Pennsylvania Code › Title 52 - PUBLIC UTILITIES › Part I - Public Utility Commission › Subpart C - Fixed Service Utilities › Chapter 53 - TARIFFS FOR NONCOMMON CARRIERS › POSTING OF TARIFFS AND NOTICES › Section 53.45 - Notice of new tariffs and tariff changes

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) Thirty days prior to the filing of a new
					 tariff, tariff supplement or tariff revision that constitutes a general rate
					 increase within the meaning of
					 66 Pa.C.S. §
												1308(d) (relating to
					 voluntary changes in rates) and that is anticipated to exceed $1 million, a
					 public utility shall file with the Secretary a written notice informing the
					 Commission of the utility's anticipated filing of a general rate increase and,
					 to the extent available, an estimate of the overall amount of the anticipated
					 general rate increase. This notice shall be deemed proprietary and
					 confidential. Copies of this notice shall be served on the Office of Consumer
					 Advocate and the Office of the Small Business Advocate, so long as these
					 offices observe the proprietary nature of the notice.
(b) Upon the filing of a new tariff, tariff
					 supplement or tariff revision that constitutes a general rate increase within
					 the meaning of
					 66 Pa.C.S. §
												1308(d), notice shall be
					 given to the public by each of the following methods:
(1)
By posting in offices
. A
					 public utility shall post a notice at least 15 by 20 inches in size in a
					 conspicuous place in each company office at which payments are accepted.
(i) The notice shall read as follows, with
					 the blanks appropriately completed:
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RATE
					 CHANGES
To Our Customers:
(company) is filing a request with the Pennsylvania
						Public Utility Commission (PUC) to increase your (type of service) rates as of
						(date). This notice describes the company's rate request, the PUC's role, and
						what actions you can take.
(company) has requested an overall rate increase of
						$
___
per year. If the company's entire request is approved,
						the total bill for a residential customer using (state typical usage level)
						would increase from $
___
to $
____
per month or by.
__
%.
The total bill for a commercial customer using (state
						typical usage level) would increase from $
____
to $
__
per month or by.
__
%.
Rates for an industrial customer using (state typical
						usage level) would increase from $
__
to $
__
per month or by.
__
%.
To find out your customer class or how the requested
						increase may affect your (type of service) bill, contact (company) at (toll
						free phone number). The rates requested by the company may be found in (tariff
						number). You may examine the material filed with the PUC which explains the
						requested increase and the reasons for it. A copy of this material is kept at
						(company's) office. (For companies with annual revenues of more than $10
						Million, ADD: "Upon request, the company will send you the Statement of Reasons
						for (tariff number), explaining why the rate increase has been
						requested.")
The state agency which approves rates for public
						utilities is the PUC. The PUC will examine the requested rate increase and can
						prevent existing rates from changing until it investigates and/or holds
						hearings on the request. The company must prove that the requested rates are
						reasonable. After examining the evidence, the PUC may grant all, some, or none
						of the request or may reduce existing rates.
The PUC may change the amount of the rate increase or
						decrease requested by the utility for each customer class. As a result, the
						rate charged to you may be different than the rate requested by the company and
						shown above.
There are three ways to challenge a company's request to
						change its rates:
1. You can file a
					 formal complaint. If you want a hearing before a judge, you must file a formal
					 complaint. By filing a formal complaint, you assure yourself the opportunity to
					 take part in hearings about the rate increase request. All complaints should be
					 filed with the PUC before (proposed effective date of the rate increase). If no
					 formal complaints are filed, the Commission may grant all, some or none of the
					 request without holding a hearing before a judge.
2. You can send us a letter telling why you
					 object to the requested rate increase. Sometimes there is information in these
					 letters that makes us aware of problems with the company's service or
					 management. This information can be helpful when we investigate the rate
					 request.
Send your letter or request for a formal complaint form
						to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Post Office Box 3265,
						Harrisburg, PA 17105-3265.
3. You can be a witness at a public input
					 hearing. Public input hearings are held if the Commission opens an
					 investigation of the company's rate increase request and if there is a large
					 number of customers interested in the case. At these hearings you have the
					 opportunity to present your views in person to the PUC judge hearing the case
					 and the company representatives. All testimony given "under oath" becomes part
					 of the official rate case record. These hearings are held in the service area
					 of the company.
(When PUC Voice Processing System becomes available,
						ADD:)
For more information, call the PUC at 1-800-XXX-XXXX. You
						may leave your name and address so you can be notified of any public input
						hearings that may be scheduled in this case.
_________________________________________________________
Company