§ 56.100. Winter termination procedures.
(a) Water distribution utilities. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, during the period of December 1 through March 31, water distribution utilities subject to this subchapter may not terminate heat related service between December 1 and March 31 except as provided in this section or § 56.98 (relating to immediate termination for unauthorized use, fraud, tampering or tariff violations).
(b) Electric distribution and natural gas distribution utilities. Unless otherwise authorized by the Commission, during the period of December 1 through March 31, an electric distribution utility or natural gas distribution utility may not terminate service to customers with household incomes at or below 250% of the Federal poverty level except as provided in this section or in § 56.98. The Commission will 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.
(c) City natural gas distribution utility. In addition to the winter termination authority in subsection (b), a city natural gas distribution operation may terminate service after January 1 and before April 1 to a customer whose household 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 charges for each of the prior 2 months unless the customer has done one of the following:
(1) Proven in accordance with Commission rules, that the household contains one or more persons who are 65 years of age or older.
(2) Proven in accordance with Commission rules, that the household contains one or more persons 12 years of age or younger.
(3) Obtained a medical certification, in accordance with Commission rules.
(4) Paid to the city natural gas distribution operation an amount representing at least 15% of the customer’s monthly household income for each of the last 2 months.
(d) City natural gas distribution utility notice to the Commission. At the time that the notice of termination required under § 56.91 (relating to general notice provisions and contents of termination notice) is provided to the customer, the city natural gas distribution operation shall provide notice to the Commission. The Commission will not stay the termination of service unless the Commission finds that the customer meets the criteria in subsection (c)(1), (2), (3) or (4).
(e) Identification of accounts protected during the winter. Public utilities shall determine the eligibility of an account for termination during the period of December 1 through March 31 under the criteria in subsections (b) and (c) before terminating service. Public utilities are to use household income and size information they have on record provided by customers to identify accounts that are not to be terminated during the period of December 1 through March 31. Public utilities are expected to solicit from customers, who contact the public utility in response to notices of termination, household size and income information and to use this information to determine eligibility for termination. Public utilities who intend to require verification of household income information submitted by consumers relating to this subsection shall include, in their tariffs filed with the Commission, the procedures they intend to implement to obtain verification. The procedures should specify the proof or evidence the public utility will accept as verification of household income.
(f) Landlord ratepayer accounts. During the period of December 1 through March 31, a public utility may not terminate service to a premises when the account is in the name of a landlord ratepayer as defined in 66 Pa.C.S. § 1521 (relating to definitions) except for the grounds in § 56.98.
(g) Right of public utility to petition the Commission for permission to terminate service to a customer protected by the prohibitions in this section.
(1) The public utility shall comply with § § 56.91—56.95 including personal contact, as defined in § 56.93 (relating to personal contact), at the premises if occupied.
(2) If at the conclusion of the notification process defined in § § 56.91—56.95, a reasonable arrangement cannot be reached between the public utility and the customer, the public utility shall register with the Commission, in writing, a request for permission to terminate service, accompanied by a public utility report as defined in § 56.152 (relating to contents of the public utility company report). At the same time, the public utility shall serve the customer a copy of the written request registered with the Commission.
(3) If the customer has filed an informal complaint or if the Commission has acted upon the public utility’s written request, the matter shall proceed under § § 56.161—56.165. Nothing in this section may be construed to limit the right of a public utility or customer to appeal a decision by the Bureau of Consumer Services under 66 Pa.C.S. § 701 (relating to complaints) and § § 56.171—56.173 and 56.211.
(h) Survey of terminated heat related accounts. For premises where heat related service has been terminated within the past year for any of the grounds in § 56.81 (relating to authorized termination of service) or § 56.98, electric distribution utilities, natural gas distribution utilities and Class A water distribution utilities shall, within 90 days prior to December 1, survey and attempt to make post-termination personal contact with the occupant or a responsible adult at the premises and in good faith attempt to reach an agreement regarding payment of any arrearages and restoration of service.
(i) Reporting of survey results. Electric distribution utilities, natural gas distribution utilities and Class A water distribution utilities shall file a brief report outlining their pre-December 1 survey and personal contact results with the Bureau of Consumer Services on or before December 15 of each year. Each public utility shall update the survey and report the results to the Bureau of Consumer Services on February 1 of each year to reflect any change in the status of the accounts subsequent to the December 15 filing, including any accounts terminated in December. For the purposes of the February 1 update of survey results, the public utility shall attempt to contact by telephone, if available, a responsible adult person or occupant at each residence in a good faith attempt to reach an agreement regarding payment of any arrearages and restoration of service.
(j) Reporting of deaths at locations where public utility service was previously terminated. Throughout the year, public utilities shall report to the Commission when, in the normal course of business, they become aware of a household fire, incident of hypothermia or carbon monoxide poisoning or other event that resulted in a death and that the public utility service was off at the time of the incident. Within 1 business day of becoming aware of an incident, the public utility shall submit a telephone or electronic report to the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Services including, if available, the name, address and account number of the last customer of record, the date of the incident, a brief statement of the circumstances involved and, if available from an official source or the media, the initial findings as to the cause of the incident and the source of that information. The Bureau or Commission may request additional information on the incident and the customer’s account. Information submitted to the Commission in accordance with this subsection will be treated in accordance with 66 Pa.C.S. § 1508 (relating to reports of accidents) and may not be open for public inspection except by order of the Commission, and may not be admitted into evidence for any purpose in any suit or action for damages growing out of any matter or thing mentioned in the report.
Authority The provisions of this § 56.100 issued under the Public Utility Code, 66 Pa.C.S. § § 331, 501, 504, 1301, 1305, 1401—1419, 1501 and 1504; amended under the Public Utility Code, 66 Pa.C.S. § § 501, 1301, 1401—1419, 1501 and 1509.
Source The provisions of this § 56.100 adopted April 8, 1983, effective April 9, 1983, 13 Pa.B. 1250; amended October 7, 2011, effective October 8, 2011, 41 Pa.B. 5473; amended May 31, 2019, effective June 1, 2019, 49 Pa.B. 2815. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (358984) to (358987).
Cross References This section cited in 52 Pa. Code § 56.81 (relating to authorized termination of service).
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