Mich. Admin. Code R. 460.111 - General deposit conditions for residential customers
Rule 11.
(1) All of
the following apply to payment of deposits for residential service:
(a) For a primary residence, a deposit that
is required under these rules due to a prior outstanding account that is not in
dispute or a shutoff for nonpayment shall not be more than twice the average
monthly bill for the premises or, if the current customer's consumption history
for the premises is unavailable, twice the utility's system average monthly
bill for residential service.
(b)
For seasonal properties, a deposit that is required under these rules due to a
prior outstanding account that is not in dispute or a shutoff for nonpayment
shall not be more than twice the average monthly bill for peak season
usage.
(c) A utility shall offer an
eligible low-income customer the option of paying a deposit required under
these rules in 2 monthly installments.
(2) Whenever a utility requests a deposit
because of an unpaid account for residential service incurred in another
household member's name for a time when the customer and the other person
shared a residence, as described in
R
460.109(1)(h), the utility shall
provide the customer with notice of the reason for the request, the commission
rule that allows the utility to make the request, and the process for refuting
the action.
(3) A deposit that is
required during the heating season due to a shutoff of service for nonpayment
within the past 12 months, shall not exceed the utility system average monthly
natural gas bill for natural gas residential service or the utility system
average monthly electric bill for electric residential service. If the customer
receives natural gas and electric residential service from a combination
utility, the deposit shall not exceed the total of the utility's combined
system average monthly natural gas and electric bills.
(4) A deposit that is required as a condition
of providing, restoring, or continuing residential service due to unauthorized
use of utility service shall not be more than either of the following:
(a) Four times the average peak season
monthly bill for the premises if the customer's consumption history for the
premises is available.
(b) Four
times the utility's system average peak season monthly bill for residential
service if the customer's consumption history for the premises is
unavailable.
(5) The
utility may also require payment of the delinquent account and approved charges
as a condition of providing, restoring, or continuing residential service if
the account is in the customer's, or applicant's name, is delinquent, owed to
the utility, and accrued within the last 6 years.
(6) Unless the applicant misrepresents his or
her identity or credit standing or fails to provide positive identification
information, if requested, at the time of applying for residential service, the
utility shall not assess a deposit if the customer has been receiving service
for 30 days or more.
(7) Except in
the case of unauthorized use of utility service, if the utility shuts off
residential service for nonpayment, the utility shall not require a deposit as
a condition of restoring service unless the utility offered the customer, prior
to shutoff for nonpayment, the opportunity to enter into a payment plan as
provided in Part 10 of these rules,
R
460.154 to
R 460.159.
(8) A utility shall pay interest at the rate
of 5% per annum on all deposits. A utility shall credit interest semiannually
to the residential service account of the customer or pay it upon the return of
the deposit, whichever occurs first.
(9) The customer's credit shall be
established and the utility shall return the deposit and accrued interest upon
satisfactory payment by the customer of all proper charges for residential
service for a period of 12 consecutive months. A utility may retain the deposit
assessed because of unauthorized use of utility service for a period of 36
months and shall refund the deposit upon satisfactory payment of the final 12
months' charges.
(10) For purposes
of this rule, payment is satisfactory if it is made before the issuance of a
notice of shutoff of service for nonpayment that is not in dispute or within 5
days after the issuance of the next succeeding monthly bill, whichever is
sooner.
(11) For customers
terminating residential service, if the utility has not already returned the
deposit, the utility shall credit the deposit, with accrued interest, to the
final bill. For customers continuing to receive service, a utility may apply
the deposit against an existing arrearage that is not in dispute. The utility
shall promptly return the balance to the customer.
(12) A utility shall maintain a detailed
record of all deposits received for residential service. The record shall show
all of the following information:
(a) The
name and address of the depositor and either the applicant or
customer.
(b) The location served
by the utility at the time of making the deposit and each successive location
while the deposit is retained.
(c)
The amount and date of the deposit.
(d) The dates the utility paid interest and
the amounts.
(e) Each transaction
concerning the deposit.
(f) The
terms and conditions governing the return of the deposit.
(13) A utility shall provide the applicant or
customer with a receipt for the deposit and instructions regarding how a person
who is entitled to the return of his or her deposit may obtain the
deposit.
(14) A utility shall make
reasonable efforts to locate applicants or customers with unclaimed deposits or
credits.
(15) A utility shall apply
deposit standards uniformly to all applicants and customers. A utility shall
provide to any person who objects to paying a deposit information on the
process to contest the deposit requirement.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.