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2005
CUSTOMER SERVICE POLICIES
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TABLE
OF CONTENTS |
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CLICK
HERE TO DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE PDF VERSION
ARTICLE 100 – General Information
101 - Purpose
102 - Scope
103 - Effective Date and Revisions
104 - Enforcement of Rules
105 - Application for Service
106 - Customer of Record
107 - Residential Home Energy Loss Prevention
ARTICLE 200 – Billing Remedies
201 - Bills
202 - Department Disconnection of Electric
Service
ARTICLE 300 – Rate Schedule
301 - Rate Schedule-Changes
ARTICLE 400 – Billing Period
401 - Measurement of Electricity
402 - Billing Period
403 - Demand
404 - Holidays
ARTICLE 500 – Termination of Electric Service
Due to Non-Payment Policy
501 - Non-Payment Policy
ARTICLE 600 – Auxiliary and Temporary Service
601 - Auxiliary Service
602 - Temporary Service
ARTICLE 700 – Liabilities/Provision of Service
701 - Electric Supply Disruption
ARTICLE 800 – Fees and Charges
801 - Temporary Disconnect of Service
802 - Removal of Service Drop
803 - Meter Test
804 - Tampered Meter
805 - Damaged Meter
806 - Service Disconnected for Non-Payment
807 - Returned Check
808 - Meter Socket
809 - Temporary Service Charge
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ARTICLE
100 |
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GENERAL INFORMATION
101– Purpose.
The Mansfield Municipal Electric Department (“Department”)
Customer Service Terms and Conditions is issued to provide
information regarding service requirements to the Department’s
Customers (“Customers”). The requirements contained
herein are supplementary to the Department’s Schedule
of Rates and Terms and Conditions as filed from time to
time with the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications
and Energy (“MDTE”). Additional information
regarding electrical service can be found in the Department’s
Information and Requirements for Electric Service and Construction
Requirements for New Developments – Residential and
Commercial/Industrial, which are available at the Department.
The following terms and conditions are a part of all rates,
and compliance by the Departments Customers with these terms
and conditions is a precedent to the initial and continuing
supply of electricity by the Department.
The supply of electric service is contingent upon the Department’s
ability to secure and retain the necessary location for
its poles, wires, conduit, cable and other apparatus. The
character of service to be made available at each location
will be determined by the Department and is specified in
Information and Requirements for Electric Service.
No agent or employee of the Department is authorized to
orally modify any term, provision or rate of the Department.
102-Scope. The information
contained in this booklet applies primarily to electric
service requirements for installations at voltages not exceeding
600 volts. Certain parts of these requirements refer to
voltages above 600 volts. However, service installations
at higher voltages are subject to and governed by other
requirements; contact the Department for more information.
103-Effective Date and
Revisions. The Department’s policy Customer Service
Terms and Conditions is effective upon issuance.
Revisions of this information will be made from time to
time when necessary and the Department reserves the right
to make such revisions. The Department cannot guarantee
to give notice of revisions to all persons who may have
received this booklet; however, current copies of this policy
manual will be available from the Department.
104-Enforcement of Rules.
The Department requires that all wiring intended for connection
to its electric system shall be installed in accordance
with the rules of all applicable National, State and Local
Electrical Codes and with the laws and ordinances of State
and Town authorities having jurisdiction over the area in
which the work is located, and with the requirements set
forth in this booklet, as well as in the Department’s
Information and Requirements for Electric Service.
105-Application for
Service. Service cannot be supplied unless and until the
Customer applies at the Department’s business office,
files the necessary signature card and renders payment for
all fees and security deposits, as may be required, and
completes a “Request for Electrical Service”
application form and a service load calculation form, both
of which are available from the Department. Applications
for electric service and requests to discontinue or restore
service require three (3) business days notice.
106-Customer of Record.
The current Customer shall be and remain the Customer of
record and shall be liable for the cost of service taken
until such time as the Customer of record requests termination
of service and a final meter reading is recorded.
