2006 Minnesota Statutes

216B.097 COLD WEATHER RULE, COOPERATIVE OR MUNICIPAL UTILITY.
    Subdivision 1. Application; notice to residential customer. (a) A municipal utility or a
cooperative electric association must not disconnect the utility service of a residential customer
during the period between October 15 and April 15 if the disconnection affects the primary heat
source for the residential unit when the following conditions are met:
(1) the customer has declared inability to pay on forms provided by the utility. For the
purposes of this clause, a customer that is receiving energy assistance is deemed to have
demonstrated an inability to pay;
(2) the household income of the customer is less than 50 percent of the state median income;
(3) verification of income may be conducted by the local energy assistance provider or the
utility, unless the customer is automatically eligible for protection against disconnection as a
recipient of any form of public assistance, including energy assistance that uses income eligibility
in an amount at or below the income eligibility in clause (2);
(4) a customer whose account is current for the billing period immediately prior to October
15 or who, at any time, enters into a payment schedule that considers the financial resources of the
household and is reasonably current with payments under the schedule; and
(5) the customer receives referrals to energy assistance programs, weatherization,
conservation, or other programs likely to reduce the customer's energy bills.
(b) A municipal utility or a cooperative electric association must, between August 15 and
October 15 of each year, notify all residential customers of the provisions of this section.
    Subd. 2. Notice to residential customer facing disconnection. Before disconnecting service
to a residential customer during the period between October 15 and April 15, a municipal utility
or cooperative electric association must provide the following information to a customer:
(1) a notice of proposed disconnection;
(2) a statement explaining the customer's rights and responsibilities;
(3) a list of local energy assistance providers;
(4) forms on which to declare inability to pay; and
(5) a statement explaining available time payment plans and other opportunities to secure
continued utility service.
    Subd. 3. Restrictions if disconnection necessary. (a) If a residential customer must be
involuntarily disconnected between October 15 and April 15 for failure to comply with the
provisions of subdivision 1, the disconnection must not occur on a Friday or on the day before a
holiday. Further, the disconnection must not occur until at least 20 days after the notice required
in subdivision 2 has been mailed to the customer or 15 days after the notice has been personally
delivered to the customer.
(b) If a customer does not respond to a disconnection notice, the customer must not be
disconnected until the utility investigates whether the residential unit is actually occupied. If the
unit is found to be occupied, the utility must immediately inform the occupant of the provisions
of this section. If the unit is unoccupied, the utility must give seven days' written notice of the
proposed disconnection to the local energy assistance provider before making a disconnection.
(c) If, prior to disconnection, a customer appeals a notice of involuntary disconnection, as
provided by the utility's established appeal procedure, the utility must not disconnect until the
appeal is resolved.
    Subd. 4. Application to service limiters. For the purposes of this section, "disconnection"
includes a service or load limiter or any device that limits or interrupts electric service in any way.
History: 1991 c 235 art 2 s 1; 2001 c 212 art 4 s 2; 1Sp2003 c 11 art 3 s 2