1. (a) Purpose and scope.

   1. (1) The provisions of this section are intended to assure that billing systems involving central system or nonsubmetered master metered utilities are just and reasonable.
   2. (2) For purposes of enforcement, both utilities and apartment house owners are subject to enforcement pursuant to the Public Utility Regulatory Act §§15.021, 15.022, 15.028, 15.029, 15.030, 15.031, 15.032, and 15.033, which may involve civil penalties of up to $5,000 for each offense and criminal penalties for willful and knowing violations.

2. (b) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

   1. (1) Apartment house - One or more buildings containing two or more dwelling units rented primarily for nontransient use with rent paid at intervals of one week or longer.
   2. (2) Apartment house owner - The legal titleholder of an apartment house or an individual, firm, or corporation purporting to be the landlord of tenants in the apartment house.
   3. (3) Billing unit - Kilowatt-hour for electric service.
   4. (4) Central system utilities - Electricity consumed by a central air conditioning system, central heating system, central hot water system, or central chilled water system in an apartment house. The term does not include utilities directly consumed by a dwelling unit.
   5. (5) Customer - The individual, firm, or corporation in whose name a master meter is connected by a utility.
   6. (6) Dwelling unit - One or more rooms that are suitable for occupancy as a residence and that contain kitchen and bathroom facilities.
   7. (7) Nonsubmetered master metered utility service - Electric utility service that is master metered for an apartment house but is not submetered.
   8. (8) Utility - A public, private, or member-owned utility furnishing electricity service to an apartment house served by a master meter.

3. (c) Records and reports.

   1. (1) The apartment house owner shall maintain and make available for inspection by the tenant during normal business hours:

      1. (A) the billing from the utility to the apartment house owner for the current month and the 12 preceding months; and
      2. (B) the calculation of the average cost per billing unit (kilowatt-hour) for the current month and the 12 preceding months which was used in assessing tenant utility billings. The average cost per billing unit shall be equal to the charges for the utility service plus applicable tax, less any penalties charged by the utility to the apartment house owner for disconnect, reconnect, late payment or other similar service charges, divided by the total number of billing units.
   2. (2) All records shall be made available to the commission upon request.
   3. (3) Records shall be made available at the resident manager's office during reasonable business hours or, if there is no resident manager, at the dwelling unit of the tenant at the convenience of both the apartment house owner and the tenant.
4. (d) Calculation of costs. Central system utilities costs shall be calculated based on metered billing units of the central system during the same billing period as that of the utility. The metered billing units of the central system shall be multiplied by the average cost per billing calculated according to subsection (c)(1)(B) of this section. Meters used for central system utilities shall conform to all applicable industry standards. The cost of nonsubmetered master metered utilities shall be the total charges for utility service to the apartment house less any penalties charged by the utility to the apartment house owner for disconnect, reconnect, late payment or other similar service charges.

5. (e) Billing. All rental agreements between the apartment house owner and the tenants shall provide a clear written description of the method of the allocation of central system utilities or nonsubmetered master metered utilities for the apartment house. The method of allocation may be changed only after 90 days notice of the change to the tenants. The rental agreement for each apartment unit shall contain a statement of the average monthly bill for the previous calendar year for that apartment unit. If there is no rental agreement, apartment house owners shall provide the method of allocation in a separate written document.

   1. (1) Rendering and form of bill.

      1. (A) Bills shall be rendered for the same billing period as that of the utility, generally monthly, unless service is rendered for less than that period.

      2. (B) The allocation of central system utilities costs or nonsubmetered master metered utilities costs to tenants shall be based on one or a combination of the following methods.

         1. (i) the total square footage living area of the dwelling unit as a percentage of the total square footage living area of all dwelling units of the apartment house and all heated and/or air conditioned common areas. This percentage shall be stated in the rental agreement for each dwelling unit; and
         2. (ii) the individually metered or submetered utility usage of the dwelling unit as a percentage of the sum of the individually metered or submetered usage of all dwelling units.
      3. (C) Methods to allocate central system utility costs or nonsubmetered master metered utilities to tenants, other than the method outlined in this section, must be approved by the commission.

      4. (D) Billings to the tenant shall not be included as part of the rental payment or as part of billings for any other service to the tenant. A separate billing must be issued or, if issued on a multi-item bill, utility billing information must be separate and distinct from any other charges on the bill. The bill may not include a deposit, late penalty, reconnect charge, or any other charges unless otherwise provided for by this chapter.

