{"operation":"document","citation":"4 CCR 723-4 Rule 4408","title":"Notice of Discontinuance","source_type":"regulation","agency":"Colorado Public Utilities Commission","status":"current","official":true,"published_on":null,"effective_on":null,"summary":"(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (g) and (h) of this rule, prior to discontinuing service, a utility shall provide a customer, and any third party the customer has designated in writing or electronically, with the following forms of notice: (I) upon a bill becoming past due, and at least five bu","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/co-ccr-4-723-4-4408.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/co-ccr-4-723-4-4408.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/co-ccr-4-723-4-4408","source_url":"https://www.sos.state.co.us/CCR/DisplayRule.do?action=ruleinfo&ruleId=2260&deptID=18&agencyID=96&deptName=Department%20of%20Regulatory%20Agencies&agencyName=Public%20Utilities%20Commission&seriesNum=4%20CCR%20723-4","body":"(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (g) and (h) of this rule, prior to discontinuing\nservice, a utility shall provide a customer, and any third party the customer has\ndesignated in writing or electronically, with the following forms of notice:\n(I) upon a bill becoming past due, and at least five business days before\nissuing a notice of discontinuance, a utility must provide notice of late\npayment;\n(II) at least 12 business days before any proposed service discontinuance,\nwritten notice of discontinuance as further described in paragraphs (b) and\n(c), by first class mail or hand delivery;\n(III) at least 24 hours in advance of any proposed service discontinuance, the\nutility must make a reasonable attempt to provide notice in person or by\ntelephone; and\n(IV) if the utility will implement service discontinuance remotely, in addition to\nsubparagraphs (I) through (III), the utility must undertake at least one\nadditional attempt to notify the customer of record at their provided\ntelephone number or in person at least 72 hours before discontinuing\nservice.\n(b) The written notice of discontinuance under subparagraph (a)(II) shall be\nconspicuous and in easily understood language, and the heading shall contain, in\nbold font and capital letters, the following warning:\nTHIS IS A FINAL NOTICE OF DISCONTINUANCE OF UTILITY SERVICE\nAND CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR LEGAL\nRIGHTS AND REMEDIES. YOU MUST ACT PROMPTLY TO AVOID\nUTILITY SHUT OFF.\n(c) The body of the notice of discontinuance under subparagraph (a)(II) of this rule\nshall at a minimum advise the customer of the following:\n(I) the reason for the discontinuance of service;\n(II) the amount past due for utility service, deposits, or other regulated\ncharges, if any;\n\n(III) the date by which an installment payment plan must be entered into or full\npayment must be received in order to avoid discontinuance of service;\n(IV) how and where the customer can pay or enter into an installment payment\nplan prior to the discontinuance of service;\n(V) that the customer may avoid discontinuance of service by entering into an\ninstallment payment plan with the utility pursuant to rule 4404 as\ndescribed in the utility's applicable tariff;\n(VI) that the customer has certain rights if the customer or a member of the\ncustomer’s household is seriously ill or has a medical emergency;\n(VII) that the customer has the right to dispute the discontinuance directly with\nthe utility by contacting the utility, and how to contact the utility toll-free\nfrom within the utility's service area;\n(VIII) that the customer has the right to make an informal complaint to the\nCommission in writing, by telephone, or in person, along with the\nCommission’s address and local and toll-free telephone number;\n(IX) that the customer has the right to file a formal complaint, in writing, with\nthe Commission pursuant to rule 1302 and that this formal complaint\nprocess may involve a formal hearing;\n(X) that in conjunction with the filing of a formal complaint, the customer has a\nright to file a motion for a Commission order ordering the utility not to\ndisconnect service pending the outcome of the formal complaint process\nand that the Commission may grant the motion upon such terms as it\ndeems reasonable, including but not limited to the posting of a deposit or\nbond with the utility or timely payment of all undisputed regulated charges;\n(XI) that if service is discontinued for non-payment, the customer may be\nrequired, as a condition of restoring service, to pay reconnection and\ncollection charges in accordance with the utility's tariff; and\n(XII) that customers may be able to obtain financial assistance to assist with\nthe payment of the utility bill and that more detailed information on that\nassistance may be obtained by calling the utility toll-free. The utility shall\nstate its toll-free telephone number.\n\n(d) A notice of discontinuance shall be printed in English and a specific language or\nlanguages other than English where the utility’s entire service territory contains a\npopulation of at least ten percent who speak a specific language other than\nEnglish as their primary language as determined by the latest U.S. Census\ninformation.\n(e) A utility shall explain and shall offer the terms of an installment payment plan to\neach customer who contacts the utility in response to a notice of discontinuance\nof service.\n(f) If the utility attempts to notify the customer in person or by telephone but fails to\ndo so, it shall leave written or recorded notice of the attempted contact and its\npurpose.\n(g) If a customer has entered into an installment payment plan and has defaulted or\nallowed a new bill to remain unpaid past its due date, a utility shall provide, by\nfirst class mail or by hand-delivery, a written notice to the customer. The notice\nshall contain:\n(I) a heading as follows: NOTICE OF BROKEN ARRANGEMENT\n(II) statements that advise the customer:\n(A) that the utility may discontinue service if it does not receive the\nmonthly installment payment within ten days after the notice is\nmailed or hand-delivered;\n(B) that the utility may discontinue service if it does not receive\npayment for the current bill within 30 days after its due date;\n(C) that, if service is discontinued, the utility may refuse to restore\nservice until the customer pays all amounts for regulated service\nmore than 30 days past due and any collection or reconnection\ncharges; and\n(D) that the customer has certain rights if the customer or a member of\nthe customer’s household is seriously ill or has a medical\nemergency.\n(h) A utility is not required to provide notice under this rule if one of the following\napplies:\n(I) the situation involves safety concerns;\n(II) discontinuance is ordered by any appropriate governmental authority;\n(III) either paragraph 4407(c) or 4407(d) applies; or\n\n(IV) service, having been already properly discontinued, has been restored by\nsomeone other than the utility and the original cause for discontinuance\nhas not been cured.\n(i) Where a utility knows that the service to be discontinued is used by customers in\nmulti-unit dwellings, in places of business, or in a cluster of dwellings or places of\nbusiness and the utility service is recorded on a single meter used either directly\nor indirectly by more than one unit, the utility shall issue notice as required in\nparagraphs (a) and (b) of this rule, except that:\n(I) the notice period shall be 30 days;\n(II) such notice may include the current bill;\n(III) the utility shall provide written notice to each individual unit, stating that a\nnotice of discontinuance has been sent to the party responsible for the\npayment of utility bills for the unit and that the occupants of the units may\navoid discontinuance by paying the next new bill in full within 30 days of its\nissuance and successive new bills within 30 days of issuance; and\n(IV) the utility shall post the notice in at least one of the common areas of the\naffected location.","truncated":false,"body_characters":6982}