Ariz. Admin. Code § 14-2-509

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 25, June 21, 2024

Section R14-2-509 - Termination of Service

A. Nonpermissible reasons to disconnect service. A utility may not disconnect service for any of the reasons stated below:

1. Delinquency in payment for services rendered to a prior customer at the premises where service is being provided, except in the instance where the prior customer continues to reside on the premises.

2. Failure of the customer to pay for services or equipment which are not regulated by the Commission.

3. Residential service may not be disconnected due to nonpayment of a bill related to another class of service.

4. Failure to pay for a bill to correct a billing error if the customer agrees to pay over a reasonable period of time.

5. Failure to pay the bill of another customer as guarantor thereof unless guarantor does not make acceptable payment arrangements.

6. Disputed bills where the customer has complied with the Commission's rules on complaints.

B. Termination of service without notice

1. Utility service may be disconnected without advance written notice under the following conditions:

a. The existence of an obvious hazard to the safety or health of the consumer or the general population or the utility's personnel or facilities.

b. The utility has evidence of tampering or evidence of fraud.

2. The utility shall not be required to restore service until the conditions which resulted in the termination have been corrected to the satisfaction of the utility.

3. Each utility shall maintain a record of all terminations of service without notice. This record shall be maintained for a minimum of one year and shall be available for inspection by the Commission.

C. Termination of service with notice

1. A utility may disconnect service to any customer for any reason stated below provided the utility has met the notice requirements established by the Commission:

a. Customer violation of any of the utility's tariffs filed with the Commission and/or violation of the Commission's rules and regulations.

b. Failure of the customer to pay a bill for utility service.

c. Failure to meet or maintain the utility's credit and deposit requirements.

d. Failure of the customer to provide the utility reasonable access to its equipment and property.

e. Customer breach of contract for service between the utility and customer.

f. When necessary for the utility to comply with an order of any governmental agency having such jurisdiction.

g. Unauthorized resale of equipment or service.

2. Each utility shall maintain a record of all terminations of service with notice. This record shall be maintained for one year and be available for Commission inspection.

D. Termination notice requirements

1. No utility shall terminate service to any of its customers without providing advance written notice to the customer of the utility's intent to disconnect service, except under those conditions specified where advance written notice is not required.

2. Such advance written notice shall contain, at a minimum, the following information:

a. The name of the person whose service is to be terminated and the telephone number where service is being rendered.

b. The utility rules or regulation that was violated and explanation thereof or the amount of the bill which the customer has failed to pay in accordance with the payment policy of the utility, if applicable.

c. The date on or after which service may be terminated.

d. A statement advising the customer to contact the utility at a specific phone number for information regarding any deferred billing or other procedures which the utility may offer or to work out some other mutually agreeable solution to avoid termination of the customer's service.

E. Timing of terminations with notice

1. Each utility shall be required to give at least five days advance written notice prior to the termination date.

2. Such notice shall be considered to be given to the customer when a copy thereof is left with the customer or posted first class in the United States mail, addressed to the customer's last known address.

3. If after the period of time allowed by the notice has elapsed and the delinquent account has not been paid nor arrangements made with the utility for the payment thereof or in the case of a violation of the utility's rules the customer has not satisfied the utility that such violation has ceased, the utility may then terminate service on or after the day specified in the notice without giving further notice.

4. The utility may terminate service on a temporary basis by discontinuing the customer's line access at the central office.

5. The utility shall have the right (but not the obligation) to remove any or all of its property installed on the customer's premises upon the termination of service.

6. The terms and conditions of these rules shall apply in all circumstances except those superseded by the provisions of the high toll usage notification procedures.

F. High toll usage monitoring/notification procedures

1. Each telephone utility may establish a high toll usage monitoring/notification system to identify unexplained or excessive increases in customer toll usage during interim periods between the issuance of bills in accordance with the utility's established billing cycle. The intent of such a monitoring/notification system is to enable telephone utilities to identify situations where it is unlikely that the customer will be able to pay for toll services already provided as well as to prevent the accrual of additional billings when the risk of loss is increasingly evident.

2. Each utility which establishes a high toll monitoring/notification system shall develop and operate such system and be governed by the following provisions and procedures:

a. Each utility shall establish a "normal" amount of toll usage by customer class and length of service. The normal amount of toll usage shall be based upon the actual average usage by the customer class.

b. Increases in toll usage shall not be considered unexplained or excessive until the amount of toll usage incurred between billing periods is at least two times the normal amount of monthly toll usage for that customer or customer class.

c. When this situation occurs, the utility shall review:

i. The individual customer's billing history to determine if the volume of toll usage should be considered excessive for that particular customer

ii. Prior payment history

iii. Amount of customer deposit held, if any

iv. Length of customer service to assess the ability of the customer to pay such toll charges according to the payment terms of the utility when a normal billing is rendered.

d. If the review of the customer's previous billing and payment history indicates it is unlikely that the customer shall be able to pay such bill, the utility may contact the customer to make inquiries concerning the abnormal usage. If the explanation is not satisfactory, the utility may require security and/or payment of charges on the account to continue service.

e. The utility may terminate service provided the customer is given 48 hours advance notice and the customer makes no further attempt to secure and or pay the account in order to continue service.

f. The 48-hour notification rule shall be waived and service may be terminated immediately in those situations where intentional customer abuse of toll usage is evident.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R14-2-509

Adopted effective March 2, 1982 (Supp. 82-2). Amended to correct subsection numbering (Supp. 99-4).

The following Section was amended under an exemption from the Attorney General approval provisions of the Arizona Administrative Procedure Act (State ex. rel. Corbin v. Arizona Corporation Commission, 174 Ariz. 216 848 P.2d 301 (App. 1992)), as determined by the Corporation Commission. This exemption means that the rules as amended were not approved by the Attorney General.