N.J. Admin. Code § 14:3-7.7

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 14:3-7.7 - Deferred payment agreements

(a) Whenever a residential customer advises the utility that the customer wishes to discuss a deferred payment agreement because said customer is presently unable to pay a total outstanding bill and/or deposit, the utility shall make a good faith effort to provide the customer with an opportunity to enter into a fair and reasonable deferred payment agreement(s), which takes into consideration the customer's financial circumstances.

(b) The following shall apply to a deferred payment agreement(s) under this section:

1. The utility shall not require a residential customer to pay, as a down-payment, more than 25 percent of the total outstanding bill due at the time the agreement(s) is made or executed;

2. In the case of a residential customer who received more than one utility service from the same utility, if the amount, which is in arrears is a combination of those services, the utility shall offer a separate deferred payment agreement for each service based on the outstanding balance for that service;

3. The utility shall not require a customer described under (b)2 above to accept two or more deferred agreements that extend over the same time period;

4. A customer described under (b)2 above shall have the option to enter into a deferred payment agreement(s) for one service and have the remaining service(s) disconnected until satisfactory arrangements for payment can be made;

5. A utility shall renegotiate and/or amend the deferred payment agreement of a residential customer if said customer demonstrates that his or her financial circumstances have changed significantly because of factors beyond his or her control;

6. A non-residential electric, gas, water and/or wastewater customer shall be allowed to enter into a deferred payment agreement for a period of no more than three months; and

7. A utility shall not require a non-residential electric, gas or Class A water utility customer or a customer of a wastewater utility that meets the Class A water utility revenue threshold, to pay a down payment of more than one half of the amount past due and owing at the time of entering into a deferred payment agreement.

(c) Any deferred payment agreements, which extend for more than two months shall be in writing and shall provide that a customer who is presently unable to pay an outstanding debt for utility services may make reasonable periodic payments until the debt is liquidated while continuing payment of current bills.

(d) While a deferred payment agreement for each separate service need not be entered into more than once a year, the utility may offer more than one such agreement in a year.

(e) The Board may order a utility to accept more than one deferred payment agreement in a year if said action is reasonable.

(f) If the customer defaults on any of the terms of the agreement, the utility may discontinue service after providing the customer with notice of discontinuance in accordance with 14:3-3A.3. In the case of a residential customer who receives more than one utility service from the same utility and has entered into a separate agreement for each separate service, default on one such agreement shall constitute grounds for discontinuance of only that service.

N.J. Admin. Code § 14:3-7.7

Amended by R.2004 d.12, effective 1/5/2004.
See: 35 N.J.R. 91(a), 36 N.J.R. 200(b).
Codified existing text as (a); added (b) and (c).
Recodified in part from N.J.A.C. 14:3-7.13 and amended by R.2008 d.119, effective 5/19/2008.
See: 39 N.J.R. 4077(b), 40 N.J.R. 2481(a).
Recodified former N.J.A.C. 14:3-7.13(a) and (b) as N.J.A.C. 14:3-7.6; recodified former introductory paragraph of (c) as (a) through (b)5; in (a), inserted "and/or deposit" and inserted a comma following "agreement(s)"; in the introductory paragraph of (b), substituted "The following shall apply to" for "In negotiating such a" and "under this section:" for a comma at the end; in (b)1, inserted "The utility shall not require a", deleted "may not be required" following "customer" and substituted a semicolon for a period at the end; in (b)2, substituted ", if" for "and" following the second occurrence of "utility", inserted a comma following "amount" and substituted a semicolon for "prior to any proposed discontinuance for nonpayment." at the end; in (b)3, deleted "such" following "require", inserted "described under (b)2 above" and substituted a semicolon for a period at the end; in (b)4, substituted "A" for "The", inserted "described in (b)2 above" and "for one service" and substituted a semicolon for a period at the end; in (b)5, substituted a semicolon for a period at the end; recodified former (c)1 as (b)6 and (b)7; in (b)6, substituted "; and" for a period at the end; rewrote (b)7; recodified former (d) as (c) through (f); in (c), substituted "Any deferred payment" for "Such" and inserted a comma following "agreements"; deleted former (e) through (g); and in (f), deleted "a" preceding notice of discontinuance", inserted "in accordance with N.J.A.C. 13:3-3A.3" and deleted "subsequently" preceding "entered".
Former N.J.A.C. 14:3-7.7, Information to customers, was repealed.