1. (a) Application. This section applies to a retail electric provider (REP) that is responsible for issuing electric service bills to retail customers, unless the REP is issuing a consolidated bill (both energy services and transmission and distribution services) on behalf of an electric cooperative or municipally owned utility. This section does not apply to a municipally owned utility or electric cooperative issuing bills to its customers in its own service territory.
2. (b) Bill due date. A REP shall state a payment due date on the bill which shall not be less than 16 days after issuance. The issuance date is the issuance date on the bill or, if there is no issuance date on the bill, the postmark date on the envelope. A payment for electric service is delinquent if not received by the REP or at the REP's authorized payment agency by the close of business on the due date. If the sixteenth day falls on a holiday or weekend, then the due date shall be the next business day after the sixteenth day.
3. (c) Penalty on delinquent bills for electric service. A one-time penalty not to exceed 5.0% may be charged on a delinquent bill for electric service. No such penalty shall apply to residential or small commercial customers served by the provider of last resort (POLR), or to customers receiving a low-income discount pursuant to the Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA) §39.903(h). The 5.0% penalty on delinquent bills may not be applied to any balance to which the penalty has already been applied. A bill issued to a state agency, as defined in the Government Code, Chapter 2251, shall be due and bear interest if overdue as provided in Chapter 2251.

4. (d) Overbilling. If charges are found to be higher than authorized in the REP's terms and conditions for service, then the customer's bill shall be corrected.

   1. (1) The correction shall be made for the entire period of the overbilling.
   2. (2) If the REP corrects the overbilling within three billing cycles of the error, it need not pay interest on the amount of the correction.

   3. (3) If the REP does not correct the overcharge within three billing cycles of the error, it shall pay interest on the amount of the overcharge at the rate set by the commission.

      1. (A) Interest on overcharges that are not adjusted by the REP within three billing cycles of the bill in error shall accrue from the date of payment or from the issuance date of the erroneous bill.
      2. (B) All interest shall be compounded monthly based on the approved annual rate.
      3. (C) Interest shall not apply to leveling plans or estimated billings.

5. (e) Underbilling. If charges are found to be lower than authorized by the REP's terms and conditions of service, or if the REP fails to bill the customer for service, then the customer's bill may be corrected.

   1. (1) The REP may backbill the customer for the amount that was underbilled. The backbilling shall not include charges that extend more than six months from the date the error was discovered unless the underbilling is a result of theft of service by the customer.
   2. (2) The REP may terminate service, or the POLR may disconnect service, if the customer fails to pay the additional charges within a reasonable time.
   3. (3) If the underbilling is $50 or more, the REP shall offer the customer a deferred payment plan option for the same length of time as that of the underbilling. A deferred payment plan need not be offered to a customer whose underpayment is due to theft of service.
   4. (4) The REP shall not charge interest on underbilled amounts unless such amounts are found to be the result of theft of service (meter tampering, bypass, or diversion) by the customer, as defined in §25.126 of this title (relating to Meter Tampering). Interest on underbilled amounts shall be compounded monthly at the annual rate. Interest shall accrue from the day the customer is found to have first stolen the service.
6. (f) Disputed bills. If there is a dispute between a customer and a provider about the REP's bill for any service billed on the retail electric bill, the REP shall promptly investigate and report the results to the customer. The provider shall inform the customer of the complaint procedures of the commission pursuant to §25.485 of this title (relating to Customer Access and Complaint Handling).

7. (g) Alternate payment programs or payment assistance.

   1. (1) Notice required. When a customer contacts a REP and indicates inability to pay a bill or a need for assistance with the bill payment, the REP shall inform the customer of all alternative payment and payment assistance programs that are offered by or available from the REP, such as bill payment assistance, deferred payment plans, disconnection moratoriums for the ill, or low-income energy assistance programs, as applicable, and of the eligibility requirements and procedure for applying for each.

   2. (2) Bill payment assistance programs.

      1. (A) Each REP shall implement a bill payment assistance program for residential customers. At a minimum, such a program shall solicit voluntary donations from customers by a check-off box on the retail electric bill.

