If service has been disconnected, the utility must reconnect service pursuant to this Section when the cause of disconnection has been remedied.
A utility must offer the customer a reasonable payment arrangement on the account balance if the disconnection was for nonpayment and the customer was not on a payment arrangement at the time of the disconnection. If the utility demands a deposit as a prerequisite for reconnection, the utility must offer the following options to the customer:
For non-residential customers, utilities may require the customer to pay the amount overdue and a deposit before the reconnection of service. The utility may also require the customer to pay a reconnection fee prior to reconnection or include the reconnection fee in the next bill, provided it has such a fee in its rate schedule approved by the Commission.
The utility must make a reasonable effort to reconnect service during business hours on the same day that it receives the request to reconnect. At the latest, reconnection must be made before 5:00 p.m. the following business day after the request. If a customer requests reconnection to occur at other than regular business hours, the utility must inform the customer of the higher reconnection charge, if applicable, and make a reasonable effort to reconnect if requested, but the utility is not obligated to do so unless a medical condition exists. Any request to reconnect where the utility receives notice that the cause of the disconnection has been remedied by 3:00 p.m. must be considered as received during "normal business hours" the same day the notice was received for the purposes of assessing a reconnection fee.
A utility may file a rate schedule to charge a reasonable fee for reconnection during regular business hours and a higher fee for reconnection at other times.
65-407 C.M.R. ch. 815, § 12