(a) Service boundary. Exclusively, the utility shall supply all electric service within the corporate limits of the city. Subject to Article XVIII of the Ohio Constitution, the utility may extend service to customers outside the corporate limits of the city.
(b) Application for service.
(1) A copy of the schedules and standard terms and conditions under which service is rendered to customers will be furnished upon request at the utility office. The utility shall determine which schedule is applicable to serve customers. Once an application for service is approved, service will be commenced and a copy of the service agreement will be furnished to the customer upon request. If a customer desires delivery of energy at more than one point, a separate agreement shall be required for each separate point of delivery. Service delivered at each point of delivery shall be billed separately under the applicable schedule.
(2) The customer (or landlord/customer), after making proper application for service, shall notify the utility when the customer desires service to be established. In no case shall the customer, landlord/customer, customer's agent or customer's employee turn on service. Service shall be turned on, upon the date specified, by an authorized agent of the utility. If the utility finds itself unable to establish service on the date specified, it shall notify the customer as soon in advance as possible and a new date shall be established by mutual agreement.
(3) When landlord/customers make application for service, the tenant(s) name(s) shall be included on the application.
(c) Service not transferrable. No person may commence use of service until after making application therefor and requesting the utility to turn on the service in accordance with division (b)(2) of this section. In the event of violation of this provision, in addition to other rights of the utility, that person shall be liable for all electricity consumed in the premises. Any successor in interest to a customer, including without limitation heirs, executors, administrators, assignees, trustees, guardians, receivers and conservators, shall be deemed to be a person who must make application for service; provided that any successor in interest whose rights arise from death or incompetence of the customer shall have 30 days in which to make application.
(d) Customer indebted to utility. Service will not be supplied to any premises, if at the time of application for service, the applicant is indebted to the utility for service previously supplied at the same time or other premises, until payment of the indebtedness or other arrangement satisfactory to the utility shall have been made. Unpaid balances of previously rendered final bills shall be transferred and included on the initial or subsequent bill for a like service account. Such transferred final bills, if unpaid, will be part of the past due balance of the transferred account and subject to the utility's collections and disconnection procedures. The transfer of final bills is limited to like service, i.e., residential to residential, commercial to commercial. The utility may not transfer a delinquent customer service account to any account where any end user is a residential service customer.
(e) Service connections.
(1) The customer assumes all responsibility for property owned by the customer on customer's side of the point of delivery, generally at the weatherhead, for the service supplied or taken, as well as for the installation of appliances used in connection therewith, and will save the utility harmless from and against all claims for injury or damage to persons or property occasioned by or in any way resulting from the service or the use thereof on the customer's side of the point of delivery.
(2) When service is from an overhead system, the customer's wiring must extend at least 15 inches beyond the building. Where a customer installs service entrance facilities which have capacity and layout specified by the utility, and/or installs and uses certain utilization equipment specified by the utility, the utility may provide or offer to own facilities on the customer's side of the point where service wires attach to the building. All inside wiring must be grounded in accordance with the requirements of the National Electrical Code, or the requirements of any local inspection service authorized by the city. When a customer desires that energy be delivered at a point or in a manner other than that designated by the utility, the customer shall pay the additional cost of same. Where service is supplied from an underground distribution system which has been installed at the utility's expense within the limits of a city street, the customer shall make arrangements with the utility for the utility to supply and install a continuous run of cable conductors, including necessary ducts from the manhole or connection box to the meter base. The customer shall pay the cost of installing the portion of cable and duct from the property lines to the terminus or cable outside the building. When a real estate developer desires an underground distribution system within the property which he or she is developing or when a customer desires an underground service, the real estate developer or the customer may bear the costs for the underground facilities.
(f) Continuity of service.
(1) The utility shall furnish necessary and adequate service and facilities. The utility shall not be liable in damages for failure to supply electricity or for interruptions in service, and shall be relieved of its obligation to serve and may discontinue or modify service, if the failure or interruption is due to natural disasters or the public enemy, military actions, wars, insurrections, riots, civil disturbances, vandalism, strikes, fires, floods, washouts, explosions, acts or orders of any civil, judicial or military authorities, and without limitation by the foregoing accidents, contingencies or other causes beyond the control of the utility.
(2) Without incurring any liability therefor, the utility may also suspend service for such periods as may be reasonably necessary in order to make repairs to or changes in its facilities or other property; provided that the utility shall keep a record of any interruption of service affecting its entire system, or a major division thereof, including a statement of time, duration and cause of interruption. It will also notify customers affected by the interruption in advance of the contemplated work, and approximately how long the interruption will last.
(3) The utility shall not discontinue service to any customer without giving the customer reasonable notice. The notice shall be delivered either personally or telephonically when possible and practical. In circumstances, however caused, when time does not permit the giving of the notice in advance of a discontinuance of service or a change in service caused by circumstances beyond the control of the utility, reasonable notice shall be given whenever possible and practical to all customers affected advising them that service is off and of the time at which service is expected to be restored.
(g) Customer's liability. In the event of loss or injury to the property of the utility through misuse by, or the negligence of, the customer or agents of the same, the cost of the necessary repairs or replacement thereof shall be paid to the utility by the customer. No one except the agents of the utility shall be allowed to make any internal or external adjustments of any meter or other piece of apparatus which shall be the property of the utility. The utility shall have the right at all reasonable hours to enter the premises of the customer for the purpose of installing, reading, removing, testing, replacing or otherwise disposing of its apparatus and property, and the right of entire removal of the utility's property in the event of the termination of service for any cause.