The new Customer of record or owner of the property must
call in advance or the meter will be removed and subject
to a minimum $40.00 reconnection charge and any other applicable
amount determined by the Department.
107-Residential Home
Energy Loss Prevention. The Department offers its residential
Customers several energy efficiency programs, ranging from
rebates for purchasing certain Energy Star appliances to
home energy audits. Contact the Department’s business
office for complete information.
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ARTICLE 200 |
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Billing Remedies
201– Bills. All
bills shall be due and payable upon receipt. For purposes
of this section and the following section the date of receipt
of a bill by a Customer shall be presumed to be three days
following the date of mailing. However, bills rendered to
residential Customers shall not be due for purposes of terminating
service for non-payment, until 60 days from the due date
of receipt.
202– Department
Disconnection of Electric Service. Subject to the provisions
of the Department’s requirements regarding meter tampering
and applicable regulations of the MDTE, the Department shall
have the right to discontinue electric service on due notice
and to remove its property from the Customers premises in
the event the Customer fails to pay any bill due the Department
for each service, or fails to perform any of its obligations
to the Department. After such discontinuance, a minimum
reconnection charge of $40.00 and any other applicable charge
determined by the Department shall be paid before service
can be restored.
The Department reserves the right to discontinue the supply
of service and/or remove its equipment from the Customer’s
premises if the Customer fails to comply with the provisions
of the Tariffs, Terms and Conditions and Requirements for
Service or any supplementary or special agreement entered
into with the Department, subject to any applicable billing
and termination procedures of the MDTE. The Department may
also discontinue service and remove its equipment from the
Customers’ premises in case of violation of any general
laws, local ordinances or by-laws, or government regulations.
In these circumstances, the Department may assess a minimum
Account Restoration Charge of $40.00 and any other applicable
amount determined by the Department upon such discontinuance
of service. See Article 500 for the Department’s termination
for non-payment policy.
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ARTICLE 300 |
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Rate Schedules
301–Rate Schedule-Changes.
Any reclassification of rate schedules under which a Customer
receives service shall be implemented in accordance with
the Department’s tariffs; provided, however, that
charges applicable under the new rate requested by the Customer
shall not be applied retroactively to the Customer’s
service.
Pursuant to M.G.L. c.164 the Department reserves the right
to change its tariffs, rates, and terms and conditions at
any time. The Department provides various services under
its rates, special contracts and terms and conditions.
The Departments rates are on file at the MDTE and are also
available on the web at www.mansfieldelectric.com.
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ARTICLE 400 |
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Billing Period
401–Measurement
of Electricity. Meters for the purpose of recording Customers
energy consumption shall be installed by the Department
at locations designated by the Department. The Department
may, at any time and without notice, change any meter installed
by it. The Department may also change the location of any
meter, provided that the cost of the change shall be borne
by the Department except when such change is made to stop
unauthorized and/or unmetered use of electricity.
If more than one meter is installed, unless it is installed
at the Department’s option, the Monthly Charge for
Service delivered through each meter shall be computed separately
under the applicable rate.
402–Billing Period.
Whenever reference is made to “month” in connection
with electricity delivered, service furnished, or payments
to be made, it shall mean the period between two successive
regular monthly meter readings, the second of which occurs
in the month to which reference is made.
403–Demand. The
demand is the maximum rate of taking electricity. Under
ordinary load conditions it will be based upon one or more
fifteen-minute periods as herein defined. A fifteen-minute
peak is the average rate of delivery of electricity during
any fifteen-minute period as determined by any suitable
instrument during the billing period. In the case of extremely
fluctuating loads, however, where the demand based on the
average over fifteen minutes does not fairly represent the
maximum demand imposed by the Customer, the Department reserves
the right to bill the demand based upon the instantaneous
peak or the peak for a shorter period than fifteen minutes.
404–Holidays.
