Nebraska Administrative Code › Topic - PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION › Title 291 - NEBRASKA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION › Chapter 9 - NATURAL GAS AND PIPELINE RULES AND REGULATIONS › Section 291-9-013 - RESIDENTIAL DISCONNECTION OF SERVICE

Current through June 17, 2024
013.01
Notice of
				Disconnection
:
A notice of disconnection of service sent by a jurisdictional
				  utility shall comply with the requirements of Neb. Rev. Stat. §
										70-1606
				  (Reissue 1996), and each jurisdictional utilty shall have a third-party notice
				  procedure for the notification of a designated third party of any proposed
				  disconnection of service, in accordance with Neb. Rev. Stat. §
										70-1607
				  (1996).
013.02
Conference Between Jurisdictional Utility and
				Customer
:
Each jurisdictional utility shall have a procedure to hear
				  and decide any dispute related to a proposed disconnection of service or any
				  other matter affecting the service to a residential customer. A conference will
				  be scheduled and held within 14 days of the residential customer's request and
				  before the jurisdictional utility may disconnect service. The employee of the
				  jurisdictional utility, based on the evidence presented at the conference, may
				  affirm, reverse, or modify any prior decision of the jurisdictional utility.
				  The residential customer may appeal an adverse decision to a management office
				  designated by the jurisdictional utility, with whom a hearing shall be held, or
				  may file a complaint directly with the Commission.
013.03
Payment Plans for
				Delinquent Bills
:
If a residential customer asserts inability to pay or
				  extenuating circumstances, the residential customer and the jurisdictional
				  utility serving such customer shall attempt to agree upon reasonable
				  installment payment arrangements for the payment of any account balance and for
				  payment of current charges for utility service. If the residential customer
				  believes that the installment payment arrangements offered by the
				  jurisdictional utility are unreasonable, that residential customer may file a
				  complaint with the Commission, challenging such utility-offered installment
				  payment arrangement terms. A customer may make an informal complaint by
				  contacting the Commission via telephone or correspondence, or may make a formal
				  complaint by completing a form provided by the Commission.
013.04
The Disconnecting
				Act
:
No jurisdictional utility shall disconnect natural gas
				  service to a residential customer on any Saturday, Sunday, Nebraska legal
				  holiday, or at any time when the jurisdictional utility's business offices are
				  not open to the public.
013.05
Residential Winter
				Disconnection
:
In addition to the notice provisions before disconnection of
				  service to a residential customer in Neb. Rev. Stat. §
										70-1605
				  (Reissue 1996), no jurisdictional utility may disconnect residential customer
				  service from November 1 to March 31 without adding to the time for payment of a
				  bill an additional 30 days before disconnecting that service, and it shall
				  notify the residential customer before the normal disconnection date that the
				  residential customer has such additional 30 days until disconnection.
013.05A
Temporary Ban on
				Disconnections
: The Commission shall have the authority to order a
				temporary ban on any or all disconnections for jurisdictional utilities during
				periods of extremely severe weather or when circumstances exist such that
				disconnection could create a situation dangerous to the life or health of
				customers or to property.
013.05B
				If a resident who is a ratepayer and has been certified as eligible for low
				income home energy assistance has communicated such eligibility to the
				jurisdictional utility and has provided acceptable documentation of such
				eligibility to the utility within a reasonable time, then no disconnection may
				take place from November 1 through March 31;
013.05C To have service restored during the
				cold weather period between November 1 and March 31, the following shall apply
013.05C1 A ratepayer must make payment of
				one-fourth (1/4) of the total arrearage plus the bill for consumption during
				the most recent billing period for which service was provided and enter a
				payment plan for current and future consumption with the remaining arrearage
				paid in installments over no less than three (3) months or as agreed between
				the ratepayer and the jurisdictional utility.
013.05C2 A ratepayer must not default on the
				payment plan. If a ratepayer defaults on the payment plan, the jurisdictional
				utility may disconnect service after providing the requisite notice.
013.05C3 Nothing in Section
				011.05C shall
				preclude a ratepayer from paying an arrearage in full or agreeing to an
				alternate payment schedule.
013.05C4 Nothing in Section
				011.05C shall
				preclude a jurisdictional utility from collecting the applicable reconnection
				fee in its tariff or requiring a deposit.