Pennsylvania Code › Title 52 - PUBLIC UTILITIES › Part I - Public Utility Commission › Subpart C - Fixed Service Utilities › Chapter 56 - STANDARDS AND BILLING PRACTICES FOR RESIDENTIAL PUBLIC UTILITY SERVICE › Subchapter F - DISPUTES; TERMINATION DISPUTES; INFORMAL AND FORMAL COMPLAINTS › INFORMAL COMPLAINT PROCEDURES › Section 56.163 - Commission informal complaint procedure

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
Upon the filing of an informal complaint, which shall
						  be captioned as "(Complainant) v. (public utility)," Commission staff will
						  immediately notify the public utility; review the dispute; and, within a
						  reasonable period of time, issue to the public utility and the complaining
						  party an informal report with findings and a decision. Parties may represent
						  themselves or be represented by counsel or other person of their choice, and
						  may bring witnesses to appear on their behalf. The reports will be in writing
						  and a summary will be sent to the parties if a party requests it or if the
						  Commission staff finds that a summary is necessary.
(1)
Review techniques
.
						Review will be by an appropriate means, including, but not limited to, public
						utility company reports, telephone calls, conferences, written statements,
						research, inquiry and investigation. Procedures will be designed to ensure a
						fair and reasonable opportunity to present pertinent evidence and to challenge
						evidence submitted by the other party to the dispute, to examine a list of
						witnesses who will testify and documents, records, files, account data, records
						of meter tests and other material that the Commission staff will determine may
						be relevant to the issues, and to question witnesses appearing on behalf of
						other parties. Information and documents requested by Commission staff as part
						of the review process shall be provided by the public utility within 30 days of
						the request. If the complainant is without public utility service, or in other
						emergency situations as identified by Commission staff, the information
						requested by Commission staff shall be provided by the public utility within 5
						business days of the request.
(2)
Settlement.
Prior to the issuance of an informal decision,
						Commission staff may facilitate discussions between the parties in an effort to
						settle the dispute. If a settlement is reached, Commission staff will confirm
						that all parties understand the terms of the settlement and document the
						informal complaint as closed.
(3)
Resolution.
Commission staff resolution of informal complaints
						is binding upon the parties unless formal proceedings are initiated under
						§
												§
												56.171-56.174 (relating to formal
						complaints).
The provisions of this §
														56.163 amended under the Public
							 Utility Code,
							 66 Pa.C.S. §
															§
															331,
							 501,
							 504,
							 1301,
							 1305,
							 1401-1419,
							 1501,
							 1504 and
							 1509.
This section cited in 52 Pa. Code §
														56.100 (relating to winter
							 termination procedures); 52 Pa. Code §
														56.165 (relating to conference
							 procedures); 52 Pa. Code §
														57.257 (relating to disputes
							 concerning advanced metering); and 52 Pa. Code §
														69.265 (relating to CAP design
							 elements).