Section 311.4 Of Chapter 2. The Public Utilities Commission: Organization From California Public Utilities Code >> Division 1. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 2.
311.4
. (a) On or after July 1, 2001, the commission shall establish
procedures to permit the submission of informal complaints through
electronic means in accordance with this section.
(b) On or before January 1, 2002, the commission shall provide on
its Internet Web site the means by which consumers may submit
informal complaints through electronic means.
(c) For the purpose of this section, "electronic means" includes,
but shall not be limited to, email or the Internet, or both.
(d) Upon the receipt of an informal complaint submitted by
electronic means, the commission shall immediately forward the
complaint to the entity named in the complaint.
(e) The commission shall permit the submission of informal
complaints through electronic means, if, as determined by the
commission, both of the following conditions are met:
(1) The dollar amount in the complaint does not exceed the
jurisdictional limit of a small claims court specified in subdivision
(a) of Section 116.220 or Section 116.221 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.
(2) The commission has addressed any impediments in the electronic
systems employed by the commission that would prevent or
substantially adversely affect the ability of the commission to
receive informal complaints by electronic means.
(f) The commission shall include a notice on its Internet Web site
of the availability of the procedures described in subdivision (a).
(g) For the purposes of implementing this section, the commission
shall make available to the public an industry specific online
complaint form that allows a customer to specify information that the
commission determines to be relevant for purposes of resolving a
dispute, including the account number, the type of dispute, and the
opportunity to make general comments.
(h) This act may not be implemented, and no information
technology-related preparatory work may be undertaken in connection
with this act prior to July 1, 2001, without the concurrence of the
commission and the authorization of the Department of Information
Technology pursuant to Executive Order D-3-99.