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ACT 201- FAQ's Return to Citizens' Electric Company |
Responsible Utility Customer Protection Act
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers:
Q. What is Act 201?
A. Act 201, also known as the Responsible Utility Customer Protection Act, is legislation intended to help utilities control costs by establishing rules governing collections on past due accounts, deposits, Payment Arrangements and disconnection for non-payment.
Q. How will it affect me as a customer of Citizens’ Electric Company
A. Act 201 will affect customers who can afford to
pay their electric bills, but choose not to during the Winter Moratorium.
Q. What is a Payment Arrangement?
A. A Payment Arrangement is a binding agreement between the customer and the Company that sets forth the terms for repayment of a past due balance. The parameters for the Payment Arrangement amount and term are established by Act 201.
Q. What is the Winter Moratorium?
A. The Winter Moratorium is the period December 1 through March 31. Act 201 sets forth the rules that permit disconnection during this period. Utilities are now allowed to disconnect customers during the Winter Moratorium based on your income level. In order to be exempted from disconnection in the winter, you must fill out an Income/Expense Form to see if you qualify for exemption. You may also avoid disconnection by paying the past due balance or setting up a Payment Arrangement for the past due balance.
Q. If I am a new customer, will I have to pay a deposit?
A. Under Act 201, if a customer cannot establish
credit worthiness, a deposit will be required and will be held for 24 months or 12
consecutive months with no late fees, whichever is longer. All deposits will accrue
interest at the rate of 6% until the deposit is returned or applied to the unpaid balance.
Q. What notice will the Company provide prior to disconnection?
A. Prior to disconnection, you will receive a 10-day notice in the mail, followed by a 72 hour notice and during the Winter Moratorium, a 48 hour notice. The 72 and 48 hour notices may be in the form of a telephone contact, including an attempted call, a personal visit by a Company representative or a notice posted on the property.
Q. How much do I have to pay to get reconnected?
A. Customers that are disconnected for non-payment
will have to pay a deposit and a reconnect fee. Depending on your income and payment
history, we may also require you to pay the full, past due balance or we may make a
Payment Arrangement.
Q. When do you reconnect after a disconnection?
A. From December 1 through March 31 we reconnect
service within 24 hours after arrangements are made on your account. From April 1 through
November 30 we reconnect service within three days after arrangements are made on your
account.
Q. Does Act 201 prevent me from filing a complaint with the Pennsylvania
Public Utility Commission?
A. The PUC is still the primary agency responsible
for making sure the state’s utilities carry out the provisions of Act 201 in a fair
and equitable manner for all customers. A provision of Act 201 states that the customer
must contact the utility company first in order to work out a Payment Arrangement. If the
customer is still dissatisfied with Payment Arrangement, customer may then file a
complaint with the PUC.
Q. Are there other reasons besides non-payment that would allow
Citizens’ Electric to disconnect my electric service?
A. You will be notified of pending disconnection if
you fail to pay for service, fail to keep a Payment Arrangement, fail to pay a deposit or,
won't allow us to get to our equipment. Notification is not required and service will be
disconnected immediately if you give us a bad check to stop disconnection, if you acquire
service by means of fraud, if you tamper with our meter or there is theft of service, or
if there is an unsafe condition.
Q. In the Act, there is a section called "Responsibility for
Bills". What does this mean?
A. In addition to the ratepayer on record, all adults over the age of 18 that reside at the service location could be held responsible for any electric bill during the time they resided at that location. Our service application requires this information and service could be denied if this information is not provided.
Q. What can I do if I can’t pay my bill? Where can I go for
help?
A. Contact your local County Assistance office and apply for the
LIHEAP program. This federal program opens November 8th and closes March 24th each
year. There are two types of LIHEAP help, Crisis and Cash. The Crisis money will
help pay your primary heating bills, regardless of fuel source, but it is limited to the
primary heating fuel. The Cash money will help with any utility, even if that
utility is not your primary source of heat.
Citizens’ Electric also participates in a state plan called $Energy. $Energy
assists Citizens’ customers in paying their electric bill, but to qualify, you must
have paid at least $150 on your account in the last 90 days. If you were approved for
LIHEAP and paid $150 on your account in the last 90 days, you are automatically approved
for $Energy. You will need to bring in to the Citizens' Electric office verification
that LIHEAP has already paid on your behalf. If you were not previously approved for
LIHEAP you will need to come in to the Citizens' Electric office and fill out an
application for $Energy. To qualify, you
must have paid at least $150 on your account in the last 90 days. You may or may not
be approved.
You can also check with the local Red Cross, Salvation Army and local churches.