Ohio Administrative Code › Title 122:5 - Office of Community Services › Chapter 122:5-3 - Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP) Program › Section 122:5-3-01 - Definitions

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
Defined terms used in this chapter are as follows:
(A) "Account default" means a PIPP plus
			 customer's failure to pay monthly PIPP plus installment amounts causing the
			 PIPP plus customer's electric service to be subject to disconnection by a
			 utility for nonpayment or actually disconnected for nonpayment.
(B) "Accrued arrearage" means for each PIPP
			 plus customer that customer's total bill balance, less the current bill amount,
			 owed to the electric distribution utility then providing electric service to
			 such customer.
(C) "Active PIPP
			 plus customer" means a customer who is both currently enrolled in PIPP plus and
			 currently using utility service from the electric distribution utility
			 receiving payments from the fund for such customer.
(D) "Annual energy assistance guidelines"
			 means the operating guidelines written by the office of community assistance
			 and published annually to provide information to staff of the office of
			 community assistance and local agencies and to the public about the operation
			 of low-income customer assistance programs.
(E) "Annual HWAP plan" means for each program
			 year for the home weatherization assistance program, the home weatherization
			 assistance state plan submitted by the director to the United States department
			 of energy, as such plan may be amended.
(F) "Annual LIHEAP plan" means for each
			 program year for the home energy assistance program, the low-income home energy
			 assistance program federal fiscal year state plan for the state of Ohio
			 submitted by the director to the United States department of health and human
			 services, as such plan may be amended.
(G) "Arrearage credit amount" means an amount
			 calculated for each PIPP plus customer as described in paragraph (B)(3) of rule
			 122:5-3-04
			 of the Administrative Code.
(H)
			 "Business day" means any day that is not a Saturday or a Sunday and not a day
			 on which governmental offices of the state of Ohio or banks in the state of
			 Ohio are required or permitted to be closed.
(I) "Commission" means the public utilities
			 commission of Ohio.
(J) "Current
			 bill balance" means for each monthly billing cycle for a PIPP plus customer,
			 the difference between such customer's monthly PIPP plus installment amount and
			 the actual amount billed for electric service for the billing cycle.
(K) "Customer" means any person who enters
			 into an agreement to purchase residential electric service by contract and/or
			 tariff from an electric distribution utility or from a municipal electric
			 utility or electric cooperative that participates in the low-income customer
			 assistance programs.
(L) "Customer
			 arrearages" means for each PIPP plus customer, such customer's current bill
			 balance, plus the customer's accrued arrearage at the time the customer enrolls
			 in the PIPP plus program, but does not include past due monthly PIPP plus
			 installments.
(M) "Customer
			 payment" means, for purposes of this chapter and arrearage
			 crediting, a payment of a monthly PIPP plus installment made from the
			 customer's financial resources or paid by a third-party on the customer's
			 behalf, excluding federal funds administered by the office of community
			 assistance.
(N) "Director" means
			 the director of the Ohio development services agency and also includes such
			 other officers or employees of the Ohio development services agency who may act
			 for or in the place of the director under this chapter pursuant to rule
			 122:5-3-09
			 of the Administrative Code.
(O)
			 "Electrically heated residence" means a residence for which the primary source
			 of heating is an electric appliance such as an electric furnace, heat pump or
			 electric baseboard heater.
(P)
			 "Electric baseload residence" means a residence for which electricity is not
			 the primary source of heating.
(Q)
			 "Electric cooperative" means, as defined in division (A)(5) of section
			 4928.01
			 of the Revised Code, a nonprofit electric light company that both is or has
			 been financed in whole or in part under the "Rural Electrification Act of
			 1936," 49 stat. 1363,
			 7
			 U.S.C. 901, and owns or operates facilities
			 in the state of Ohio to generate, transmit, or distribute electricity, or a
			 nonprofit successor of such company.
(R) "Electric distribution utility" means, as
			 defined in division (A)(6) of section
			 4928.01
			 of the Revised Code, an electric utility that supplies at least retail electric
			 distribution service.
