Illinois Administrative Code › Title 83 - PUBLIC UTILITIES › Part 501 - STANDARDS OF SERVICE FOR GAS UTILITIES AND ALTERNATIVE GAS SUPPLIERS › Subpart C - CUSTOMER INFORMATION › Section 501.400 - Corrections and Adjustments for Measurement Error

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) A utility shall observe the following
				provisions for adjusting customer bills whenever any test made by a utility or by
				the Commission shows a customer's measured gas usage to have an average error of
				more than 2.0 %.
1) If the utility determines that
				a customer's measured gas usage contains an average error of more than 2.0% fast,
				the utility shall determine the billing adjustment for services provided by the
				utility based on the actual average error percentage found, not the difference
				between the allowable error (i.e., 2.0%) and the error found as a result of a test.
				The utility shall presume that the average error existed for a period of two years
				prior to the date the utility removed the measurement equipment that caused the
				error from service. If the measurement equipment was tested while in service, the
				utility shall presume that the average error existed for a period of two years prior
				to the date of the equipment's test.
2)
				If the utility determines a customer's measured gas usage contains an average error
				of more than 2.0% slow, the utility may determine a billing adjustment for services
				provided by the utility, in which event the billing adjustment shall be based on the
				actual average error percentage found, not the difference between the allowable
				error (i.e., 2.0%) and the error found as a result of a test. The utility shall
				presume that the average error existed for a period of one year prior to the date
				the utility removed from service the measurement equipment that caused the error for
				small commercial and residential customers and two years prior to the date the
				utility removed from service the measurement equipment that caused the error for all
				other customers. If the utility tested the measurement equipment while in service,
				the utility shall presume that the average error existed for a period of one year
				prior to the date of the measurement equipment's test for small commercial and
				residential customers and two years prior to the date of the measurement equipment's
				test for all other customers.
3) If the
				utility determines that the measurement error is due to a non-registering meter, the
				utility may determine a billing adjustment for services provided by the utility, in
				which event the billing adjustment shall be based on the presumption that the
				non-registration existed for a period of not more than 60 days when the utility
				reads the meter on a monthly schedule or 90 days when the utility reads the meter on
				a longer schedule. A utility may consider meters equipped with automatic meter
				reading devices as read on a monthly schedule. However, a utility may presume that
				the non-registration existed for a period of up to 180 days if the utility is unable
				to gain access to the meter within 20 business days after its initial request for
				access due to the customer's refusal to grant access, provided the utility offered
				to exchange the meter during or after the utility's normal working hours.
4) If a utility intends to make a billing
				adjustment pursuant to subsection (a)(1), (2) or (3), the utility shall notify the
				customer of the test results and applicable billing adjustment for the services
				provided by the utility, including an explanation of the billing adjustment, within
				30 business days after the utility receives the test results. At the same time the
				utility provides notice to the customer, the utility shall provide the same notice
				to each alternative gas supplier serving the customer during the period over which
				the utility deems the average error to have occurred. The utility shall provide a
				billing adjustment to the customer for the services provided by the utility within
				45 business days after the date of the notice to the customer.
5) A utility shall not determine a billing
				adjustment for services provided by the utility for a measurement error before the
				in-service date of the measurement equipment that caused the error, nor shall it
				provide for any correction before the date upon which the current customer first
				occupied the premises at which the inaccurate measurement equipment was
				located.
6) If a utility, a customer, an
				alternative gas supplier, or a natural gas supplier can show that the measurement
				equipment error has existed for a longer or shorter period than the presumed time
				for a billing adjustment set forth in this subsection (a), the utility shall
				determine the billing adjustment for the error using the longer or shorter time
				period, as applicable. This Section will not apply to occasions when the utility
				found the measurement equipment to under-register, but the utility did not meet all
				of the prescribed testing and maintenance requirements for the measurement equipment
				set forth in Subpart B.
7) When a
				utility finds that an error results from a gas meter registering gas leaking from
				the meter, the utility shall estimate the amount of leaked gas that the meter has
				registered in accordance with this subsection (a) to determine the billing
				adjustment.
8) The provisions of this
				subsection (a) do not apply to situations in which a utility detects tampering of
				the gas measurement equipment by the customer and the customer enjoyed the benefit
				of the tampering.