Customer Information, Rights and Responsibilities
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this brochure is to give a brief background about Public Utility District No. 1 of Lewis County (PUD or District) and to provide customers with information about their rights and responsibilities as a Lewis County PUD customer. This information is an abbreviation of the District's customer service policies contained in Resolutions 1299 and 2193. It is important for you to know that, as a District customer, you are also one of the owners. Please feel free to stop in or call us if you have any questions about your account or the District.ABOUT THE PUD
Governance
Lewis County PUD is a municipal corporation of the State of Washington, formed by the people of Lewis County to provide electric service. Public utility districts are governed by commissioners who are elected locally to represent specific districts within the service area of the utility. The District has a board of three commissioners that serve individual six-year terms representing their respective districts. The District's board of commissioners normally meets every Monday at 10:00 a.m. at the Chehalis PUD office, except that the first meeting of every month is held at the Morton office.Electric Service
There are twenty-eight public utility districts throughout the State of Washington. PUDs have the authority to provide electric, water, sewer service and wholesale telecommunications service. Lewis County PUD provides electric service to the southeast portion of Pierce County and substantially all of Lewis County with the exception of the City of Centralia. The District serves about 28,000 electric customers and its electric rates are among the lowest in the state and nation.Electric Generation
The District owns and operates the Cowlitz Falls Hydroelectric Project that produces on average 260,000 megawatt hours (Mwhrs) annually. The District and the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) cooperatively developed the Cowlitz Falls Project. The District is the owner of the Project, while BPA has purchased the annual output under a long-term contract. In exchange for receiving the output of the Project, BPA pays all costs associated with its operation and maintenance. The District buys its power from BPA, so the power generated by the Cowlitz Falls Project helps supply the needs of Lewis County.BILLING AND CREDIT POLICIES
Introduction
The District's credit policies set forth a good faith effort by the District to balance the interests of the District in collecting bills for utility services and the interests of its customers in paying their bills.The District bills most residential customers every two months. All customers are afforded a reasonable time to pay their bills and the opportunity to make arrangements for payment if they are temporarily unable to pay their bill in full. They have an opportunity to contest any billing through an informal conference in the District's Credit Department and a right to appeal to a hearing officer - a management level employee who is not a member of the District's Credit Department. At the same time, sound business practices and fairness to our many good paying customers require that the District make reasonable collection efforts, including disconnection of service for nonpayment. These policies and procedures are explained in more detail later in this brochure.
Deposits
The District determines an amount which customers are required to deposit as security to insure payment for use of electric energy. The amount is determined from customer's payment history and from historical use and payment history at the account. Payment history information may include, but is not limited to, established acceptable credit, past delinquencies discharged in bankruptcy, adverse credit references and/or fraudulent or unauthorized use of electric energy. Such deposit shall not be greater than the estimated amount for the highest two billing periods. Deposits are not prepaid revenue. Upon termination of service by the customer, deposits will be refunded to the customer after all outstanding amounts due the District, including but not limited to the charge for electric energy used by the customer, have been paid or deducted from the deposit.The District may require a deposit or advance for services or materials requested by customers other than the sale of electricity in an amount sufficient to cover all costs that the District may incur in providing such services or materials.
Meter Reading and Billing
Meters shall be read and bills rendered at monthly or bi-monthly intervals at the option of the District. Meter readings shall be made on the same cycle date, as nearly as possible, during each monthly or bi-monthly interval, provided, however, that a five-day variation in reading periods caused by holidays, Saturdays, Sundays and differences in length of calendar months shall not be construed as a change from a normal monthly or bi-monthly interval. The District may estimate meter readings for billing purposes when its meter reader is unable to gain access to the premises on his regularly scheduled meter reading trip, when the meter has been tampered with or is not functioning properly, or when circumstances beyond the control of the District make reading of meters impracticable or impossible. Whenever the District has been inconvenienced and/or has experienced additional expense to gain access to the meter, the District may make an additional charge per reading in addition to the regular customer billing for electric service.Opening and closing bills, which are no greater than the minimum billing charge for the normal billing period, will be calculated on the basis of the ratio that the actual period billed bears to the normal billing period. Billings for kilowatt-hours and demands will not be prorated.
The District may alter or reroute the meter reading and billing cycle dates when such alteration or rerouting is in the best interest of the District.
Bills will be mailed by the District to the billing address furnished by the customer. Failure to receive a bill will not release the customer from obligation of payment when due.
