California Public Utilities Code

§ 10010.1

PUC § 10010.1 Effective Jan 1, 2020Div. 5 · Ch. 1 · Art. 1

Statute text

(a)A public utility furnishing light, heat, water, or power shall not terminate residential service on account of nonpayment of a delinquent account unless the public utility first gives notice of the delinquency and impending termination, at least 10 days prior to the proposed termination, by means of a notice mailed, postage prepaid, to the customer to whom the service is billed, not earlier than 19 days from the date of mailing the public utility’s bill for services, and the 10-day period shall not commence until five days after the mailing of the notice.

(b)Every public utility shall make a reasonable attempt to contact an adult person residing at the premises of the customer by telephone or personal contact, at least 24 hours prior to any termination of service, except that, whenever telephone or personal contact cannot be accomplished, the public utility shall give, by mail, in person, or by posting in a conspicuous location at the premises, a notice of termination of service, at least 48 hours prior to termination.

(c)Every public utility shall make available to its residential customers who are 65 years of age or older, or who are dependent adults as defined in Section 15610.23 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, a third-party notification service, whereby the public utility will attempt to notify a person designated by the customer to receive notification when the customer’s account is past due and subject to termination. The notification shall include information on what is required to prevent termination of service. The residential customer shall make a request for third-party notification on a form provided by the public utility, and shall include the written consent of the designated third party. The third-party notification does not obligate the third party to pay the overdue charges, nor shall it prevent or delay termination of service.

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Legislative history

Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 497, Sec. 250. (AB 991) Effective January 1, 2020.