Section 280.140  Disconnection for Lack of Access to Multi-Meter Premises

a)         Intent: This Section provides adequate notice and reason for disconnection of an entire multi-meter premises when a utility is unable to gain access to its facilities; allows for the property owner/manager and customers of the premises to remedy the problem and thereby avoid disconnection; and sets prohibitions and limits on this form of disconnection.

b)         Allowable Reasons for Disconnection of an Entire Multi-Meter Premises:

1)         The customers and property owner/manager have failed two consecutive times to provide access to utility facilities in order to meet regulatory requirements, including, but not limited to, inside safety inspections and meter exchanges;

2)         The customers and property owner/manager have failed three consecutive times to provide access to utility facilities for non-payment disconnections; or

3)         The customers and property owner/manager have failed four consecutive times to provide access to utility facilities for meter readings.

c)         Utility Actions Required prior to Disconnection of an Entire Multi-Meter Premises:

1)         The utility must attempt to obtain contact information for the property owner/manager, independently or with the assistance of the affected customers

2)         The utility must seek access by physical visit.  For each failure to gain access, the utility must record the date, time of day, utility personnel involved, a detailed description of utility's efforts to gain access and the reason for each failure to gain access. The utility shall retain the records for two years;

3)         For each effort to gain access, the utility must send or deliver warning letters to each affected customer and property owner/manager with at least 10 days advance notice of the utility's intent to gain access and the need for the customer to contact the utility to set up an appointment to provide access;

4)         After the final consecutive failure to provide access, according to the number of consecutive failures required in subsection (b), the utility must send or deliver a disconnection notice to each affected customer and the property owner/manager as required by Section 280.130;

5)         At the same time the utility sends or delivers the notices required in subsection (c)(3), it must also post the building with a written notice of disconnection; and

6)         If the utility seeks access to disconnect non-paying customers, the utility must send or deliver a disconnection notice for non-payment to the customers in the premises that it intends to disconnect for non-payment.

d)         Inconvenience Compensation Credit:

1)         An inconvenience compensation credit shall be issued by the utility to the accounts of customers who are not otherwise eligible for non-payment disconnection when those customers are disconnected as a result of the utility's disconnection of non-paying customers in the same premises.

2)         The inconvenience compensation credit shall be four times the monthly "customer charge" or $60, whichever is greater.

e)         Limitations on Non-payment Disconnections for Multi-Meter Premises: All of the limits, prohibitions and protections to customers offered in Sections 280.130 and 280.135 shall apply equally to lack of access disconnections of multi-meter premises for non-payment.

f)         Reconnection: The utility shall not disconnect a building unless it has the resources in place and is prepared to reconnect service on the same day as the disconnection or the day access is provided for any customers of a multi-meter premises who were otherwise not eligible for non-payment disconnection. 

g)         Data Collection and Maintenance: The utility shall collect the following data on a monthly basis and maintain the data for two years following its collection.  The utility shall make the data available to Commission Staff within 30 days after a request from Staff:

1)         In addition to the record keeping required under subsection (c)(2), the utility shall record the total number of "at-risk" buildings (i.e., any buildings the utility believes are currently eligible for disconnection or would be eligible for disconnection in 30 days);

2)         The utility shall retain a record of the following information regarding a disconnection event:

A)                Address of building or facility disconnected;

B)        Number of units affected by the disconnection;

C)        Duration of the building disconnection from the date of the disconnection to the date that the building was reconnected;

D)        Cause for multi-unit disconnection;

E)        Compensation credit issued; and

F)         Customer contacts received prior to and as a result of disconnection and their given reason for failure to provide access.