SECTION 2 ESTABLISHING AND BILLING FOR SERVICES

Transcription

1 SECTION 2 ESTABLISHING AND BILLING FOR SERVICES

2 Section 2 contains information and sample policies related to, and materials on developing policies for, establishing electric utility service and then billing and collecting for those services. Office and Service Hours Request for Service Connection Scheduling Prior Debts Customer Deposits Refunding of Deposits Electrical Rates Taxes Billing Cycle Information Billing Adjustments The Town of Benson's Response to Insufficient Funds or Credit Joint Applicants Revised June 28,

3 Office and Service Hours 1. The Town of Benson s utility department is located at 303 E. Church St. The Town of Benson is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Routine and regular service work will be performed from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for municipal holidays. Service work for unusual conditions may be arranged at other times upon request. For customer s convenience, a drop box is located at the Municipal Building, 303 E. Church Street along the parking lot at the east side entrance. For added security, please do not deposit cash in the afterhours depository. Payments put in the box after 8a.m.will be considered next-day payments. 2. Emergency restoration work is performed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Please call us at for emergency service. Revised June 28,

4 Request for Service 1 1. Original Application for Service: Any customer requesting services must complete an application/agreement for services or provide the required information via telephone or by fax. The customer will show: [OPTIONS: photo identification, supply a Social Security number (or Federal Tax ID number in the case of a business account), deed, rental agreement or lease, contract for sale, list of appliances and fuel types in the home, and sign the application.] The Town of Benson recognizes a joint application for utility service which allows credit to be established for both husband and wife. A separate application will be requested if more than one connection is requested. The federal Privacy Act of 1974 prohibits municipalities from denying to any individual any right, benefit or privilege provided by law because of such individual s refusal to disclose his social security account number. Additionally, if the Town of Benson requests disclosure of a social security number, the Town must inform the individual of three things: (1) whether the disclosure is mandatory or voluntary; (2) by what statutory or other authority the number is requested; and (3) what uses will be made of the number. Thus, any request for a social security number on an electric service application should be accompanied by a statement such as: Your social security number is being requested for verification of your identity and perform a credit check. There is no statutory or other authority requiring you to give your social security number, but if you elect not to disclose it you will need to provide an alternative method of identification satisfactory to the Town of Benson. 2. Accounting Information Changes: Any changes of account information, mailing address, account name, etc. should be made in writing by the account-holder to prevent mistakes. 1 North Carolina Utilities Commission Guidelines: R8-48. Revised June 28,

5 3. Commercial and Industrial Accounts: Accounts established for non-residential service will require a Federal Tax ID number and a signature by a duly authorized representative of a business entity. For a business not operated by a recognized legal entity the account will be listed in the name of a responsible person (owner, manager, etc.). That person accepts the personal responsibility for payment of the account. 4. Service Requests for All Utilities: Any request for utility service or a request to add another service connection by a customer will be handled as a request for all services applicable to the location. Applications and fees are shown in the accompanying Section 6, Fee Schedule. 5. Place of Application: Customers may request utility service at the Town Hall at 303 East Church Street or at other locations that may be designated by the Town of Benson Board of Commissioners for customer convenience. 6. Time of Application: The Town of Benson will strive to meet each customer s needs for connection of service. Normal connection will be made the same day as the request. 7. Out-of-Town Connection Requests: If a customer wants to obtain service prior to arrival in the Town of Benson, the Town of Benson may provide service and mail, fax, or a written contract to the customer. Mailed information should include acknowledgment of the establishment of service and an application/agreement for services for the customer to sign. The customer should also be notified of any required deposit and fees and should pay those fees prior to service. 8. Temporary Cut-on at Permanent Dwellings: The Town of Benson may request an additional fee (See Section 6, Fee Schedule) be paid for the expense of cutting on and off utilities maintained for less than 30 days at a permanent premise. The purpose of this fee is to recover costs for cuton and cut-offs of difficult services (such as primary metered, bucket truck type facilities, or man-hole type facilities). 9. Customers' Request for Policies: Customers may obtain a copy of the Town of Benson s policies, or if prepared by Revised June 28,

