of such lists shall be provided by
the company to its customers upon the customer's request.
(i)
Termination of service to
tenants.
(1) No later than 45 days
after the effective date of this section, each utility company shall file with
the DPUC procedures reasonably designed to implement the provisions of this
subsection. The DPUC may require any modifications in the procedure as it deems
necessary.
(2) A utility company
shall not terminate, without first complying with the provisions of this
subsection, residential service to a dwelling unit where the company has actual
or constructive knowledge that the customer to whom service is billed or
members of his or her household are not the exclusive occupants of said
premises.
(3) Not later than
thirteen days prior to termination, each utility company shall make good faith
efforts to notify, using the means most practicable under the circumstances and
best designed to provide actual notice, the occupants of the premises subject
to termination of their rights to continued service. The notices shall contain:
(A) the date of the proposed
termination;
(B) the right of the
tenant, if the dwelling units are individually metered, to establish service in
his or her own name without liability for the balance owed or a security
deposit;
(C) the intent of the
company to request the establishment of a receivership or other arrangement, if
there is a master meter; and
(D)
the telephone number and address of the local office of the company and the
telephone number and address of the DPUC.
(4) Where the dwelling units are individually
metered and an occupant of a unit notifies the company of his or her desire to
establish service in his or her own name, the occupant shall be permitted to do
so.
(A) The occupant shall not be liable for
any portion of the amount billed for service to the premises previous to the
establishment of the account in the occupant's name.
(B) The occupant shall not be required to pay
a security deposit as a condition of establishing the account in his or her
name.
(C) The occupant shall be
notified of his or her right to deduct the full amount of his or her payment
for such utility service from his or her rent.
(5) Where service is provided through a
master meter, the company may, with the written agreement of all of the
occupants, establish service in the name of the occupants, pursuant to a plan
for billing and payment agreeable to all of the parties;
(A) All of the provisions of subdivision (3)
of this subsection shall apply;
(B)
Service shall not be terminated if payment of the agreed share of any of the
occupants is received on the account;
(C) This arrangement may be discontinued by
the company 13 days after mailing written notice of its intent to discontinue
the arrangement to all of the parties;
(D) This arrangement shall be discontinued
upon the written request of any of the occupants to the company. The company
shall promptly send a notice of the discontinuance to each of the occupants and
the arrangement shall be discontinued 13 days after the mailing date of the
notice.
(6) Where
service provided pursuant to subdivision 5 of this subsection is not made or is
discontinued, the company shall not terminate service but may petition for
receiver of rents pursuant to section
16-262f
of the Connecticut General Statutes.
(7) Each utility company shall establish and
maintain a system for identifying on its records those accounts for service to
residential dwellings whose occupants are not the persons to whom it usually
sends its bills and for insuring that service to such premises is not
terminated prior to compliance with the provisions of this section and section
19-65 of the Connecticut General Statutes.
(8) Whenever a company has terminated service
to a residential dwelling whose occupants are not the persons to whom it
usually sends its bills, such company shall, upon obtaining knowledge of such
occupancy, immediately reinstate service and thereafter not effect termination
unless it first complies with the provisions of subsections (h) and (i) of this
section.
(j)
Termination of spouses' and former spouses' utility service.
(1) No public service company shall
terminate, threaten to terminate, or refuse to provide residential utility
service for a period of 90 days because of non-payment of a delinquent account
for residential utility service, where the person seeking to retain or obtain
service is the unnamed customer and is divorced or legally separated from or
has an annulled marriage from, the named customer of the delinquent account or
where an action is pending for a divorce, legal separation, or an annulment of
the person from the named customer of the delinquent account, provided that the
following conditions have been met:
(A) The
unnamed customer notifies the company, orally or in writing, at the time of the
unnamed customer's request to retain or obtain service or at any time prior to
termination of such service, that he or she has obtained a divorce, legal
separation or annulment, and sends the company, no later than 21 days of the
date of notification, a copy of a judgment file of the divorce or legal
separation, or any portion thereof, which indicates that there has been a
divorce or legal separation, or a certificate of annulment, or a portion of the
summons and complaint which has been filed in the appropriate court in an
action seeking the same;
(B) The
spouses or former spouses are no longer residing together;
(C) The unnamed customer provides the utility
company with the current address or place of employment of the named customer,
if known, or the last known address or place of employment of the named
customer; and
(D) The unnamed
customer's request is for residential utility service from the time of the
notification to the utility company of the divorce, legal separation,
annulment, or action seeking the same;
(2) The 90-day period shall commence on the
date which is the earlier of the following:
(A) The date on which such unnamed customer
requests utility service; or
(B)
The date of the judgment file evidencing such unnamed customer's divorce, legal
separation or annulment from the named customer, or the date of the writ of
summons commencing an action seeking the same.
(3) During the 90-day period, the utility
company shall make diligent efforts to collect the delinquent balance from the
named customer. Diligent efforts shall mean that the company is to perform, no
later than 90 days of notification of the legal separation, divorce or
annulment, or action seeking the same, all of the following actions:
(A) Make efforts to obtain the address of the
named customer;
(B) Send a final
notice of the delinquency on the old account to the address of the named
customer, if known; and
(C)
Transfer the delinquent balance to another account of the same type and class
of the named customer, if one has been established. If the named customer's
account remains delinquent after the utility company has complied with
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this subdivision, the utility company shall take
the following additional actions:
(D) Refer the account to its in-house staff
for collection or to a collection agency until the delinquent balance is paid
or arrangements have been made with the named customer; and
(E) Utilize any additional collection methods
the utility company deems most cost effective, including but not limited to
sending demands for payments and considering taking action in Small Claims
Court or Superior Court unless the named customer's address is unknown or said
customer is judgment proof.
(4) If the company receives a certified copy
of an order issued by the Family Division of the Superior Court, in a divorce
or legal separation proceeding whereby the court has assigned sole
responsibility for the delinquent account to the named customer, the company
shall not terminate or refuse to provide service, due to the delinquency, to
the unnamed customer for 90 days in addition to the 90-day grace period as
outlined in subdivision (1) of this subsection, to allow the unnamed customer
time to pursue any reasonable remedies available to enforce said court order.
The unnamed customer would have a total of 180 days before the provisions in
subdivision (5) of this subsection would apply.
(5) If the utility company fails to obtain
payment after the 180-day period provided in subdivision (4) of this
subsection, the company shall offer the unnamed customer an opportunity to
enter into a reasonable amortization agreement. Such reasonable amortization
agreement shall be in accordance with subsection (b)(3)(A) of this section, and
the procedures for reviewing and appealing such reasonable amortization
agreement shall be in accordance with subsection (f) of this section.
(6) The cases arising under this subsection
shall be considered on a case-by-case basis to effect the purposes of this
section and shall be considered through the investigation and appeal process
available under subsection (g) of this section.
(7) Once an unnamed customer has become a
named customer of an account, nothing contained in this subsection shall be
deemed to prohibit a utility company from terminating or refusing to provide
residential utility service to such customer because of non-payment of a
delinquent balance incurred by such customer, excluding any delinquent balances
incurred prior to the earlier of the date of such customer's request for
utility service, or the date of the judgment file of a divorce or legal
separation, certification of annulment, or writ of summons commencing an action
seeking the same.