Illinois Administrative Code › Title 83 - PUBLIC UTILITIES › Part 280 - PROCEDURES FOR GAS, ELECTRIC, WATER AND SANITARY SEWER UTILITIES GOVERNING ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICE, DEPOSITS, BILLING, PAYMENTS, REFUNDS AND DISCONNECTION OF SERVICE › Subpart A - GENERAL › Section 280.20 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
"Actual Reading" means a direct meter reading taken by utility
				  personnel or a meter service provider at the customer's location or by use of a
				  remote reading device.
"Applicant" means a person seeking to establish new residential or
				  non-residential utility service under the accepted application process and who is
				  not a customer. Applicants agree to provide payment for utility services that will
				  be rendered to them. Successful applicants immediately become customers.
"Budget Payment Plan" means a plan seeking to reduce fluctuations
				  in the amount a customer must pay in each billing cycle. The customer agrees to pay
				  an amount for each billing cycle that is based upon the amount the utility expects
				  the customer to be billed for an entire year, divided by the number of billing
				  cycles in the year. The amount may be adjusted to accommodate changes in the usage
				  pattern by the customer.
"Class of Service" means either residential service or
				  non-residential service.
"Credit Scoring System" has the same meaning set forth in
				  12 CFR
				  202.2 (January 1, 2002). A utility that elects to
				  use a credit scoring system shall file a tariff describing its practice of using the
				  credit scoring system.
"Current" means the status of a customer's utility account when
				  there are no past due amounts owing on the account for utility services, including
				  amounts owing for deposits, deferred payment arrangements or medical payment
				  arrangements.
"Customer" means a person receiving utility service after a
				  successful application and a person transferring utility service from one location
				  to another within the conditions described under the definition of "Transfer of
				  Service".
"Customer Provided Reading" means a meter reading submitted by a
				  customer to a utility instead of an actual or an estimated reading for the purpose
				  of generating a bill.
"Deferred Payment Arrangement" or "DPA" means a payment plan under
				  which a customer may retire a past due amount owed to a utility by paying
				  installments towards the arrearage, in addition to paying future bills.
"Deposit" means money provided by a customer and held by a utility
				  as a guarantee towards payment for utility service.
"Illegal Tap" means a diversion of utility service in which a
				  party or parties other than the customer of record receives a portion of the
				  customer's metered utility service without the customer's consent.
"Implementation Checklist" means a list of each new requirement
				  imposed by this Part on November 1, 2014, including but not limited to: a reference
				  to the Subpart that imposes the new requirement, a general description of the new
				  requirement, the date by which the utility must be in compliance, a description of
				  the old requirement currently in place (if applicable), and a utility phone number
				  the customer can call with questions.
"Implementation Plan" means a plan each utility creates to detail
				  when it expects to be in full compliance with each new requirement included in the
				  implementation checklist. The Plan includes the following: the date the new
				  requirement will be fully implemented, the rationale for a delay in meeting the
				  requirement, a description of the work that must be completed for implementation,
				  including a timetable, steps that have or will be taken to achieve maximum
				  reasonable compliance prior to the date full compliance is required, and the
				  expected cost of the implementation.
"Low Income Customer" means a residential customer who has
				  qualified under the income criteria of Section 6 of the Energy Assistance Act of
				  1989 [305
				  ILCS 20/6 ]. Qualification is effective for purposes of
				  this definition when the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
				  administrator notifies the customer's utility of the customer's low income status.
				  Unless water and sewer utilities begin participation in a low income assistance
				  program with the LIHEAP agencies, it shall be the individual customer's
				  responsibility to notify and provide proof to the water and/or sewer utility of the
				  customer's low income status under the income criteria of Section 6 of the Energy
				  Assistance Act of 1989. Qualifications established on or after September 1 shall
				  remain effective for purposes of this definition until December 31 of the following
				  year. Qualifications established before September 1 shall remain effective until
				  December 31 of that same year. The utility shall notify the customer 30 through 90
				  days prior to the expiration of a customer's qualification.
