Sec. 13.8. Meter reading and estimated bills

(a) Meter reading.

(1) A utility shall make a reading attempt, to obtain an actual reading for every customer's account, on the regularly scheduled basis provided for in its tariff.

(2) A reading attempt requires that a meter reader visit the premises between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on a business day, and follow any routine access instructions.

(3) Where circumstances beyond a utility's control prevent the utility from making a regularly scheduled reading attempt and where the two previous consecutive cycle bills were not based on an actual reading, the utility shall make a second similar follow-up reading attempt as soon as possible and within seven calendar days after the scheduled reading date.

(4) Where a utility did not obtain an actual reading from the meter(s) of a demand account at the time of a regularly scheduled or follow-up reading attempt, the utility shall make another reading attempt as soon as possible and within seven calendar days after its last attempt.

(5) Where a utility has billed a customer's account based on the readings of a remote registration device for six consecutive months, the utility shall, at the time of every subsequent reading attempt and, until successful, try to gain access to and read the meter.

(6) Where a utility has billed a customer's account based on customer readings for six consecutive months, and did not obtain an actual reading at the time of the next regularly scheduled or follow-up reading attempt thereafter, the utility shall, within seven calendar days after the last attempt, either make another reading attempt or an appointment with the customer to read the meter.

(7) Unless a customer does not have access to the meter or the customer will be unable to obtain a reliable meter reading, the utility shall, at the time of any unsuccessful reading attempt, leave at the premises or mail to the customer a meter-reading card for the nondemand meter.

(b) Estimated bills.

(1) A utility may render an estimated bill for a regular cycle billing period only when:

(i) the utility has failed to obtain access to the meter(s);

(ii) circumstances beyond the control of the utility made obtaining an actual reading of the meter(s) extremely difficult, despite having access to the meter area; provided, however, that estimated bills for this reason may be rendered no more than twice consecutively without the utility advising the customer in writing of the specific circumstances and the customer's obligation to have the circumstances corrected;

(iii) the utility has good cause for believing that an actual or customer reading obtained is likely to be erroneous; provided, however, that estimated bills for this reason may be rendered no more than twice consecutively without the utility initiating corrective action before the rendering of the next cycle bill;

(iv) circumstances beyond the control of the utility prevented the meter reader from making a premises visit;

(v) an actual reading was lost or destroyed; provided, however, that an estimated bill for this reason shall be rendered no more than once without the utility initiating corrective action before the rendering of the next cycle bill;

(vi) an estimated reading has been prescribed or authorized by the commission for a particular billing cycle;

(vii) an estimated reading is the approved billing method in accordance with the utility's tariff for the billing; or

(viii) an unmetered condition was in existence during the period.

(2) Every estimated bill shall be calculated in accordance with an established formula or methodology which shall take into account the best available relevant factors for determining the customer's energy usage and, if applicable, demand usage.

(c) No-access procedure.

(1) A utility shall begin providing no-access notices as described in this subdivision, commencing with:

(i) the second consecutive bill estimated pursuant to either subparagraph (b)(1)(i) or (ii) of this section in the case of accounts billed for demand;

(ii) the fourth consecutive bill estimated pursuant to either subparagraph (b)(1)(i) or (ii) of this section in the case of accounts not billed for demand; or

(iii) the 10th consecutive bill estimated pursuant to subparagraph (b)(1)(i) or (ii) of this section or based on a remote registration device or a customer reading.

(2) The no-access notices and charges described in this subdivision shall be directed only to the access controller. In any case where the access controller is not the customer of the subject account, a copy of these no-access notices shall also be sent to the customer at the same time.

(3) The series of no-access notices shall be as follows:

(i) The first notice shall advise the access controller that unless access to the customer's meter is provided on the next meter reading date, or a special appointment to read the meter is made and kept by the access controller prior to that date, a no-access charge will be added to the access controller's next bill and to every bill thereafter until access to the customer's meter is provided, but that no charge will be imposed if an appointment is arranged and kept. The notice shall advise the access controller that the utility will arrange a special appointment for a reading of the customer's meter if the access controller calls a specified telephone number. Where the access controller is not the customer of the subject account, the notice shall begin by stating that the utility records indicate that the recipient is the party who controls access to the meter of the customer, specifically identified as to address, part supplied, and account number, and that the utility has not been provided access to the customer's meter as required.

(ii) The second notice shall advise the access controller of the no-access charge that has been added to the access controller's bill and that, unless access to the customer's meter is provided on the next meter-reading date or a special appointment to read the meter is made and kept by the access controller prior to that date, another charge will be added to the access controller's next bill. The notice shall further explain that if the access controller's service can be physically terminated without obtaining access, steps to terminate service will follow, and that in the event that the access controller's service cannot be physically terminated, steps to obtain a court order to gain access to the customer's meter will follow. The notice shall advise the access controller that the utility will arrange a special appointment for a reading of the customer's meter if the access controller calls a specified number.

(iii) The third and each successive notice shall advise the access controller of the no- access charge that has been added to the access controller's bill and, if the access controller's service can be terminated without obtaining access, shall be accompanied by a final notice of termination for nonaccess. In any case where the access controller's service cannot be physically terminated without obtaining access, the notice shall advise the access controller that the utility is seeking to obtain a court order to gain access to the customer's meter.

(4) A no-access charge as provided for in the utility's tariff shall not exceed $100.

(5) No more than $100 per building or premises shall be added to any single bill of the access controller even though more than one meter is located there.

(6) A utility may, at its discretion, suspend temporarily the issuance of no-access notices and/or penalties under this subdivision if the access controller contacts the utility and provides a legitimate reason for postponing the provision of access; provided, however, that such suspension may not be utilized in the case of any account that is billed for demand charges and in no event for more than 90 calendar days.

(d) Utilities shall comply with this section no later than March 18, 1988.