(S) "Electric
			 partnership program policies and procedures" means the policies and procedures
			 developed, maintained, and published from time to time by the office of
			 community assistance for electric partnership program service
			 providers.
(T) "Electric services
			 company" means, as defined in division (A)(9) of section
			 4928.01
			 of the Revised Code, an electric light company that is engaged on a for-profit
			 or nonprofit basis in the business of supplying or arranging for the supply of
			 only a competitive retail electric service in Ohio. "Electric services company"
			 includes a power marketer, power broker, aggregator, or independent power
			 producer but excludes an electric cooperative, municipal electric utility,
			 governmental aggregator, or billing and collection agent.
(U) "Electric utility" means, as defined in
			 division (A)(11) of section
			 4928.01
			 of the Revised Code, an electric light company that has a certified territory
			 and is engaged on a for-profit basis in the business of supplying a
			 noncompetitive retail electric service in Ohio or in the businesses of
			 supplying both a noncompetitive and a competitive retail electric service in
			 Ohio. "Electric utility" excludes a municipal electric utility or a billing and
			 collection agent.
(V) "Eligible
			 customer" means a customer who satisfies the eligibility criteria set forth in
			 rule
			 122:5-3-02
			 of the Administrative Code.
(W)
			 "Energy efficiency and weatherization services" means those services
			 coordinated by the office of community assistance through its energy efficiency
			 and weatherization programs targeted, but not provided exclusively, to
			 high-cost, high-volume use structures occupied by eligible customers with the
			 goal of reducing the energy bills of such customers.
(X) "Federal poverty guidelines" means the
			 poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the United
			 States department of health and human services under the authority of
			 42
			 U.S.C. 9902(2).
(Y) "Former percentage of income payment plan
			 customer" (former PIPP plus customer) means a customer who (1) remains within
			 the service territory of the electric distribution utility that provided
			 electric service to the customer while participating in the PIPP plus program,
			 (2) either elects to terminate participation in the PIPP plus program or is no
			 longer eligible to participate in the PIPP plus program as a result of an
			 increase in the household income or change in the household size, and (3) is
			 not enrolled in the graduate PIPP plus or post-PIPP plus payment programs
			 provided in accordance with paragraph (B)(5) of rule
			 122:5-3-04
			 of the Administrative Code.
(Z)
			 "Fraudulent Enrollment" means the PIPP plus applicant knowingly conceals income
			 or household composition information for any household member in order to be
			 eligible for the program or to obtain a lower PIPP plus installment.
(AA) "Fund" means the universal service fund
			 established by division (A) of section
			 4928.51 of
			 the Revised Code.
(BB) "Graduate
			 percentage of income payment plan customer" (graduate PIPP plus customer) means
			 a customer who (1) continues to receive electric service from the electric
			 distribution utility that provided service to the customer while participating
			 in the PIPP Plus program, and (2) was previously enrolled in a percentage of
			 income payment plan.
(CC)
			 "Household income" means the total gross income before taxes of all household
			 members except earned income of dependent minors under eighteen years old, any
			 income expressly excluded under federal rules for the administration of the
			 home energy assistance program, and any income otherwise expressly excluded by
			 the director as provided in paragraph (B) of rule
			 122:5-3-02
			 of the Administrative Code. Gross household income includes, but is not limited
			 to, wages, interest, dividends, annuities, and pensions. Sources of income
			 excluded from "household income" shall be those sources of income identified as
			 excluded by the director annually as part of the annual LIHEAP plan and
			 published in the annual energy assistance guidelines.
(DD) "Inactive PIPP plus customer" means a
			 customer who is not currently enrolled in the PIPP plus program, the graduate
			 PIPP plus payment program, or the post-PIPP plus payment program and such
			 customer has a PIPP arrearage balance greater than zero dollars.
(EE) "Local agency" means a community action
			 agency or other local service provider designated by the director to assist
			 with the administration of low-income customer assistance programs at the local
			 level.