Holidays applicable to the Department’s tariffs are
as follows on the dates that they are observed in the Department’s
service territory:
New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents
Day, Patriots Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor
Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas
Day.
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ARTICLE 500 |
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Termination of Electric Service Due to Non-Payment Policy
501–Non Payment
Policy. In the event the Department wishes to terminate
electric service for non-payment, it will issue a notice
of termination specifying the amount past due and the planned
date of termination, consistent with MDTE regulations.
A. The past due amount must be paid by 4:00pm on the “Amount
Due Date” shown on the termination notice or the Department
will be forced to terminate service within a reasonable
time thereafter.
B. If it becomes necessary to terminate service, the entire
amount, plus a minimum $40.00 reconnection charge and any
other applicable amount determined by the Department, shall
be paid before service can be restored. Reconnections performed
outside normal business hours shall also be charged a four
(4) hour minimum call-out charge.
C. The Department and the Customer may enter into a mutually
satisfactory payment arrangement prior to the due date specified
in the termination notice by contacting the Department’s
Customer Service Department at 508-261-7361 during the Department’s
regular business hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 8am-4pm;
Wednesday 8am-8pm and Friday 8am-12noon.
The following conditions shall apply to any payment plan:
1. Accounts with no payments for any 90 consecutive day
period shall be required to pay the past due account balance
in full to prevent termination.
2. Payment plans require that half (1/2) of the past due
amount shall be paid prior to the expiration date of the
termination notice then the remaining balance will be evenly
divided into payments to be made weekly, bi-weekly or monthly
for a duration not to exceed 4 months, as agreed to by the
parties`.
3. Current charges must be paid in full and will be due
in addition to the payments on the past due balance.
4. Customers who cannot meet the above requirements should
call Mansfield Social Services at 508-261-7464.
5. Should the Customer fail to make any of the agreed payments
and it becomes necessary to terminate service, the entire
past due amount, plus a $40.00 reconnection charge and any
other applicable charge determined by the Department, shall
be paid before service can be restored. Further payment
plans may be offered at the Department’s sole discretion.
6. If a check issued to the Department for payment on a
termination notice is returned from the bank for insufficient
funds, the Department will no longer accept checks for payment
on the Customer’s account. All future payments must
then be paid in cash, credit card, money order or cashier’s
check.
D. You have a Right to Utility Service (Residential Customers
Only) if:
1. You are Seriously Ill. You have the right to service
anytime during the year if you or a member of your family
has a serious illness and you cannot afford to pay overdue
utility bills because you have a financial hardship. You
must contact your physician or the Mansfield Board of Health.
Have your physician or the Board of Health telephone the
electric company immediately at (508) 261-7361. Within seven
(7) days of the phone call, your physician or the Board
of Health must certify in writing, to the electric company,
that serious illness exists. The certification may be renewed
monthly, or quarterly if the illness has been certified
as chronic. Your failure to renew such certification of
serious illness as explained above may result in your service
being terminated. A financial hardship form to be filed
with the Department is also required.
2. You have an Infant. You have the right to service anytime
during the year if there is a child under twelve (12) months
of age in your household and you cannot afford to pay overdue
utility bills because you have a financial hardship. Contact
the electric company at (508) 261-7361 to find out how to
protect your account. You must provide proof of age and
a financial hardship form to the company.
3. Winter Protection. Between November 15 and March 15,
if you certify that you have a financial hardship, your
electric service cannot be shut off if it directly or indirectly
supplies heat to your home.
If a financial hardship does exist, the financial hardship
form must be renewed every 90 days. Your failure to submit
a financial hardship form or renew the financial hardship
form as required will result in the Department requesting
permission from the MDTE to terminate your service.
4. Elderly Protection. If you and all members of your household
are 65 years of age or older, your electric service cannot
be terminated for failure to pay past due bills unless the
Department has express approval of the MDTE.
5. Note the above rights do not waive the Customer’s
requirements to pay their electric bill.