6 the Town of Benson, a copy of its customer service pamphlet. Customers may also request a verbal explanation of the Town of Benson's policies. 10. Service Requests for New Construction: The customer will need to meet the requirements explained in the line extension section of the Town of Benson's policy. 11. Request for Area Lights for Non-Home Owners: Property owners must consent in writing for tenant to place area light on their property and give authority for Town of Benson employees to enter the premises to install and remove area light when needed. Deposit of $100 and a three year contract will be required to be signed by the tenant prior to installation of area light. Deposit may not be transferred and if person renting area light moves the entire deposit will be forfeited by the tenant. If person renting area light remains at said location for three years deposit may be refunded up request. 12. Welcome Packet: The Town of Benson should give each new customer a welcome packet, which includes information about the utility, conservation tips, and load management information. Revised June 28,

7 Connection Scheduling Connection to the Town of Benson's electric utility system is available during normal business hours. There is service available after normal business hours and, depending on the situation, it may be at an additional cost-based fee. See Section 6, Fee Schedule. Prior Debts The Town of Benson may refuse to furnish new service to an applicant who is indebted to the Town of Benson for service previously furnished at any address in the Town of Benson. The Town of Benson may also refuse service to an applicant requesting service at an address where the owner of those premises is delinquent in paying the account at that address. If however, the delinquent customer is not the owner of the premises to which the services were delivered; payment of the delinquent account may not be required before providing services at the request of a new and different tenant or occupant of the premises. This restriction will be subject to some interpretation if more than one tenant is occupying premises and such tenants attempt to request, receive and not pay for service. In such event the new and different tenant or occupant requirement may not be met. This prohibition on termination of service will also not apply if the premises are occupied by two or more tenants whose service is measured by the same meter. 2 Also see bankruptcy information, Section 4, Involuntary Discontinuance of Service. 2 General Statutes of North Carolina 160A-314 Revised June 28,

8 Customer Deposits 3 1. Need for a Deposit: The Town of Benson employees are charged with the responsibility of prudent management of the Town of Benson s finances. A deposit for utility services is collected as security so all bills will be paid in full by their due date. Employees realize that most customers pay their bills in full and on time; however we seek to protect the good-paying customers from the detriment of uncollectible accounts by other customers. Ideally, only those customers who "earn" the right to pay a deposit would be required to secure their accounts. Since the Town of Benson s employees cannot know in advance which customers will pay promptly and which ones will not, reasonable and uniformly applied deposits may be necessary. A service security deposit will be collected before any service is connected when the Town of Benson s employees determine that a deposit may be needed to assure payment of the customer bill. Options for customer deposits also have been created. 2. Determining the Deposit: In determining the need for a security deposit, and in fixing the amount of the deposit, Town of Benson employees will give careful consideration to these factors: The current services are in the name of the customer(s) with the prior debt. Customer's ownership of the premises to be served. Type of service requested. Risk involved in a new business enterprise. History of the involved premises. Overall credit rating of the customer. Utility credit rating of the customer with the Town of Benson or another electric utility. History of connects, disconnects and reconnects at the involved premises or for the involved customer (For residential customers, a 12-month history of service is required. A 24-month history is required for commercial customers.) Any other factor which bears on the customer's financial responsibility. 3 North Carolina Utilities Commission Guidelines: R12-2, R12-4, R12-6, R12-7. Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act: Title I, Section 115. Revised June 28,

9 3. Two Month Standard: When a customer requests services, a deposit Guarantee amount equal to two times the average monthly service shall be required as determined by the Town of Benson. For customer requesting water service, the minimum deposit shall be $40. For customer requesting sewer service, the minimum deposit shall be $40. For customer requesting electric service, the minimum deposit shall be $ Deposits for Short-Term Service: Any person requesting services to either clean or show a residence for rent or sale may be required to provide a deposit as stated in Number Non-Residential Customer Deposit: Any person who must pay a deposit for non-residential utility service may: A. The standard deposit for water service shall be equal to two (2) months average bill, or a minimum of $40; whichever is greater. The standard deposit for sewer service shall be equal to two (2) months average bill, or a minimum of $40; whichever is greater. The standard deposit for services including electric shall be equal to two (2) months average bill, or a minimum of $300; whichever is greater. B. Supply a surety bond equal to the amount specified as the deposit, valid for a two-year period and written by an insurance company authorized to do business in North Carolina. The Town of Benson, upon review of the account, may require the surety bond be extended until termination of service. 6. Future Deposits: Any customer whose service is involuntarily terminated for non-payment, meter tampering, or other reasons will be required to pay a deposit, or an additional deposit, as specified in the above paragraphs, prior to reconnection of service. This includes all customer accounts. The future deposit may be at a higher level based upon experience with the account, but it may not exceed two-twelfths of the estimated yearly charge for that account. 7. Note to All Customers: Contact with a Town of Benson utility employee prior to disconnection is always preferable to making arrangements after service is involuntarily Revised June 28,