         1. (i) A one-time penalty not to exceed 5.0% may be made on delinquent accounts. If such penalty is applied, the bill shall indicate the amount due if paid by the due date and the amount due if the late penalty is incurred. No late penalty may be applied unless agreed to by the tenant in a written lease which states the exact dollar or percentage amount of such late penalty.
         2. (ii) A reconnect fee may be applied if service to the tenant is disconnected for nonpayment of submetered bills in accordance with paragraph (4)(A) of this subsection. The reconnect fee shall be calculated based on the average actual cost to the landlord for the expenses associated with the reconnection, but under no circumstance shall exceed $10. No reconnect charge may be applied unless agreed to by the tenant in a written lease which states the exact dollar amount of the reconnect charge.
      5. (E) An apartment house owner may not impose additional charges on a tenant in excess of the actual charges imposed on the apartment house owner for utility consumption by the apartment house.
   2. (2) Due date. The due date of the bill shall not be less than seven days after issuance. A bill for service is delinquent if not received by the party indicated on the bill by the due date. The postmark date, if any, on the envelope of the bill or on the bill itself shall constitute proof of the date of issuance. An issuance date on the bill shall constitute proof of the date of issuance if there is no postmark on the envelope or bill. If the due date falls on a holiday or weekend, the due date for payment purposes shall be the next workday after the due date.
   3. (3) Overbilling and underbilling. If billings are found to be in error, the apartment house owner shall calculate a billing adjustment. If the tenant is due a refund, an adjustment shall be made for the entire period of the overcharges. If the tenant was undercharged, the apartment house owner may backbill the tenant for the amount which was underbilled. The backbilling is not to exceed six months unless the apartment house owner can produce records to identify and justify the additional amount of backbilling. If the underbilling is $25 or more, the apartment house owner shall offer to such tenant a deferred payment plan option, for the same length of time as that of the underbilling. However, the apartment house owner may not disconnect service if the tenant fails to pay charges arising from an underbilling more than six months prior to the date the tenant was initially notified of the amount of the undercharges and the total additional amount due. Furthermore, adjustments for usage by a previous tenant may not be backbilled to the current tenant.

   4. (4) Discontinuance of service.

      1. (A) Disconnection for delinquent bills. Utility service may only be disconnected for nonpayment of utility bills. A tenant's utility service may be disconnected if a bill has not been paid within 12 days from the date of issuance and proper notice has been given. Proper notice shall consist of a separate mailing or hand delivery at least five days prior to a stated date of disconnection, with the words "termination notice" or similar language prominently displayed on the notice. The notice shall include the office or street address where a tenant can go during normal working hours to make arrangements for payment of the bill and for reconnection of electric service.
      2. (B) Disconnection on holidays or weekends. Unless a dangerous condition exists, or unless the tenant requests disconnection, service shall not be disconnected on a day, or on a day immediately preceding a day when personnel of the apartment house are not available for the purpose of making collections and reconnecting service.

      3. (C) Disconnection under special circumstances. An apartment house owner shall meet the same requirements as an electric utility in the following circumstances:

         1. (i) Disconnection of ill and disabled. No electric utility may disconnect service at a permanent, individually metered dwelling unit of a delinquent customer when that customer establishes that disconnection of service will cause some person residing at that residence to become seriously ill or more seriously ill;

            1. (I) Each time a customer seeks to avoid disconnection of service under this subsection, the customer must accomplish all of the following by the stated date of disconnection:

               (-a-) have the person's attending physician (for purposes of this subsection, the term "physician" shall mean any public health official, including medical doctors, doctors of osteopathy, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and any other similar public health official) call or contact the electric utility by the stated date of disconnection;

               (-b-) have the person's attending physician submit a written statement to the electric utility; and

               (-c-) enter into a deferred payment plan.

            2. (II) The prohibition against service termination provided by this subsection shall last 63 days from the issuance of the electric utility bill or a shorter period agreed upon by the electric utility and the customer or physician.
         2. (ii) Disconnection of energy assistance clients. No electric utility may terminate service to a delinquent residential customer for a billing period in which the electric utility receives a pledge, letter of intent, purchase order, or other notification that the energy assistance provider is forwarding sufficient payment to continue service; and

         3. (iii) Disconnection during extreme weather. An electric utility cannot disconnect a customer anywhere in its service territory on a day when:

            1. (I) the previous day's highest temperature did not exceed 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and the temperature is predicted to remain at or below that level for the next 24 hours, according to the nearest National Weather Service (NWS) reports; or
            2. (II) the NWS issues a heat advisory for any county in the electric utility's service territory, or when such advisory has been issued on any one of the preceding two calendar days.
      4. (D) Disputed bills and complaints. In the event of a dispute between the tenant and the apartment house owner regarding any bill, the apartment house owner shall immediately make such investigation as shall be required by the particular case, and report the results thereof to the tenant. The investigation and report shall be completed within 30 days from the date the tenant notified the apartment house owner of the dispute. If the tenant is dissatisfied with the results of the investigation, the apartment house owner shall inform the tenant of the Public Utility Commission of Texas complaint process, giving the tenant the address and telephone number of the commission's Office of Customer Protection.

Source Note:The provisions of this §25.141 adopted to be effective June 22, 1999, 24 TexReg 4551.