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ARTICLE 600 |
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Auxiliary and Temporary Service
601–Auxiliary
Service. Electric service supplied by the Department shall
not be used to supplement or relay, or act as a standby
to any other service, unless the Customer shall make such
guarantees in respect to the payment for such service as
shall be just and reasonable in each case. Service cannot
be resold. Where such service is supplied, the Customer
shall not operate an electric system in parallel with the
Department’s system without the consent of the Department,
and then only under such conditions as the Department may
specify from time to time.
602–Temporary
Service. Temporary service is service which will not continue
for a sufficient period to yield the Department adequate
revenue at its regular rates to justify the expenditures
necessary to provide such service. The Department shall
require a Customer requesting temporary service to pay a
minimum charge of $150, or the full amount of the estimated
cost of installing and removing the requested connection,
in advance of the installation of the connection by the
Department, in accordance with the Department’s Information
and Requirements for Electric Service (brochure available
upon request from the Department). In addition, the Customer
shall be required to make payments for electricity at the
applicable rates.
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ARTICLE 700 |
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Liabilities/Provision of Service
701–Electric Supply
Disruption. Whenever the integrity of the supply of electric
service may be threatened by conditions on the Department’s
system or on a part or parts of the transmission and/or
distribution system with which the Department is interconnected,
the Department, in its sole judgment, may curtail or interrupt
electrical service to the Customer and such curtailment
or interruption shall not constitute default by the Department.
The Department shall not be responsible for any failure
to supply electric service nor interruption or abnormal
voltage of the supply, or any damage resulting from the
restoration of service, if such failure, interruption, abnormal
voltage, or damage is without willful misconduct or gross
negligence on its part.
The Department shall not be liable for, or in any way in
respect of, any interruption, abnormal voltage, discontinuance
or reversal of its service if such interruption, abnormal
voltage, discontinuance or reversal is without willful misconduct
on the part of the Department, or is due to causes beyond
its immediate control whether accident, labor difficulties,
condition of fuel supply, the attitude of any public authority,
or failure to receive any electricity for which in any manner
contracted, or due to the operation in accordance with good
utility practice of an emergency load reduction program
by the Department or one with whom it has contracted for
a supply of electricity, or inability for any other reason
to maintain uninterrupted and continuous service; provided,
however, that if the Department is unable for any of the
causes enumerated above to supply electricity for a continued
period of two (2) days or more, that upon written requests
from the Customer, the demand charge, if any, may be suspended
for the duration of such inability.
Unless there is gross negligence on the part of the Department,
the Department shall not be liable for damage to the person
or property of the Customer or any other persons resulting
from the use of electricity or the presence of the Department’s
appliances and equipment on the Customer’s premises.
In any event, for non-residential Customers served under
general service rates, the Department shall not be liable
in contract, in tort (including negligence under G.L. c.258
and Mass. G.L. c.93A), strict liability or otherwise for
any special, direct or indirect, or consequential damages
whatsoever including, but not limited to, loss of profits
or revenue, loss of use of equipment, cost of capital, cost
of temporary equipment, overtime, business interruption,
spoilage of goods, claims of Customers of the Customer or
other economic harm.
The Department shall collect all sales, excise or other
taxes imposed by governmental authorities with respect to
the sale of electricity. It shall be the Customer’s
responsibility to identify and request any exemption from
the collection of such taxes by filing appropriate documentation
with the Department.
Neither by inspection nor non-rejection nor in any other
way does the Department give any warranty, expressed or
implied, as to the adequacy, safety or other characteristics
of any equipment, wiring or devices, installed on the Customer’s
premises. The Department shall not be liable for damages
resulting in any way from the supplying or use of electricity
or from the presence or operation of the Company’s
service, conductors, appurtenances or other equipment on
the Customer’s premises.