10 interrupted. Payment options may be available prior to disconnection which will save the customer from additional higher deposit amounts and additional fees. DEFINITION OF GOOD CREDIT: Good credit can be defined as no delinquencies; no bad checks; and no disconnections in the most recent 24- month period for residential or commercial customers. The Town of Benson may also permit a customer with good credit to apply the deposit provided for one premises to the deposit required for another premises to which the customer is moving. Revised June 28,

11 Refunding of Deposits 4 1. Prompt Refund: A deposit will be refunded promptly and automatically when service is voluntarily discontinued and all bills are paid. All outstanding amounts on the final bill will be deducted from the deposit amount. 2. Residential and Business Accounts: The Town of Benson will promptly return the customer's deposit when: A. Residential - at time of service discontinuation. B. Business Accounts after 24-consecutive payments without any late fees or penalties. 3. Account in Arrears: The deposit will not be refunded if the customer has another account with a past due balance. The remaining credit on the account will be transferred to another account with a balance. DEFINITION OF GOOD CREDIT: Good credit can be defined as no delinquencies; no bad checks; and no disconnections in the most recent 24- month period for residential or commercial customers. 4 North Carolina Utilities Commission Guidelines: R12-5. Revised June 28,

12 Electrical Rates 5 Rate Schedules: 1. The Town of Benson offers several rate schedules for residential service. A customer should review the rate schedule list to find the best rate for each class of service. Complete rate schedules are available to customers upon request. This may need to be adjusted according to the number of rates in the Town of Benson. 2. Establishing Rates: The Town of Benson s rates are set by the Town of Benson Board of Commissioners and are designed to be fair, reasonable, just, uniform and nondiscriminatory. Setting rates locally offers rate regulation responsive to the customers of the system. 3. New Customers: New and potential business customers are encouraged to provide the Town of Benson utility department with the load characteristics of their facility. The Town of Benson may require special conditions and contracts for electric service based upon necessary investment in the electric plant. 4. Competitive Rates: The Town of Benson s goal is to provide the best possible electric service to all customers at a rate which is competitive with other energy providers. Taxes Billings of the Town of Benson will include all applicable taxes. 5 General Statutes of North Carolina 160A-314 (a), 160A-323; North Carolina Utilities Commission Guidelines: R8-25; R8-33; R8-48 (a), R8-49, R8-50. Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act: Title I, Section 111, 113, 115, 121. Revised June 28,

13 Billing Cycle Information 6 1. Bills are mailed out by the 10th working day of each month. 2. A bill is past due if not paid by 8 a.m. on the 26th of the month. A penalty will be assessed on all past due accounts. (See Section 6, Fee Schedule) 3. Service is scheduled to be discontinued if payment is not received by 1 p.m. on the 6th day of the month or the next working day, if the 6th falls on a weekend, following the past due date. All fees and past due balance must be paid before service is reconnected. 4. A fee will be charged to all customers who request service to be reconnected after 4:45 p.m. or on weekends or municipal holidays. No service will be reconnected between the hours of 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. The fee must be paid by at the time of reconnection. 5. A charge, as outlined in the Meter Tampering Section of the Town of Benson s policies, will be imposed against any customer who reconnects the customer s own meter. 6. Customers who think their bill is in error or otherwise have reason to protest termination of utility service may contact the Accounting Supervisor for an informal hearing at the Town of Benson between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday except on municipal holidays or telephone (919) North Carolina Utilities Commission Guidelines: R12-9. Revised June 28,

