52 Pa. Code § 55.2

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 49, December 7, 2024

Section 55.2 - Personal contact before utility service discontinued

(a) A public utility service, as defined in this chapter, which is not subject to the requirements of Chapter 56 (relating to standards and billing practices for residential utility service), shall conform with the following:

(1) Except when required to prevent or alleviate an emergency or upon request of a customer, a public utility may not discontinue service without making personal contact with the customer at least 3 days prior to the discontinuance, in addition to providing other notice of discontinuance specified by the properly filed tariff of the public utility or as otherwise required by the Commission.

(2) The form of service termination found in subsection (b) shall be used.

(b) The following is the form of service termination notice:

SERVICE TERMINATION NOTICE*

(Name and address of Utility) _______________________________________________________________________________________________

(Date) _______________________________________________________________________________________________

(Customer's name) _______________________________________________________________________________________________

(Customer's Billing Address) _______________________________________________________________________________________________

(Phone Number) _______________________________________________________________________________________________

(Account Number) _______________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Customer:

Under rules established by the Public Utility Commission we are notifying you that we intend to terminate (type) service to the premises at (address of location where service is to be discontinued) on or after (time) on (date) . This action is being taken because your bill is (time period) overdue in the amount of $

_______

.** You may avoid discontinuance of service by CALLING SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE AT (TELEPHONE NUMBER) OR VISITING OUR OFFICE AT (ADDRESS) to make payment arrangements.** YOU SHOULD ALSO CONTACT US AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IF YOU FEEL THAT YOU HAVE BEEN IMPROPERLY BILLED OR YOU NEED FURTHER INFORMATION. AFTER YOU HAVE DISCUSSED WITH US YOUR BILLING OR PAYMENT PROBLEM, IF YOU ARE NOT SATISFIED WITH THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR PAYMENT OF YOUR ACCOUNT, YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO CALL THE PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION AT THIS NUMBER- (telephone number of appropriate regional office of the Commission's Bureau of Consumer Services) FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE. THE COMMISSION WILL HAVE STAFF AVAILABLE TO ATTEMPT TO MEDIATE YOUR BILLING PROBLEM IN ORDER TO AVOID TERMINATION.

Sincerely yours, * Type not to be smaller than 10 point. ** If termination is for a reason other than overdue bill (i.e. tampering with Company equipment) insert applicable reason and the action a ratepayer can take to avoid disconnection.

52 Pa. Code § 55.2

The provisions of this § 55.2 adopted January 30, 1976, effective 1/31/1976, 6 Pa.B. 162; amended October 29, 1976, effective 10/30/1976, 6 Pa.B. 2739; amended April 29, 1977, effective 4/30/1977, 7 Pa.B. 1174; amended October 14, 1977, effective 9/3/1977, 7 Pa.B. 3037; amended June 18, 1982, effective 6/19/1982, 12 Pa.B. 1862.

The provisions of this § 55.2 issued under the Public Utility Code, 66 Pa.C.S. § § 501 and 1501.

This section cited in 52 Pa. Code § 55.115 (relating to coordination with other regulations).