COM/JB2/lil Date of Issuance 11/2/2010
Decision 10-10-032 October 28, 2010
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Order Instituting Rulemaking on the Commission's Own Motion to Consider Revising Energy Utility Tariff Rules Related to Deposits and Adjusting Bills as They Affect Small Business Customers. |
Rulemaking 10-05-005 (Filed May 6, 2010) |
DECISION REVISING TARIFF RULES FOR SMALL BUSINESS CUSTOMERS
1. Summary
Today's decision revises certain tariff rules for "small business"1 customers of electric and gas utilities. One tariff rule revision provides that small business customers may only be back-billed2 for a maximum of three months instead of the current three-year back-billing rule. A second tariff revision establishes deposits at two times the average monthly bill, rather than two times the maximum monthly bill. This decision also addresses a discrepancy between overcharges for billing errors and overcharges for metering errors, re-establishment of service deposits, refunds due to billing and metering errors, service discontinuation notice requirements, potential costs of tariff revisions, and provides direction to the utilities on implementing the adopted tariff changes.
This proceeding is closed.
1 A small business customer is defined as a non-residential customer with an annual electric usage of 40,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) or less, or an energy demand of 20 kilowatt (kW) or less, or annual consumption of 10,000 therms of gas or less. Alternatively, a small business customer is a customer who meets the definition of "micro-business" in California Government Code Section 14837 (Section 14837). Section 14837 defines a micro-business as a business, together with affiliates, that has average annual gross receipts of $3,500,000 or less over the previous three years, or is a manufacturer, as defined in Section 14837 subdivision (c), with 25 or fewer employees. The California Department of General Services is authorized to amend the gross receipt amount. In January 2010 DGS increased the gross receipt amount from $2,750,000 to the current amount of $3,500,000. (see, California Office of Administrative Law, Regulatory Action Number 2000-1110-01S.) This definition does not include fixed usage or unmetered rate schedule customers.
2 Back-billing results when the utility overcharges or undercharges a customer as the result of a billing or metering error. The utility may render an adjusted bill for the amount of the undercharge, and issue a refund or credit to the customer for the amount of the overcharge.
