Section 985 Of Chapter 4.7. Core Transport Agent From California Public Utilities Code >> Division 1. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 4.7.
985
. Rules that implement the following minimum standards shall be
adopted by the commission for core transport agents offering gas
services to core gas customers and the governing body of a public
agency offering gas services to core gas customers within its
jurisdiction:
(a) Confidentiality. Customer information shall be confidential
unless the customer consents in writing. This shall encompass
confidentiality of customer-specific billing, credit, or usage
information. This requirement shall not extend to disclosure of
generic information regarding the usage, load shape, or other general
characteristics of a group or rate classification, unless the
release of that information would reveal customer-specific
information because of the size of the group, rate classification, or
nature of the information.
(b) Physical disconnects and reconnects. Only a gas corporation,
or a publicly owned gas utility, that provides physical delivery
service to the affected customer shall have the authority to
physically disconnect or reconnect a customer from the transmission
or distribution grid. Physical disconnection by gas corporations
subject to the commission's jurisdiction shall occur only in
accordance with protocols established by the commission. Physical
disconnection by publicly owned gas utilities shall occur only in
accordance with protocols established by the governing board of the
local publicly owned gas utility.
(c) Change in providers. Upon adequate notice supplied by a core
transport agent to the gas corporation or local publicly owned gas
utility providing physical delivery service, customers who are
eligible for core transport service may change their energy supplier.
Energy suppliers may charge for this change, provided that any fee
or penalty charged by the supplier associated with early termination
of service, shall be disclosed in that contract or applicable tariff.
(d) Written notices. Notices describing the terms and conditions
of service as described in Section 986, service agreements, notices
of late payment, notices of discontinuance of service, and
disconnection notices addressed to core gas customers shall be easily
understandable and shall be provided in the language in which the
core transport agent offered the services.
(e) Billing. All bills shall have a standard bill format, as
determined by the commission or the governing body, and shall contain
sufficient detail for the customer to recalculate the bill for
accuracy. Any late fees shall be separately stated. A core transport
agent shall provide on all customer bills a telephone number by which
customers may contact the core transport agent to report and resolve
billing inquiries and complaints. A core transport agent contacted
by a customer regarding a billing dispute shall advise the customer
at the time of the initial contact that the customer may file a
complaint with the commission if the customer's dispute is not
satisfactorily resolved by the core transport agent.
(f) Meter integrity. A gas customer shall have a reasonable
opportunity to have his or her meter tested to ensure the reasonable
accuracy of the meter. The commission or governing body shall
determine who is responsible for the cost of that testing.
(g) Customer deposits. Core transport agents may require customer
deposits before commencing service, but in no event shall the deposit
be more than the estimated bill for the customer for a three-month
period.
(h) Additional protections. The commission or the governing body
may adopt additional core gas consumer protection standards that are
in the public interest.