Section 777 Of Article 3. Equipment, Practices, And Facilities From California Public Utilities Code >> Division 1. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 3.
777
. (a) This section applies if there is a landlord-tenant
relationship between the residential occupants and the owner,
manager, or operator of the dwelling.
(b) If an electrical, gas, heat, or water corporation furnishes
individually metered residential service to residential occupants of
a detached single-family dwelling, a multiunit residential structure,
mobilehome park, or permanent residential structure in a labor camp,
as defined in Section 17008 of the Health and Safety Code, and the
owner, manager, or operator of the dwelling, structure, or park is
the customer of record, the corporation shall make every good faith
effort to inform the residential occupants, by means of written
notice, when the account is in arrears, that service will be
terminated at least 10 days prior to termination. The written notice
shall further inform the residential occupants that they have the
right to become customers, to whom the service will then be billed,
without being required to pay any amount which may be due on the
delinquent account. The notice shall be in English and in the
languages listed in Section 1632 of the Civil Code.
(c) The corporation is not required to make service available to
the residential occupants unless each residential occupant agrees to
the terms and conditions of service and meets the requirements of law
and the corporation's rules and tariffs. However, if one or more of
the residential occupants are willing and able to assume
responsibility for the subsequent charges to the account to the
satisfaction of the corporation, or if there is a physical means,
legally available to the corporation, of selectively terminating
service to those residential occupants who have not met the
requirements of the corporation's rules and tariffs, the corporation
shall make service available to those residential occupants who have
met those requirements.
(d) If prior service for a period of time is a condition for
establishing credit with the corporation, residence and proof of
prompt payment of rent or other credit obligation acceptable to the
corporation for that period of time is a satisfactory equivalent.
(e) Any residential occupant who becomes a customer of the
corporation pursuant to this section whose periodic payments, such as
rental payments, include charges for residential electrical, gas,
heat, or water service, where those charges are not separately
stated, may deduct from the periodic payment each payment period all
reasonable charges paid to the corporation for those services during
the preceding payment period.
(f) In the case of a detached single-family dwelling, the
corporation may do any of the following:
(1) Give notice of termination at least seven days prior to the
proposed termination, notwithstanding the notice period specified in
subdivision (a).
(2) In order for the amount due on the delinquent account to be
waived, require an occupant who becomes a customer to verify that the
delinquent account customer of record is or was the landlord,
manager, or agent of the dwelling. Verification may include, but is
not limited to, a lease or rental agreement, rent receipts, a
government document indicating that the occupant is renting the
property, or information disclosed pursuant to Section 1962 of the
Civil Code.
(g) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2010.