(FF) "Low-income customer
			 assistance programs" means the PIPP plus program, the home energy assistance
			 program, the home weatherization assistance program, the electric partnership
			 program (formerly known as the targeted energy efficiency and weatherization
			 program) and such other programs as may be developed by the director as
			 permitted or required by law.
(GG)
			 "Monthly PIPP plus installment amount" means for each PIPP plus customer the
			 amount of such customer's household income to be paid each month for electric
			 service as determined in accordance with paragraph (A) of rule
			 122:5-3-04
			 of the Administrative Code.
(HH)
			 "Municipal electric utility" means, as defined in division (A)(20) of section
			 4928.01
			 of the Revised Code, a municipal corporation that owns or operates facilities
			 to generate, transmit, or distribute electricity.
(II) "Office of community assistance" means
			 the office within the Ohio development services agency designated as the agency
			 to receive federal funding from United States departments of health and human
			 services and energy for home energy assistance and home weatherization
			 assistance, respectively.
(JJ)
			 "Non-compliance" means anyone who fails to provide accurate, full and complete
			 information as required by the program in order to determine eligibility
			 requirements or is not qualified for benefits they are currently receiving
			 under the program.
(KK) "On-time
			 payment" means, for purposes of this chapter and arrearage
			 crediting, a PIPP Plus installment received by the electric distribution
			 utility prior to the date that the next bill for electric service is
			 issued.
(LL) "Operational policies
			 and procedures" means the policies and procedures adopted by the director to
			 further implement the PIPP plus program in accordance with section
			 4928.53
			 of the Revised Code and the rules set forth in this chapter of the
			 Administrative Code.
(MM)
			 "Percentage of income payment plan plus program," or "PIPP Plus program," means
			 the program administered by the director in accordance with section
			 4928.53
			 of the Revised Code and the rules set forth in this chapter of the
			 Administrative Code allowing eligible customers to pay a percentage of
			 household income in lieu of the actual bill for residential electric service.
			 For purposes of marketing the PIPP plus program to eligible customers, the
			 director may assign a distinct program name or title to the PIPP plus
			 program.
(NN) " PIPP Plus
			 anniversary date" means the calendar date by which the PIPP plus customer must
			 be current on his/her income based PIPP plus payments to continue participation
			 in PIPP plus for the subsequent twelve months. It is also the date by which the
			 PIPP plus customer's arrearage credit amount will be reviewed and may be
			 recalculated. The PIPP plus anniversary date shall be at or about twelve months
			 from when the customer 
								was first enrolled in PIPP plus.
(OO) "PIPP Plus annual verification date"
			 means the calendar date at or about twelve months from the PIPP plus customer's
			 most recent re-verification date.
(PP) "PIPP Plus customer" means a customer
			 who participates in the percentage of income payment plan program.
(QQ) "PIPP Plus re-verification date" means
			 the actual date on which the PIPP plus customer documented his or her household
			 income and household size to continue in the PIPP plus program or the PIPP plus
			 graduate program.
(RR)
			 "Post-percentage of income payment plan customer" (post-PIPP plus customer)
			 means a customer who (1) no longer has electric service from the electric
			 distribution utility that provided service to the customer while participating
			 in the PIPP plus program, (2) was previously enrolled in a percentage of income
			 payment plan, and (3) is enrolled in the transitional phase of the PIPP plus
			 program provided in accordance with paragraph (B)(5)(c) of rule
			 122:5-3-04
			 of the Administrative Code.
(SS)
			 "Universal service rider" means the rider on retail electric distribution
			 service rates authorized by section
			 4928.52
			 of the Revised Code and established from time to time by petition of the
			 director to the commission as provided therein.
(TT) "Weatherization program standards" means
			 the standards developed, maintained, and published from time to time by the
			 office of community assistance which relate to the installation of
			 weatherization materials and energy efficiency products, services and measures
			 and to performance evaluation of such materials, services, and
			 measures.