(h) Service not to be disturbed. No customer shall attach or use any appliances which may result in the altering of service provided through the utility's lines. Without prior approval from the utility, no customer shall attach or use any appliances or devices which will increase, decrease or otherwise alter service provided through the utility lines to such extent as to interfere at any time with continuous service to other customers.
(i) No customer shall sell to another. Service furnished by the utility is for the sole use of the customer and shall not be resold by the customer except on written permission obtained from the utility. The renting of premises with the cost of service included in the rental as an incidence will not be considered a resale of the services.
(j) Access to premises. Neither the utility nor its agents or employees shall enter into the interior of any structure on the premises of a customer without the express permission of the customer except in cases of emergency. Any agent or employee seeking entrance into or upon the premises of a customer shall have and show symbols of identification. Any agent or employee seeking entrance to the interior of any structure on the premises shall advise the owner or occupant as to his or her purpose in doing so. Except in cases of emergency, no customer shall be obligated to afford entrance or access to his or her premises except during normal business hours and then only to those parts of the premises as may be the location of utility-owned property.
(k) Right-of-way. The customer, without reimbursement, will make or procure conveyance to the utility of right-of-way or right of entry and installed lines satisfactory to the utility to permit the utility to cross property between the utility's lines and the customer's property at the location where service is to be furnished, including property owned or controlled by the customer for the utility's distribution lines, extensions thereof or appurtenances necessary or incidental to the supplying of service to the customer.
(l) Meter furnished. The utility will furnish, at no charge, each customer with a meter of a size and type as the utility may determine will adequately serve the customer's requirements. The meter shall be and remain the property of the utility, and the utility shall have the right to replace it, as the utility may deem necessary. The utility will furnish the meter based upon presentation of appropriate permits. In certain situations, the utility shall install a service entrance, the cost of which shall be paid by the customer.
(m) Meter location.
(1) The utility shall determine the location of the meter. When changes in buildings or arrangements therein render the meter inaccessible or exposed to hazards, the utility may require the customer, at the customer's expense, to relocate the meter setting together with any portion of the customer's service line necessary to accomplish the relocation.
(2) In order to maintain access to the meter location, the customer shall keep the area adjacent to the meter free of vegetation and debris. Failure to do so shall result in the utility clearing the area and assessing a fee for the service.
(n) Only utility can connect meter.
(1) As used in this division, "tamper" means to interfere with, damage, or by-pass a utility meter, conduit or attachment with the intent to impede the correct registration of a meter or the proper function of a conduit or attachment so as to reduce the amount of utility service that is registered on the meter.
(2) No customer shall tamper with a meter, conduit or attachment of the utility that has been disconnected by the utility. The owner or customer shall not permit anyone who is not an authorized agent of the utility to connect or disconnect the utility's meters, or in any way alter or interfere with the utility's meters. Proof that a meter, conduit or attachment of the utility has been tampered with is prima facie evidence that the person who is obligated to pay for the service rendered through the meter, conduit, or attachment and is in possession or control of the meter, conduit or attachment at the time the tampering occurred has caused the tampering with intent to commit a theft offense.
(3) Tampering with or bypassing a meter constitutes a theft offense that could result in the imposition of criminal sanctions.
(o) Meter test.
(1) All meters shall be tested at such intervals and using such methods as may be prescribed by generally accepted standards. The meter shall be removed from the customer's premises for the test and a substitute meter, newly tested, shall be installed in its place. After the meter has been tested and before it is returned to service at the same or a different location, it shall be adjusted to be accurate within 3%, plus or minus.
(2) The utility shall also test the meter at any time, at the request of the customer. The test shall be performed in the presence of the customer if he or she so requests. If the meter is found to be correct, as defined in division (p) of this section, the customer shall pay a testing fee as listed in § 1050.02(c)(4).
(3) The date of inspection shall be stamped on the meter.
(p) Correct meter. A meter registering between 3% fast and 3% slow shall be deemed, for all purposes, to be registering correctly. A meter registering incorrectly shall be replaced by the utility at its expense.
(q) Indoor wiring. The customer shall install and maintain, at the customer's expense, indoor wiring from the outlet of the meter electrical appliances. The utility shall have no obligation to install, maintain or repair the wiring.
(r) Appliances. The customer shall install and maintain all electrical appliances. The utility shall have no obligation to install, maintain or repair appliances.
(s) Inspection of altered wiring. It shall be the duty of the customer to notify the utility promptly of any additions, changes, alterations, remodeling or reconstruction affecting service on the customer's premises.
(t) Extension of distribution lines.
(1) The utility will extend its distribution lines on any dedicated street or highway without cost, up to but not more than, a distance of 200 feet for each applicant. Upon application for a service extension of line in excess of 200 feet for each applicant, the utility may enter into a line extension agreement providing for a deposit with the utility of a sum deemed adequate by the utility to cover the cost to be incurred by it for that portion of the extension in excess of the footage which the utility will construct without cost to the applicant. The amount of deposit shall be determined by multiplying the excess footage as herein above determined by the average cost per foot to the utility of a similar size distribution line installed during the preceding calendar year.
(2) All extensions shall be the property of the utility.
(3) Where a line of extension is necessary to provide service availability to real estate plots or real estate subdivisions and the line extension is deemed justified at the utility's expense, the owners or promoters of the plots of lots or real estate subdivisions may enter into a line extension agreement and deposit with the utility the estimated cost of that portion of the main extension which is not deemed justified at the utility's expense.
(4) Where a line extension is requested for commercial purposes and all or part of the line extension is not deemed economically justified at the utility's expense, the utility shall require the applicant or applicants to enter into a line extension agreement and deposit with the utility the estimated cost of that portion of the line extension which is not deemed economically justified at the utility's expense.
(Ord. 33-2001, passed 8-20-2001)