Ohio Administrative Code › Title 4901:1 - Utilities › Chapter 4901:1-13 - Gas Companies › Section 4901:1-13-11 - Gas or natural gas company customer billing and payments

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1,
			 2024
(A) This rule
			 applies to all gas or natural gas company bills, including those issued on
			 behalf of any retail natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator. Gas or
			 natural gas companies shall make dual billing and consolidated billing
			 available to retail natural gas suppliers and governmental
			 aggregators.
(B) Bills issued by or
			 for the gas or natural gas company shall be accurate and rendered at monthly
			 intervals . Each bill shall display all of the following
			 information:
(1) The customer's name, billing
			 address, service address, account number, and, if applicable, the retail
			 natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator account number.
(2) The gas or natural gas company's name and
			 its payment address.
(3) The gas or
			 natural gas company's twenty-four hour, local or toll-free telephone number for
			 reporting service emergencies.
(4)
			 A statement that customers with bill questions or complaints should call or
			 write the gas or natural gas company first. The bill shall list the gas or
			 natural gas company's local or toll-free telephone number(s) and the address
			 where a question or complaint may be sent.
(5) The following text:
"If your complaint is not resolved after you have called (name
				of utility), 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
."
(6) The identification of the
			 applicable rate schedule.
(7) The
			 dates of the service period covered by the bill.
(8) The billing determinants, if applicable:
(a) Beginning meter reading(s).
(b) Ending meter reading(s).
(c) Multiplier(s).
(d) Consumption(s).
(e) Fixed monthly customer charge.
(9) The rate for purchase of the
			 gas or natural gas commodity, expressed in dollars and cents per Mcf or Ccf,
			 reflecting either of the following:
(a) The
			 gas cost recovery rate; or
(b)
			 The rate for the commodity service, if the company has been granted an
			 exemption under section
			 4929.04 of the Revised
			 Code.
(10) The total
			 charge attributable to the rate for purchase of the gas or natural gas
			 commodity, expressed in dollars and cents, reflecting either of the following:
(a) The gas cost recovery rate.
(b) The rate for the commodity sales service,
			 if the company has been granted an exemption under section
			 4929.04 of the Revised
			 Code.
(11) If
			 applicable, the name of the retail natural gas supplier or governmental
			 aggregator in close proximity to the retail natural gas supplier or
			 governmental aggregator commodity charges, as well as a toll-free or local
			 telephone number and address for customer billing questions or complaints
			 regarding retail natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator
			 charges.
(12) The total charge
			 attributable to the gross receipts tax, expressed in dollars and cents, and the
			 gross receipts tax rate. This requirement only applies to gas or natural gas
			 companies that allow for competitive retail natural gas services on their
			 system.
(13) The following
			 prominently displayed price to compare statement on residential and small
			 commercial customer bills, if the company has a choice program:
"When shopping for a natural gas supplier, it may be useful to
				compare supplier offers with the standard choice offer (SCO) rate [or, if
				applicable, the gas cost recovery (GCR) rate] available to eligible customers,
				which varies monthly based on the market price of natural gas. Price represents
				one feature of any offer; there may be other features which you consider of
				value. More information about the SCO [or GCR, if applicable] and other
				suppliers' offers is available at energychoice.ohio.gov or by contacting the
				PUCO."
(14) The
			 identification of estimated bills.
(15) The due date for payment.
(16) The total charges for the current
			 billing period.
(17) Any late
			 payment charge or gross and net charges, if applicable.
(18) Any unpaid amounts due from previous
			 bills, customer credits, and total amounts due and payable.
(19) The current balance of the account, if
			 the residential customer is billed according to a budget plan.
(20) The current gas and electric charges
			 separately, if the customer is billed for gas and electric service on the same
			 bill.
(21) If applicable, each
			 charge for a service that is either nontariffed or nonregulated and, with
			 regard to services that are, the name and toll-free telephone number of each
			 provider of service.
(22) Any
			 nonrecurring charge(s).
(23) Any
			 payment(s) or credit(s) applied to the account during the current billing
			 period.
(24) If applicable, all the
			 percentage of income payment plan plus (PIPP plus) billing information:
(a) Current PIPP plus payment.
(b) PIPP plus payments defaulted (i.e., past
			 due).
(c) Total PIPP plus amount
			 due.
(d) Total account arrearage.
(25) An explanation of codes and
			 abbreviations used.
(26) If a
			 customer's selected retail natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator
			 bills separately for its supplier charges, the supplier's name and a statement
			 that such supplier is responsible for billing the gas supplier charges and such
			 supplier will separately bill the customer for that component of natural gas
			 service.
(27) The customer's
			 historical consumption during each of the preceding twelve months, with a total
			 and average consumption for such twelve-month period, if the company has a
			 choice program.
(28) A statement,
			 either appearing directly on the bill, in a bill insert, or as a separate
			 mailing, of any payment arrangement agreed upon by the customer and the
			 company.