Payment of Bills
All bills are due and payable when issued and become delinquent as of the day following the due date specified on the bill. Prior to disconnecting a delinquent account for nonpayment of electric energy, a disconnect notice will be sent to the customer by first class mail. The disconnect notice will set out the customer's rights, the amount due and the approximate date the disconnect will be made. In no case shall the disconnect be made prior to the date indicated on the disconnect notice. If no response is received to the disconnect notice within seven days following the date of mailing, service will be disconnected without further notice.Customer Rights
A disconnect notice for nonpayment of electric energy shall include a statement advising the customer of the right to an informal conference if the customer disputes the billing. Any customer disputing a bill shall first have an informal conference with a designated employee of the Credit Department. The designated employee shall have authority, but not the requirement, to arrange for deferred payments by customers who are unable to pay the full amount of their current and delinquent bills due to bonafide temporary financial difficulty. Factors to be taken into consideration by the designated employee in granting deferred payments shall include the size of the amount due, the schedule of payments to satisfy the amount due in order to bring the account current within a reasonable length of time, agreement to keep future billings paid on a current basis and the customer's past credit history with the District. Arrangements for deferred payments need not be available to customers who have not satisfactorily complied with previous arrangements or to customers who have had repetitive credit problems with the District. The designated employee of the Credit Department may refer customer questions, other than payment of electric bills, to other appropriate employees of the District.If the customer is not satisfied with the outcome of the informal conference, he may appeal to a management employee designated by the Commission and not associated with the Credit Department who will review the appeal by the customer. A customer must appeal within 72 hours of the informal conference stating the reasons for the customer appeal. Another hearing officer shall arrange for a hearing within 24 hours of receiving the appeal and the hearing shall take place during regular office hours. The customer may, at his own expense, be represented by counsel. The hearing officer will hear the customer's statements and the employees' statements from appropriate employees. After the hearing, the hearing officer will provide the customer with his written decision. The decision shall be delivered to the customer, to his residence or place of business, or the decision may be delivered to the customer by registered mail. Failure to accept the decision when delivered or failure to make payments as required will result in immediate disconnection of service by the District.
Disconnection and Reconnection
Whenever service has been disconnected for nonpayment, fraudulent use or other violation of the District's service policies, the customer will pay a disconnect charge of not less than $20.00 and a reconnect fee of not less than $20.00 nor more than the actual cost of labor, transportation and overhead to cover all of the District's expenses associated with such disconnection and reconnection. The customer may also be required to pay a deposit. The charge for reconnecting such services outside of the District's regular working hours will be based on actual costs incurred by the District. Whenever the Serviceman is required to contact the customer and/or collect the amount due, the reconnect fee shall be charged.Utility Shut-Off Limitations
Electricity for residential space heating shall not be terminated from November 15 through March 15 if the customer:
(a) Notifies the District of the inability to pay the bill, including a security deposit. This notice shall be provided within five business days of receiving a payment overdue notice unless there are extenuating circumstances. If the customer fails to notify the District within five business days and service is terminated, the customer can, by paying a reconnection charge, if any, and fulfilling the requirements of this section, receive the protections of this chapter;
(b) Provides self-certification of household income for the prior 12 months to a grantee of the Department of Community Development which administers federally-funded energy assistance programs. The grantee shall determine that the household income does not exceed the maximum allowed for eligibility under the state's plan for low-income energy assistance under 42 USC 8624 and shall provide a dollar figure that is seven percent of household income. The grantee may verify information provided in the self-certification;
(c) Has applied for home heating assistance from applicable government and private sector organizations and certifies that any assistance received will be applied to the current bill and future utility bills;
(d) Has applied for low-income weatherization assistance to the utility or other appropriate agency if such assistance is available for the dwelling;
(e) Agrees to a payment plan and agrees to maintain the payment plan. The plan will be designed both to pay the past due bill by the following October 15 and to pay for continued utility service. If the past due bill is not paid by the following October 15, the customer shall not be eligible for protections under this chapter until the past due bill is paid. The plan shall not require monthly payments in excess of seven percent of the customer's monthly income plus one-twelfth of any amount in arrears accrued from the date application is made and thereafter. If assistance payments are received by the customer subsequent to implementation of the plan, the customer shall contact the utility to reformulate the plan; and
(f) Agrees to pay the moneys owed even if he or she moves.
Payment Options
Payments may be made by mail, electronic funds transfer (EFT), deducted directly from your checking account or in person at the PUD office or paystation nearest you. In addition, the District accepts Visa, MasterCard, and debit card payments for electricity billings. Payments made at a paystation must be made before the billing due date. Each PUD office also has a night depository for payments made after business hours.The District offers an averaged monthly payment program. Payments are based on the actual usage for the previous 12-month period, and are adjusted every six months. You still pay for only what you use, but at an equal amount set for six months. This program is very helpful to customers whose monthly bills fluctuate due to the weather or who are on fixed monthly incomes.
The District has a voluntary energy assistance program called "Project Share." Project Share makes it possible for PUD customers to make voluntary contributions on their monthly electrical bill to help people in need. The donations go to the Community Action Council (CAC) for distribution to eligible customers. The CAC also administers low-income energy assistance funds provided by the federal government.
Discontinuing Service
Except as may otherwise be provided by a special contract or agreement, a customer may terminate service by appropriate notification to the District and by payment in full of all amounts due the District to the date of service discontinuance. The District asks customers to give at least __ days notice of their intent to discontinue service in order to schedule a final meter reading. This notice can be made by phone, mail, or in-person at the PUD office. You will be asked to provide a forwarding address where a final bill can be sent. The District reserves the right to read a meter for a final bill within a one-week period from the date of notification by the customer. The final reading may be estimated by mutual consent of the customer and the District.The District may terminate service for, among other reasons, nonpayment as noted above, for unsafe wiring conditions if directed by any state, county, city, fire, or police authority, and if it is determined that it is necessary to prevent unauthorized or fraudulent use, to protect the District or another customer's property, or upon governmental order due to power supply insufficiencies or other reasons beyond the District's control.