      2. (B) Each REP shall provide an annual report to the commission summarizing:

         1. (i) the total amount of customer donations;
         2. (ii) the amount of money set aside for bill payment assistance;
         3. (iii) the assistance agency or agencies selected to disburse funds to customers; and
         4. (iv) the amount of money provided to each assistance agency to disburse funds to customers.
      3. (C) An assistance agency selected by a REP to disburse bill payment assistance funds shall not discriminate in the distribution of such funds to customers based on the customer's race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, lawful source of income, disability, familial status, location of customer in an economically distressed geographic area, or qualification for low-income or energy efficiency services.
8. (h) Level and average payment plans. A REP shall offer a level or average payment plan to its customers. A REP shall not limit participation to only credit-worthy customers. A REP may collect under-recovered costs from a customer annually, or upon termination of service to the customer. A REP shall refund any over-recovered amounts to customers annually, or upon termination of service to the customer. Additionally, a REP may initiate its normal collection activity if a customer fails to make a timely payment according to such a plan. All details concerning a levelized or average payment program shall be disclosed in the customer's terms of service document.
9. (i) Payment arrangements. A payment arrangement is any agreement between the REP and a customer that allows a customer to pay the outstanding bill after its due date, but before the due date of the next bill. If the REP issued a termination notice (or in the case of the POLR, a disconnection notice) before the payment arrangement was made, that termination or disconnection should be suspended until after the due date for the payment arrangement. If a customer does not fulfill the terms of the payment arrangement, service may be terminated (or disconnected in the case of the POLR) after the later of the due date for the payment arrangement or the termination or disconnection date indicated in the notice, without issuing an additional disconnection notice. A REP may switch terminated customers to the POLR by notifying the registration agent.

10. (j) Deferred payment plans. A deferred payment plan is an arrangement between the REP and a customer that allows a customer to pay an outstanding bill in installments that extend beyond the due date of the next bill. A deferred payment plan may be established in person or by telephone, but all deferred payment plans shall be confirmed in writing by the REP.

    1. (1) A REP may offer a deferred payment plan to any residential customer who has expressed an inability to pay his or her bill.
    2. (2) A REP shall offer a deferred payment plan to a customer who has been underbilled, as described in subsection (e) of this section, or to customers who qualify for such plans pursuant to §25.482(g) of this title (relating to Termination of Contract) or §25.483(j) of this title (relating to Disconnection of Service).

    3. (3) An affiliate REP or POLR shall offer such plans unless the customer:

       1. (A) has been issued more than two termination or disconnection notices during the preceding 12 months; or

       2. (B) has received service from the affiliate REP or POLR for less than three months, and the customer lacks:

          1. (i) sufficient credit; or
          2. (ii) a satisfactory history of payment for electric service from a previous REP (or its predecessor electric utility).
    4. (4) Any deferred payment plans offered by a REP shall be implemented in a non-discriminatory manner, according to the provisions of this subsection.
    5. (5) Every deferred payment plan offered by a REP shall provide that the delinquent amount be paid in equal installments over at least three billing cycles.

    6. (6) A copy of the deferred payment plan shall be provided to the customer and:

       1. (A) shall include a statement, in type no smaller than 14 point size, that states "If you are not satisfied with this agreement, or if the agreement was made by telephone and you feel this does not reflect your understanding of that agreement, contact your retail electric provider." In addition, where the customer and the REP's representative or agent meet in person, the representative shall read the preceding statement to the customer. The REP shall provide information to the customer in English or Spanish as necessary to make the preceding required statement understandable to the customer;
       2. (B) may include a 5.0% penalty for late payment but shall not include a finance charge;
       3. (C) shall state the length of time covered by the plan;
       4. (D) shall state the total amount to be paid under the plan;
       5. (E) shall state the specific amount of each installment;
       6. (F) shall allow for the termination or disconnection of service (as appropriate) if the customer does not fulfill the terms of the deferred payment plan, and shall state the terms for disconnection or termination of service;
       7. (G) shall not refuse a customer participation in such a program on any basis set forth in §25.471(c) of this title (relating to General Provisions of Customer Protection Rules); and
       8. (H) shall allow either the customer or the REP to initiate a renegotiation of the deferred payment plan if the customer's economic or financial circumstances change substantially during the time of the deferred payment plan.
    7. (7) A REP may pursue termination of service (or disconnection of service in the case of the POLR or a REP with disconnect authority pursuant to §25.483(b) of this title (relating to Disconnection of Service)) when a customer does not meet the terms of a deferred payment plan. However, service shall not be terminated or disconnected until appropriate notice has been issued, pursuant to §25.483 of this title or §25.482 of this title, as applicable, to the customer indicating that the customer has not met the terms of the plan. The REP may renegotiate the deferred payment plan agreement prior to disconnection. If the customer does not fulfill the terms of the plan, and the customer was previously provided a disconnection notice or termination notice for the outstanding amount, no additional disconnection or termination notice shall be required.
11. (k) Allocation of partial payments. A REP shall allocate a partial payment by the customer first to the oldest balance due for electric service, followed by the current amount due for electric service. When there is no longer a balance for electric service, payment may be applied to other non-electric services billed by the REP. A contract for electric service cannot be terminated for non-payment of non-electric services.

Source Note:The provisions of this §25.480 adopted to be effective January 15, 2001, 26 TexReg 125; amended to be effective Spetember 12, 2002, 27 TexReg 8428.