Code of Maine Rules › 65 - DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION › 407 - PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION › Chapter 815 - CONSUMER PROTECTION STANDARDS FOR ELECTRIC AND GAS TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION UTILITIES › Section 407-815-14 - CUSTOMER NOTICE OF PLANNED AND UNPLANNED SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS DUE TO MAINTENANCE OR REPAIRS

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
The term "interruption" in this subsection means either a
				  cessation of service or a substantial degradation in the quality of service
				  normally provided. A utility may temporarily interrupt service when it is
				  necessary to repair or maintain the utility delivery system (planned or
				  unplanned); to eliminate an imminent threat to life, health, safety or
				  substantial property damage; or for reasons of local, state or national
				  emergency. Whenever a utility performs any of these tasks, the utility must
				  take all reasonable measures to ensure the safety of its customers and to
				  protect customers' property against damage.
A.
Reasonable notice required
When the utility schedules a service interruption for
				  maintenance or repairs, the utility must give reasonable notice of the cause
				  and expected duration of the interruption to customers and occupants who may be
				  affected. If the service interruption is scheduled to affect more than 10
				  customers or customers receiving service at the transmission or
				  sub-transmission level, or last more than five hours, reasonable notice means
				  three days if feasible, but 24 hours at a minimum. In other cases reasonable
				  notice means notice as soon as practicable.
B.
Notification of affected
				customers
When service is interrupted without notice for more than five
				  hours, the utility must attempt to notify directly those customers who have
				  informed the utility of the presence of life support systems or other special
				  needs that depend on utility service of the cause and expected duration of the
				  outage. Utilities must make reasonable efforts to notify other affected
				  customers and occupants of the cause and expected duration of the interruption
				  through general notification means such as posting outage information on a
				  website and making outage information available to customers that call the
				  utility.
C.
Method of
				notification
Notice required by paragraphs A and B can be given by the
				  method best suited to the nature of the interruption, the size of the area
				  affected, the time of year, and the resources available to the utility. In any
				  case, the utility must take all reasonable steps to notify directly those
				  customers who have informed the utility of the presence of life support systems
				  or other special needs that depend on utility service that a planned or
				  scheduled interruption will occur.
D.
Identification of customers on life
				support
A utility must solicit applicants and customers to report the
				  presence of life support systems or other special needs, pursuant to Section
				  5(A)(11). Once reported, the utility must identify these customers in its
				  billing system, outage restoration system, and at the customer's
				  meter.