The Customer assumes full responsibility for the proper
use of electricity furnished by the Department and for the
condition, suitability, and safety of any and all wires,
cable, devices, or appurtenances energized by electricity
on the Customer’s premises, or owned or controlled
by the Customer that are not the Departments property. The
Customer shall indemnify and save harmless the Department
from and against any and all claims, expenses, legal fees,
losses, suits, awards, or judgments for injuries to or deaths
of persons or damage of any kind, whether to property or
otherwise, arising directly or indirectly by reason of:
(1) the routine presence in or use of electricity over the
wires, cables, devices or appurtenances owned or controlled
by the Customer; or (2) the failure of the Customer to perform
any of his or her duties and obligations as set forth in
the Tariffs, Terms and Conditions and Requirements for Service
where such failure creates safety hazards; or (3) the Customer’s
improper use of electricity or electric wires, cables, devices,
or appurtenances. Except as otherwise provided by law, the
Department shall be liable for damages claimed to have resulted
from the Department’s conduct of its business only
when the Department, its employees or agents have acted
in a grossly negligent, or intentionally wrongful manner.
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ARTICLE 400 |
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FEES AND CHARGES
801 – Temporary
Disconnect of Service. Upon written request of a Customer,
the Department will arrange for a temporary disconnect of
service. No service charge shall apply for each temporary
disconnection and each reconnection during normal business
hours. However, a charge will be imposed for after hours
work. Contact the Department for after hours charges.
802 – Removal
of Service Drop. There will be no charge for temporary removal
of a service drop from a structure to facilitate structural
change, siding, moving of service, moving of structure,
etc., providing that 48 hours notice is provided to the
Department and work is performed during normal Department
construction hours.
803 – Meter Test.
All meter tests will be performed by the Department for
a charge of $40. Upon request of the Customer, the meter
will be sent to an independent testing company. The entire
cost of third party testing as requested by the Customer
shall be passed on to the Customer. If the meter is found
to be inaccurate, no fee will be assessed. A meter shall
be deemed inaccurate if it registers more than two percent
above or below the standard measure approved by the MDTE.
804 – Tampered
Meter. When a meter is determined, by the Department, to
have been tampered with, a $40.00 reconnection fee and any
other applicable charge determined by the Department payable
by cash, credit card, money order or cashier’s check
to the Department shall be collected before the service
is reconnected. In addition to charges for electricity,
as determined, by the Department, to be used but not metered
as a result of tampering, all costs attributable to investigation
of the tampering, calculation of amounts owed and any other
administrative costs will be charged to the Customer. The
Department reserves the right to collect triple damages
for unmetered electricity as per Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 164, Section 127A.
805 – Damaged
Meter. Meters damaged accidentally or otherwise will be
replaced at the expense of the property owner where the
meter is located. Charges will include the labor and materials
to replace the meter.
806 – Service
Disconnected for Non-Payment. After service is disconnected
for non-payment, a reconnection charge of $40.00 will be
made to the Department for restoration of service during
normal work hours. An additional charge will be imposed
for after hours work. Contact the department for after hours
charges.
807 – Returned
Check. A $25.00 fee shall be charged to the Customer for
each check presented to the Department for which there are
insufficient funds to honor the check. This fee shall be
applicable only where the check has been dishonored after
being deposited for a second time or stamped “do not
redeposit” by the bank.
808 – Secure Meter
Socket. Meter sockets are owned and maintained by the customer.
When the Department determines that the customer’s
meter socket or service entrance cable needs to be reattached
or secured to the house, the Department will advise the
customer and allow the customer reasonable time to repair
the meter socket. If the work is not performed in a timely
manner, the Department will perform this work for a fee
of $100.00.
809 – Temporary
Service Charge.
A minimum charge of $150.00 will apply to all temporary
service installations.
If the Department must extend the electrical distribution
system beyond one overhead section of secondary cable in
order to serve a temporary service, the Customer will be
provided with the estimated costs to provide the temporary
service. This estimated cost must be paid in full before
the Department will commence work. The customer shall contact
the Department for estimated temporary service charges.
The Customer will also be required to make payments for
electricity usage at the regular rates.
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