Wisconsin Administrative Code › Public Service Commission › Chapter PSC 185 - Standards For Water Public Utility Service › Subchapter I - General › Section PSC 185.12 - Definitions

Current through June 24, 2024
The following terms as used in this chapter mean:
(1) "Ability to pay" means a customer's
				financial capacity to meet the customer's utility service obligation;
(2) "Actual meter read" means a reading
				obtained by the utility or other party upon physical inspection of the meter or
				remote outside meter (ROM);
(3)
				"Automatic meter reading" (AMR) system means a system which provides digitally
				encoded information from an encoded meter register. The encoded information is
				transferred to the utility by means of remote receptacles, telephone lines,
				cable TV lines, power lines, or radio transmission;
(3e) "Class AB utility" means a public
				utility that has more than 4,000 service connections.
(3m) "Class C utility" means a public utility
				that has not fewer than 1,000 nor more than 4,000 service
				connections.
(3s) "Class D utility"
				means a public utility that has less than 1,000 service connections.
(3u) "Commercial customer" means a business,
				not-for-profit organization, or other institution that provides goods or
				services and that takes service for non-residential purposes.
Note:
Churches, private schools, private
				  colleges and universities, co-ops, and associations are non-governmental
				  entities and are considered commercial customers.
(4) "Commission" means public service
				commission of Wisconsin;
(5)
				"Complaint" means a statement or question by any person, whether a utility
				customer or not, concerning a wrong, grievance, injury, dissatisfaction,
				illegal action or procedure, dangerous condition or action committed or created
				by a utility, or failure of a utility to meet a utility obligation;
(6) "Customer" means any person, owner,
				occupant, firm, partnership, corporation, municipality, cooperative
				organization, governmental agency, political entity, etc., provided with water
				service by any water public utility and is the party billed for payment of
				bills issued for use of utility service at a given premises. This definition is
				intended to create billing and payment responsibilities, but does not limit the
				need to afford occupants other protection under this chapter (e.g., evictions,
				emergency);
(7) "Customer-requested
				termination" is cessation of service at the request of the customer;
(8) "Deferred payment agreement" means an
				arrangement between a utility and a customer for payment of a delinquent amount
				or deposit in installments;
(9)
				"Denied or refused service" means service that a utility has refused to provide
				to a present or future customer, occupant, or premises;
(10) "Disconnection" means an event or action
				taken by the utility to terminate or discontinue the provision of service, but
				does not include a customer-requested termination of service;
(10e) "Industrial customer" means a customer
				who is engaged in the manufacture or production of goods.
(10m) "Irrigation" means the use of water to
				sustain crops, lawns, or landscapes, including water used on athletic fields,
				parks, and golf courses.
(10s)
				"Irrigation customer" means a customer who has water service provided primarily
				for irrigation and other outdoor uses.
(11) "Meter" means an instrument installed to
				measure the volume and/or rate of flow of water delivered through it;
(11m) "Multi-family residential customer"
				means a customer taking service for a building that is intended primarily for
				residential purposes, has three or more dwelling units, and is served by a
				single water meter.
Note:
For accounting purposes, sales to
				  multi-family residential customers are recorded as commercial sales under to
				  the Commission's Uniform System of Accounts for Municipal Water Utilities
				  (January 2008).
(12) "New
				residential customer," for purpose of deposit, means a customer who has not
				received utility service in his or her name during the previous 6 months from
				the utility from which service is requested;
(12m) "Non-residential customer" means any
				commercial, industrial, or public authority customer.
(13) "Occupant" means the resident or
				residents of a premises to which utility service is provided;
(14) "Percent registration" means the ratio
				of the meter registration divided by the actual volume or rate of flow, stated
				in percent. Stated more simply for domestic (volumetric) meters, this is the
				percent of the water delivered through a meter which the meter actually
				registers;
(15) "Private hydrant"
				means any hydrant whose lead is connected to a private water main, private
				lateral, or public main where the hydrant lead is owned by the
				customer;
(16) "Prompt payment"
				means payment prior to the time when a utility could issue a notice of
				disconnection for nonpayment of an amount not in dispute;
(17) "Protective service emergency" means a
				threat to the health or safety of a resident because of the infirmities of
				aging, other developmental or intellectual disabilities, or like infirmities
				incurred at any age, or the frailties associated with being very
				young;
(17m) "Public authority
				customer" means a customer that is a department, agency, or entity of the
				local, state, or federal government, including a public school, college, or
				university.
(18) "Public hydrant"
				means any hydrant and lead owned by the utility and connected to a
				utility-owned main, whether that main is in the public right-of-way or owned by
				the utility on an easement through private property;
Note:
The hydrant and related fixtures would be
				  recorded on the books of the utility.
(19) "Public utility" means an entity or
				individual included in s.
				196.01(5),
				Stats., which provides water for the public and an entity authorized by s.
				66.0819,
				Stats., which provides water and sewer service for the public;
(20) "Remote outside meter" (ROM) means an
				analog device attached to a building structure which displays the reading of
				the base meter through electronic pulses sent from the base meter. Remote
				outside meters are considered part of the utility's metering
				configuration.
(20g) "Residential
				customer" means a customer taking service for residential or domestic purposes
				but does not include a multi-family residential customer.
(20r) "Station meter" means a meter used to
				measure the volume or flow of water within a utility's distribution system and
				not used to measure customer use. Station meter includes any meter used to
				measure water pumped from groundwater wells, surface water intakes, storage
				facilities, treatment facilities, or booster pumps.
(21) "Voucher agreement" means a payment
				agreement guaranteed by a third party who has access to or control over the
				benefits and finances of a public assistance recipient.
(22) "Water conservation" means practices,
				techniques, and technologies that reduce the demand for water, reduce water
				loss or waste, or improve water use efficiency.
Examples of some public assistance are:
(a) Aid to families with dependent children (AFDC)
					 restrictive payment arrangements;
(b) Social security representative payee;
(c) General relief voucher payment systems;
(d) Legal guardian.