Ohio Administrative Code › Title 4901:1 - Utilities › Chapter 4901:1-21 - Competitive Retail Electric Service Providers › Section 4901:1-21-14 - Customer billing and payments

Current through all
			 regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A) This rule applies to competitive retail
			 electric service (CRES) bills that do not include any electric utility charges.
			 Requirements for consolidated billing appear in rule
			 4901:1-21-18
			 of the Administrative Code.
(B) A
			 CRES provider may bill customers directly for competitive retail electric
			 services or arrange for the electric utility to bill customers for such
			 services according to a tariff approved by the commission.
(C) Residential and small commercial customer
			 bills issued by or for CRES providers shall be accurate and understandable, be
			 rendered at monthly intervals consistent with those of the customer's electric
			 utility, and contain sufficient information for customers to compute and
			 compare the total cost of competitive retail electric service(s). Such bills
			 shall also include:
(1) The customer's name,
			 billing address, service address, electric utility account number, and, if
			 applicable, the CRES account number.
(2) The dates of service covered by the bill,
			 an itemization of each type of competitive service covered by the bill, any
			 related billing components, the charge for each type of service, and any other
			 information the customer would need to recalculate the bill for
			 accuracy.
(3) The applicable
			 billing determinants, including beginning meter reading(s), ending meter
			 reading(s), demand meter reading(s), multiplier(s), consumption(s), and
			 demands.
(4) For customer
			 generators with net-metering contracts, a statement of the net-metered
			 generation.
(5) The unit price per
			 kilowatt hour charged for competitive service, as calculated by dividing the
			 current-period competitive service charges by the current-period
			 consumption, or, if applicable, the flat-monthly
			 rate.
(6) An identification
			 of the provider of each service appearing on the bill.
(7) A notice in boldface type containing
			 clear explanation for any change of providers, rates, terms, or conditions of
			 service. Such notice shall appear on the first two consecutive bills following
			 the occurrence of any such changes, excluding the first billing after the
			 starting date of competitive retail electric service.
(8) The amount billed for the current period,
			 any unpaid amounts due from previous periods, any payments or credits applied
			 to the customer's account during the current period, any late payment charges
			 or gross and net charges, if applicable, any nonrecurring charges, and the
			 total amount due and payable.
(9)
			 The due date for payment to keep the account current. Such due date shall be no
			 less than:
(a) Fourteen calendar days after
			 the postmark date on the bill for residential customers.
			 For residential bills issued from outside the state of
			 Ohio, the due date shall not be less than twenty-one calendar days after the
			 postmark date.
(b) Twenty-one
			 calendar days after the postmark date on the bill for nonresidential
			 customers.
(10) The
			 current balance of the account, if a residential customer is billed according
			 to a budget plan.
(11) Options and
			 instructions on how customers may make their payments.
(12) For each provider whose charges appear
			 on the bill, a listing of the provider's toll-free telephone number and address
			 for customer billing questions or complaints.
(13) The following notice:
"If your complaint is not resolved after you have called (name
				of CRES provider), or for general utility information, residential and business
				customers may contact the public utilities commission of Ohio (PUCO) for
				assistance at 1-800-686-7826 (toll free) from eight a.m. to five p.m. weekdays,
				or at
http://www.puco.ohio.gov
.
				Hearing or speech impaired customers may contact the PUCO via 7-1-1 (Ohio relay
				service).
The Ohio consumers' counsel (OCC) represents residential
				utility customers in matters before the PUCO. The OCC can be contacted at
				1-877-742-5622 (toll free) from eight a.m. to five p.m. weekdays, or at
http://www.pickocc.org
."
(14) The applicable electric
			 utility's twenty-four hour local or toll-free numbers for reporting service
			 emergencies.
(15) An identification
			 of estimated bills or bills not based upon actual end-of-period meter readings
			 for the period.
(16) An explanation
			 of any codes and abbreviations used.