Section 10010.1 Of Article 1. Acquisition And Operation From California Public Utilities Code >> Division 5. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 1.
10010.1
. (a) No public utility furnishing light, heat, water, or
power may terminate residential service on account of nonpayment of a
delinquent account unless the public utility first gives notice of
the delinquency and impending termination, at least 10 days prior to
the proposed termination, by means of a notice mailed, postage
prepaid, to the customer to whom the service is billed, not earlier
than 19 days from the date of mailing the public utility's bill for
services, and the 10-day period shall not commence until five days
after the mailing of the notice.
(b) Every public utility shall make a reasonable attempt to
contact an adult person residing at the premises of the customer by
telephone or personal contact, at least 24 hours prior to any
termination of service, except that, whenever telephone or personal
contact cannot be accomplished, the public utility shall give, by
mail, in person, or by posting in a conspicuous location at the
premises, a notice of termination of service, at least 48 hours prior
to termination.
(c) Every public utility shall make available to its residential
customers who are 65 years of age or older, or who are dependent
adults as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section
15610 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, a third-party
notification service, whereby the public utility will attempt to
notify a person designated by the customer to receive notification
when the customer's account is past due and subject to termination.
The notification shall include information on what is required to
prevent termination of service. The residential customer shall make a
request for third-party notification on a form provided by the
public utility, and shall include the written consent of the
designated third party. The third-party notification does not
obligate the third party to pay the overdue charges, nor shall it
prevent or delay termination of service.
(d) Every notice of termination of service pursuant to subdivision
(a) shall include all of the following information:
(1) The name and address of the customer whose account is
delinquent.
(2) The amount of the delinquency.
(3) The date by which payment or arrangements for payment is
required in order to avoid termination.
(4) The procedure by which the customer may initiate a complaint
or request an investigation concerning service or charges, except
that, if the bill for service contains a description of that
procedure, the notice pursuant to subdivision (a) is not required to
contain that information.
(5) The procedure by which the customer may request amortization
of the unpaid charges.
(6) The procedure for the customer to obtain information on the
availability of financial assistance, including private, local,
state, or federal sources, if applicable.
(7) The telephone number of a representative of the public utility
who can provide additional information or institute arrangements for
payment.
Every notice of termination of service pursuant to subdivision (b)
shall include the items of information in paragraphs (1), (2), (3),
(6), and (7).
All written notices shall be in a clear and legible format.
(e) If a residential customer fails to comply with an amortization
agreement, the public utility shall not terminate service without
giving notice to the customer at least 48 hours prior to termination
of the conditions the customer is required to meet to avoid
termination, but the notice does not entitle the customer to further
investigation by the public utility.
(f) No termination of service may be effected without compliance
with this section. Any service wrongfully terminated shall be
restored without charge for the restoration of service, and a
notation thereof shall be mailed to the customer at his or her
billing address.