Ohio Administrative Code › Title 4901:1 - Utilities › Chapter 4901:1-29 - Minimum Standards for Competitive Retail Natural Gas Service › Section 4901:1-29-12 - Customer billing and payments

Current through all regulations
			 passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A) A retail natural gas supplier or
			 governmental aggregator (and/or its agent) may bill customers directly for
			 competitive retail natural gas services pursuant to this rule. A retail natural
			 gas supplier or governmental aggregator may bill for consolidated services if
			 it can demonstrate, pursuant to the standards contained in the incumbent
			 natural gas company tariffs, to the incumbent natural gas company and the
			 commission it has the capability to bill customers for such services.
(B) Customer bills issued by or for retail
			 natural gas suppliers and governmental aggregators shall be accurate and
			 understandable, be rendered at intervals consistent with those of the
			 customer's natural gas company, and contain sufficient information for
			 customers to compute and compare the total cost of competitive retail natural
			 gas service(s). In order to promote these objectives,
			 customer bills should highlight and provide a clear explanation of any changes
			 in the rates, terms, and conditions of service, for two consecutive billing
			 periods. Such bills shall also include:
(1) The customer's name, billing address,
			 service address, the customer's natural gas company account number, and if
			 applicable, the retail natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator account
			 number.
(2) The dates of service
			 covered by the bill, an itemization of each type of competitive retail natural
			 gas service covered by the bill, any related billing components, the charge for
			 each type of natural gas service, and an itemization of all other fees and
			 charges.
(3) The customer's
			 historical consumption during each of the preceding twelve months or each of
			 the preceding months that the customer has been a customer of the retail
			 natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator, whichever is less; with a
			 total consumption and an overall average monthly consumption for such
			 period.
(4) The applicable billing
			 determinants, including beginning meter reading(s), ending meter reading(s),
			 multiplier(s), and any other consumption(s) adjustments.
(5) The unit price charged per Ccf or Mcf,
			 whichever is consistent with the incumbent natural gas company's billing
			 format, if the product is based on a per-unit price for competitive retail
			 natural gas service, as calculated by dividing current-period competitive
			 retail natural gas service charges by the current- period consumption. For
			 monthly-rate offers, a specific listing of the rate being charged per month for
			 the duration of the contract.
(6)
			 An identification of the retail natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator
			 of each retail natural gas service appearing on the bill.
(7) 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, and the total amount due and
			 payable.
(8) The due date for
			 payment to keep the account current. Such due date shall be consistent with
			 that provided by the incumbent natural gas company for its charges.
(9) Current balance of the account, if a
			 residential customer is billed according to a budget plan.
(10) Options and instructions on how
			 customers may make their payments.
(11) A toll-free or local telephone number
			 and address for customer billing questions or complaints must appear for any
			 retail natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator whose charges appear on
			 the bill.
(12) The following
			 statement: "If your complaint is not resolved after you have called (name the
			 retail natural gas company or governmental aggregator), 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
."
(13) The incumbent natural gas
			 company's twenty-four hour local/toll-free telephone number for reporting
			 service emergencies.
(14)
			 Identification of estimated bills or bills not based upon actual end-of-period
			 meter readings for the period.
(15)
			 An explanation of any codes and abbreviations used.