Bill Text: PA SB450 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Further providing for termination of utility service.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-03-02 - Referred to CONSUMER PROTECTION AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE [SB450 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-SB450-Introduced.html

---

PRINTER'S NO. 461
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 450 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY FERLO, FONTANA, HUGHES, WASHINGTON, MELLOW, LOGAN, KASUNIC, O'PAKE AND M. WHITE, MARCH 2, 2009
REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE, MARCH 2, 2009
AN ACT
Amending Title 66 (Public Utilities) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, further providing for termination of
utility service.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 1406 of Title 66 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
§ 1406. Termination of utility service.
(a) Authorized termination.--A public utility may notify a
customer and terminate service provided to a customer after
notice as provided in subsection (b) for any of the following
actions by the customer:
(1) Nonpayment of an undisputed delinquent account.
(2) Failure to comply with the material terms of a
payment agreement.
(3) Failure to complete payment of a deposit, provide a
guarantee of payment or establish credit.
(4) Failure to permit access to meters, service
connections or other property of the public utility for the
purpose of replacement, maintenance, repair or meter reading.
(b) Notice of termination of service.--
(1) Prior to terminating service under subsection (a), a
public utility:
(i) Shall provide written notice of the termination
to the customer at least ten days prior to the date of
the proposed termination. The termination notice shall
remain effective for 60 days.
(ii) Shall attempt to contact the customer or
occupant, either in person or by telephone, to provide
notice of the proposed termination at least three days
prior to the scheduled termination. Phone contact shall
be deemed complete upon attempted calls on two separate
days to the residence between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9
p.m. if the calls were made at various times each day.
(iii) During the months of December through March,
unless personal contact has been made with the customer
or responsible adult by personally visiting the
customer's residence, the public utility shall, within 48
hours of the scheduled date of termination, post a notice
of the proposed termination at the service location.
(iv) After complying with paragraphs (ii) and (iii),
the public utility shall attempt to make personal contact
with the customer or responsible adult at the time
service is terminated. Termination of service shall not
be delayed for failure to make personal contact.
(2) The public utility shall not be required by the
commission to take any additional actions prior to
termination.
20090SB0450PN0461 - 2 -
(c) Grounds for immediate termination.--
(1) A public utility may immediately terminate service
for any of the following actions by the customer:
(i) Unauthorized use of the service delivered on or
about the affected dwelling.
(ii) Fraud or material misrepresentation of the
customer's identity for the purpose of obtaining service.
(iii) Tampering with meters or other public
utility's equipment.
(iv) Violating tariff provisions on file with the
commission so as to endanger the safety of a person or
the integrity of the public utility's delivery system.
(2) Upon termination, the public utility shall make a
good faith attempt to provide a post termination notice to
the customer or a responsible person at the affected
premises, and, in the case of a single meter, multiunit
dwelling, the public utility shall conspicuously post the
notice at the dwelling, including in common areas when
possible.
(d) Timing of termination.--Notwithstanding the provisions
of section 1503 (relating to discontinuance of service), a
public utility may terminate service for the reasons set forth
in subsection (a) from Monday through Friday as long as the
public utility can accept payment to restore service on the
following day and can restore service consistent with section
1407 (relating to reconnection of service).
(e) Winter termination.--
(1) Unless otherwise authorized by the commission, after
November 30 and before April 1, an electric distribution
utility or natural gas distribution utility shall not
20090SB0450PN0461 - 3 -
terminate service to customers [with household incomes at or
below 250% of the Federal poverty level] except for customers
whose actions conform to subsection (c)(1). [The commission
shall not prohibit an electric distribution utility or
natural gas distribution utility from terminating service in
accordance with this section to customers with household
incomes exceeding 250% of the Federal poverty level.]
(2) [In] (i) Except as provided under subparagraph
(ii), in addition to the winter termination authority set
forth in paragraph (1), a city natural gas distribution
operation may terminate service to a customer whose
household income exceeds 250% of the Federal poverty
level and to a customer whose income exceeds 150% of the
Federal poverty level but does not exceed 250% of the
Federal poverty level, and starting January 1, has not
paid at least 50% of his charges for each of the prior
two months. [unless the customer]
(ii) Subparagraph (i) shall not apply to a customer
that has done one of the following:
[(i)] (A) Has proven in accordance with
commission rules that his household contains one or
more persons who are 65 years of age or over.
[(ii)] (B) Has proven in accordance with
commission rules that his household contains one or
more persons 12 years of age or younger.
[(iii)] (C) Has obtained a medical certification
in accordance with commission rules.
[(iv)] (D) Has paid to the city natural gas
distribution operation an amount representing at
least 15% of the customer's monthly household income
20090SB0450PN0461 - 4 -
for each of the last two months.
(3) At the time that the notice of termination required
by subsection (b)(1)(i) is provided to the customer, the city
natural gas distribution operation shall provide notice to
the commission. The commission shall not stay the termination
of service unless the commission finds that the customer
meets the criteria in paragraph 2(i), (ii), (iii) or (iv).
(f) Medical certification.--A public utility shall not
terminate service to a premises when a licensed physician or
nurse practitioner has certified that the customer or a member
of the customer's household is seriously ill or afflicted with a
medical condition that will be aggravated by cessation of
service. The customer shall obtain a letter from a licensed
physician verifying the condition and shall promptly forward it
to the public utility. The medical certification procedure shall
be implemented in accordance with commission regulations.
(g) Qualification for LIHEAP.--A notice of termination to a
customer of a public utility shall be sufficient proof of a
crisis for a customer with the requisite income level to receive
a LIHEAP Crisis Grant from the Department of Public Welfare or
its designee.
(h) Dishonorable tender of payment after receiving
termination notice.--
(1) After a public utility has provided a written
termination notice under subsection (b)(1)(i) and attempted
telephone contact as provided in subsection (b)(1)(ii),
termination of service may proceed without additional notice
if:
(i) a customer tenders payment which is subsequently
dishonored under 13 Pa.C.S. § 3502 (relating to
20090SB0450PN0461 - 5 -
dishonor); or
(ii) a customer tenders payment with an access
device, as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 4106(d) (relating to
access device fraud), which is unauthorized, revoked or
canceled.
(2) The public utility shall not be required by the
commission to take any additional actions prior to the
termination.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
20090SB0450PN0461 - 6 -