"Medical Certificate" means written certification (though initial
				  certification may be by phone) of medical necessity provided to the utility company
				  by a doctor or the local department of public health. If a customer or occupant in
				  the home is very sick, a medical certificate will provide the following
				  documentation to the utility company:
Name and contact information for the certifying party;
Service address and name of patient;
A statement that the patient resides at the premises in question;
				  and
A statement that the disconnection of utility service will
				  aggravate an existing medical emergency or create a medical emergency for the
				  patient.
"Master-Metered Customer" means a non-residential customer for a
				  building where a single meter measures the utility service provided to three or more
				  dwelling units in the building instead of separate meters for each residential unit
				  in the building.
"Medical Payment Arrangement" or "MPA" means a payment plan
				  established after the use of a medical certificate under which a customer may retire
				  a past due amount owing to a utility by paying installments towards the arrearage in
				  addition to paying future bills.
"Meter Service Provider" means every provider of metering service
				  certified by the Illinois Commerce Commission under 83 Ill. Adm. Code 460.
"Non-residential Customer" means any customer not on a residential
				  rate.
"Occupant" means a person who is not a utility customer and who
				  receives the benefit of utility services at a residential or non-residential service
				  location.
"Past Due" means any amount unpaid for more than two days beyond
				  the due date on a customer's utility account bill statement.
"Payment Avoidance by Location" or "PAL" means a pattern of action
				  taken to avoid payment for utility service used by customers or occupants at a
				  specific premises. Evidence proving a PAL allegation shall be the burden of the
				  utility.
"Person" means any legal entity with the ability to become a
				  utility customer, including but not limited to: individual persons, units of
				  government, corporations, trusts, partnerships, associations, not-for profits,
				  boards, organizations and institutions.
"Residential Customer" means a customer receiving service for
				  household purposes, including service provided through a single meter to one or two
				  dwelling units.
"Returned Payment" means any payment submitted for utility service
				  for which the utility is unable to receive the funds submitted for payment, when the
				  parties have not mutually agreed to void or otherwise disregard the submitted
				  payment.
"Small Business"
means an Illinois business with 50 or
				  less full time employees in Illinois
[220 ILCS
				  35/2(b) ].
"Staff" means the Staff of the Illinois Commerce
				  Commission.
"Tampering" means any unauthorized alteration of utility equipment
				  or facilities by which a benefit is achieved for which the utility is not
				  compensated. Tampering includes customer self-restoration of utility service. Proof
				  of tampering shall be the burden of the utility.
"Transfer of Service" means terminating service at one location
				  and activating service at another location by the same customer of record served by
				  the same utility within 14 calendar days, as long as there is no change in the rate
				  class of the customer. A transfer of service shall not be deemed an application for
				  service unless the utility has reason to believe that the person requesting the
				  transfer of service is not the original customer. Outside any winter, temperature or
				  other period defined by statute or rule restricting disconnection of service, a
				  customer requesting a transfer of service but who has past due utility charges or
				  deposit amounts that have not previously been disputed by the customer owing for
				  more than 2 days past the due date may be denied the transfer unless the customer
				  pays the past due utility charges or deposit or enters into a payment agreement on
				  the amounts owing. It shall be the responsibility of the utility to advise the
				  customer of any such outstanding amounts at the time the transfer of service is
				  sought. This definition shall not be construed to entitle the customer to rights to
				  an additional deferred payment arrangement beyond those conferred by Section
				  280.120.
"Type of Service" means gas, electric, water or sewer
				  service.
"Written" or "Writing" means either a hard copy or electronic
				  copy, unless it is specifically stated a hard copy must be placed in the U.S. Mail
				  or delivered by other means. Where this Part requires information to be "written" or
				  in "writing", an electronic record satisfies that requirement, so long as both
				  utility and customer have agreed to electronic communications.