(A) (1) All accounts not paid on or before the fifteenth of each month shall be considered delinquent, and the account holder will be mailed a delinquent notice on the twentieth of that month advising the residential customer that utilities must be paid by the second Thursday of the following month. The notice shall also advise the customer that service will be disconnected on the second Thursday of the following month. The Clerk-Treasurer shall determine and list the actual shutoff date on each notice.
(2) If no response is received, service will be disconnected without further notice and will not be restored until the account is paid in full, plus a reconnection fee as established in Appendix B of this chapter.
(B) All industrial and commercial accounts are due on or before the fifteenth of each month. All industrial and commercial accounts not paid on or before the fifteenth of each month will be mailed a disconnect notice on the twentieth of the month. If no response is received, service will be disconnected on the twenty-seventh of the month and will not be restored until the account is paid in full, plus a reconnection fee as established in Appendix B of this chapter.
(C) Failure to receive a bill shall not entitle the customer to pay the net bill after the designated due date has passed. Upon request, the utility will inform the customer of the approximate date on which the customer should receive the bill each month, and if the bill is lost, the utility will issue a duplicate bill.
(D) Initial or final bills for service supplied for not less than 27 days or for not more than 34 days will be calculated on the basis of the applicable rate schedule. A billing for a period covering a shorter period than 27 days or a longer period than 34 days will be prorated on the basis of the proportion that the number of days of actual service bears to an average month (30 days).
(E) The customer shall notify the utility when he or she desires service to be discontinued, and final bills will be due and payable at the time of discontinuance of service. Final accounts are not billed until the next regular bill date (first of following month).
(F) When the utility is unable to obtain the reading of a meter after reasonable effort, it may estimate the reading and render a bill, so marked.
(G) In the event the utility’s meter fails to register properly for any reason, the utility shall estimate the customer’s energy use and/or maximum load during the period of failure based on such factors as the customer’s normal load and energy usage during a like corresponding period.
(H) When the utility has discontinued service for nonpayment of a bill or as otherwise provided in these general terms and conditions for electric service, a reconnection charge as may be established from time to time by the Board and Council, and as set out in Appendix B of this chapter, shall be required before service is reconnected. A deposit may also be required pursuant to § 51.116 of this chapter.
(I) When a reconnection of service is made for a customer at the same location and service has been disconnected at the customer’s request, a reconnection charge as may be established from time to time by the Board and Council, and as set out in Appendix B of this chapter, shall be required before service is reconnected.
(J) Payment by a check which is subsequently returned to the utility by a bank for any insufficiency, such as, but not limited to, insufficient funds balance, shall not constitute timely payment of a bill. Further, any charges assessed against the utility by a bank for an insufficient check shall likewise be assessed by the utility to the customer. Also, the customer will be charged a fee as may be established from time to time by the Board and Council, and as set out in Appendix B of this chapter, by the utility for the returned check. The utility may refuse to accept a check from said customer for payment.
(Ord. 14-2017, passed 10-10-2017)