22. PROCEDURE FOR TERMINATION OF ELECTRIC SERVICE
Termination of electric service will occur when a customer has not paid his electric bill and remains unpaid over 10 days past due date. After a customer’s electric bill becomes delinquent and is 5 days past the due date, a courtesy call, with a phone number for billing disputes, will be made by an employee of the Electric System to the phone number given on the customer’s account advising them of the upcoming cutout date and telling them the last day that a payment can be made to prevent disconnection of service. If a customer has an excellent rating, an employee will go to that residence and either talk with the customer or leave a door hanger to inform of upcoming disconnection. In an effort to have current contact information, from time to time during the year, a request for updated information will be added to the customer’s electric bill. A documented log of all courtesy calls will be kept in the office for a year.
If the temperature exceeds 105 degrees in the heat index or is less than 30 degrees at www.weather.com for Benton County, TN 38320, for a 24 hour period on the day of disconnects, the cutouts will be postponed for that period, however the service extension shall not extend past the extreme weather condition or past the customer’s next due date, whichever date comes first.
If a delinquent customer has a “Life Sustaining” Medical Issue, they must fill out a form certifying the life sustaining medical condition stating that disconnection of electricity would create a medical emergency and possibly death. The form will require a signature from the attending physician, and a nurse practitioner’s signature is not acceptable. If full payment of past due amount is not made by the end of the 15 day extension period, the meter will be disconnected on the next available date BCES will require that the form, on file be updated on an annual basis for the Life Sustaining Medical Issue to be recognized. Furthermore, BCES will only grant the postponement of termination twice in a twelve month period.
BCES will make reasonable efforts to receive consent from customers in advance of receipt of termination notices via phone call, or mailing a notice or electronic notices so that customers are informed in advance of any such notification of disconnection.
This policy is an amendment to the Schedule of Rules and Regulations, Item #10 and Item #11, in the Power Contract between TVA and Benton County Electric System.
Adopted: August 26, 2014
Revised: September 22, 2015 (Effective 10-1-2015)
