Texas Administrative Code › Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION › Part 2 - PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS › Chapter 25 - SUBSTANTIVE RULES APPLICABLE TO ELECTRIC SERVICE PROVIDERS › Subchapter R - CUSTOMER PROTECTION RULES FOR RETAIL ELECTRIC SERVICE PROVIDERS › Section 25.478 - Credit Requirements and Deposits

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
				  Credit requirements for residential customers. A retail electric provider (REP)
				  may require a residential customer or applicant to establish and maintain
				  satisfactory credit as a condition of providing service pursuant to the
				  requirements of this section.
(1)
				  Establishment of satisfactory credit shall not relieve any customer from
				  complying with the requirements for payment of bills by the due date of the
				  bill.
(2) The credit worthiness of
				  spouses established during shared service in the 12 months prior to their
				  divorce will be equally applied to both spouses for 12 months immediately after
				  their divorce.
(3) A residential
				  customer or applicant seeking to establish service with an affiliated REP or
				  provider of last resort (POLR) can demonstrate satisfactory credit using one of
				  the criteria listed in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of this paragraph.
(A) A residential customer or applicant may
				  be deemed as having established satisfactory credit if the customer or
				  applicant:
(i) has been a customer of any REP
				  or an electric utility within the two years prior to the request for electric
				  service;
(ii) is not delinquent in
				  payment of any such electric service account; and
(iii) during the last 12 consecutive months
				  of service was not late in paying a bill more than once.
(B) A residential customer or applicant may
				  be deemed as having established satisfactory credit if the customer or
				  applicant possesses a satisfactory credit rating obtained through a consumer
				  reporting agency, as defined by the Federal Trade Commission.
(C) A residential customer or applicant may
				  be deemed as having established satisfactory credit if the customer or
				  applicant is 65 years of age or older and the customer is not currently
				  delinquent in payment of any electric service account.
(D) A residential customer or applicant may
				  be deemed as having established satisfactory credit if the customer or
				  applicant has been determined to be a victim of family violence as defined in
				  the Texas Family Code §
												RSA 71.004, by a
				  family violence center as defined in Texas Human Resources Code §
												RSA
				  51.002, by treating medical personnel, by law
				  enforcement personnel, by the Office of a Texas District Attorney or County
				  Attorney, by the Office of the Attorney General, or by a grantee of the Texas
				  Equal Access to Justice Foundation. This determination shall be evidenced by
				  submission of a certification letter developed by the Texas Council on Family
				  Violence. The certification letter may be submitted directly by use of a
				  toll-free fax number to the affiliated REP or POLR.
(E) A residential customer or applicant
				  seeking to establish service may be deemed as having established satisfactory
				  credit if the customer is medically indigent. In order for a customer or
				  applicant to be considered medically indigent, the customer or applicant must
				  make a demonstration that the following criteria are met. Such demonstration
				  must be made annually:
(i) the customer's or
				  applicant's household income must be at or below 150% of the poverty guidelines
				  as certified by a governmental entity or government funded energy assistance
				  program provider; and
(ii) the
				  customer or applicant or the spouse of the customer or applicant must have been
				  certified by that person's physician as being unable to perform three or more
				  activities of daily living as defined in 22 TAC §
													RSA 224.4,
				  or the customer's or applicant's monthly out-of-pocket medical expenses must
				  exceed 20% of the household's gross income. For the purposes of this
				  subsection, the term "physician" shall mean any medical doctor, doctor of
				  osteopathy, nurse practitioner, registered nurse, state-licensed social
				  workers, state-licensed physical and occupational therapists, and an employee
				  of an agency certified to provide home health services pursuant to
				  42 U.S.C. §
														1395 et seq.
(4) A residential customer or applicant
				  seeking to establish service with a REP other than an affiliated REP or POLR
				  can demonstrate satisfactory credit using one of the criteria listed in
				  subparagraphs (A) through (B) of this paragraph. Notice of these options for
				  customers or applicants shall be included in any written or oral notice to a
				  customer or applicant when a deposit is requested. A REP other than an
				  affiliated REP or POLR may establish additional methods by which a customer or
				  applicant not meeting the criteria of subparagraphs (A) or (B) of this
				  paragraph can demonstrate satisfactory credit, so long as such criteria are not
				  discriminatory pursuant to §
											RSA
				  25.471<subdiv>(c)</subdiv> of
				  this title (relating to General Provisions of Customer Protection Rules).
(A) The residential customer or applicant is
				  65 years of age or older and the customer is not currently delinquent in
				  payment of any electric service account.
(B) The customer or applicant has been
				  determined to be a victim of family violence as defined in the Texas Family
				  Code §
												RSA 71.004, by a
				  family violence center as defined in Texas Human Resources Code §
												RSA
				  51.002, by treating medical personnel, by law
				  enforcement personnel, by the Office of a Texas District Attorney or County
				  Attorney, by the Office of the Attorney General, or by a grantee of the Texas
				  Equal Access to Justice Foundation. This determination shall be evidenced by
				  submission of a certification letter developed by the Texas Council on Family
				  Violence. The certification letter may be submitted directly by use of a
				  toll-free fax number to the REP.
(5) The REP may obtain payment history
				  information from any REP that has served the applicant in the previous two
				  years or from a consumer reporting agency, as defined by the Federal Trade
				  Commission. The REP shall obtain the customer's or applicant's authorization
				  prior to obtaining such information from the customer's or applicant's prior
				  REP. A REP shall maintain payment history information for two years after a
				  customer's electric service has been terminated or disconnected in order to be
				  able to provide credit history information at the request of the former
				  customer.