14 Billing Adjustments 7 If the Town of Benson has overcharged or undercharged a customer for electric utility service, the Town of Benson will correct this error subject to the following procedures: 1. If the Town of Benson has overcharged a customer for electric utility service, the Town of Benson will, at the Town of Benson s option, refund to the customer or credit the customer's account, without interest, the excess amount, subject to the following limitations. If the time period over which the mistake occurred can be determined, the Town of Benson should credit or refund the excess amount charged the account for that entire interval, provided that such time period shall not exceed two (2) years. If the time frame of the problem cannot be determined, the Town of Benson should refund the excess amount charged during the previous 12 months. If the exact amount of excess charge cannot be determined, the Town of Benson should estimate the amount due. If an overcharged customer owes a past due balance to the Town of Benson, the Town of Benson may deduct that past due amount from any refund or credit due the customer. If an overcharged customer owes the Town of Benson on another account, the Town of Benson will apply the credit to that past due account. 2. If the Town of Benson has undercharged a customer for electric utility service, the Town of Benson will collect the additional amount due the Town of Benson in installments over the same amount of time as the undercharge, provided that the time period for which the undercharge shall be calculated and time period for collection shall not exceed three (3) years. If the period of time over which the undercharge occurred cannot be determined, the Town of Benson will collect the undercharged amount during the 12 months before the undercharge was discovered. If the exact amount of the undercharge cannot be determined, the Town of Benson should estimate the amount due. 3. If an undercharge has occurred because of tampering or bypassing a meter or because of other fraudulent or willfully misleading action of the customer, the Town of Benson may collect the entire undercharged amount in a lump sum and seek such other rights and remedies as are permitted by law. 7 North Carolina Utilities Commission Guidelines: R8-44. Revised June 28,

15 1. Note: The general statute of limitations for breach of contract in an action brought by the Town of Benson is three years 8, while the general statute of limitations for breach of contract against the Town of Benson is two years. 9 The Town of Benson in connection with establishing its policies on billing adjustments should consider applicable statute of limitations. 8 General Statutes of North Carolina 1-52(1). 9 General Statutes of North Carolina 1-53(1). Revised June 28,

16 The Town of Benson's Response to Insufficient Funds or Credit The Town of Benson will only want to accept cash, certified check, or money order from any customer having two insufficient funds or closed accounts, in connection with (bad) checks, automatic drafts, or credit card within any one year period. A. Upon receipt of the first returned check or other insufficient funds notice, the customer will be informed of and given a copy of the written policy. B. Upon receipt of the second returned check or other insufficient funds notice, the customer will be advised that all bills must be paid in cash and will be given another copy of the written policy. C. Cash payments, certified checks, or money orders only will be accepted for the next year. D. After the one year period ends, if another insufficient funds or closed account notice is received, all future bills must be paid in cash. 2. No returned check will be held more than 48 hours from the time it is received by the Town of Benson. 3. Notice to the customer of a returned check or other insufficient funds or credit or closed account notice will be made by telephone if possible. If not possible, a closed door hanger or written memo will be released on the day the check or other insufficient funds or credit or closed account notice is received. 4. To the extent permitted by North Carolina law, a charge is added to the customer's bill because of each returned check, closed account or other insufficient funds or credit notice. 5. The customer's account will be charged for returned checks or, if permitted, closed account, other insufficient funds or credit notice, and will be subject to regular collection policies for delinquent accounts. 10 General Statutes of North Carolina Revised June 28,

17 6. All returned checks, other insufficient funds, or credit or closed account notice and receipt of cash; certified check or money order for payment will be recorded on the Town of Benson s books. The Town of Benson may pursue other remedies available against customers for returned checks, closed accounts or insufficient funds or credit. 11 The conditions necessary to pursue these additional remedies (e.g., notice and grace periods) should not restrict the Town of Benson s actions in pursuing other remedies, such as termination of service. The Town of Benson may decide to establish direct drafting or credit card payment methods. See policies on those options set forth in Section 3, Service Options. Joint Applicants The Town of Benson may desire or require in certain circumstances the use of joint applicants. The Town of Benson should determine the appropriate circumstances for permitting or requiring joint applicants and provide for the mutual responsibility of the applicants. Language such as each applicant shall be jointly and severally liable for all obligations of the applicant under this application can be used in connection with establishing joint and several liabilities under a electric service application. Under the necessaries doctrine, a husband or wife can be held liable for the necessary expenses incurred by their spouse even though they did not agree to pay for the services. Necessaries are those things essential to the spouse s health and comfort, according to the couple s financial position and it would appear that the availability of electricity in a primary residence would fall into that category. This means of recovery may be available to the Town of Benson in some circumstances even if the spouses are separated. 11 General Statutes of North Carolina Revised June 28,

18 Revised June 28,

19 Revised June 28,

20 Revised June 28,

21 Revised June 28,

22 Revised June 28,

23 Revised June 28,