Washington Consumer Rights & Responsibilities

Washington Consumer Rights & Responsibilities - Residential

Your rights and responsibilities as a Washington utility consumer
Pacific Power and the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission have prepared this summary of your rights and responsibilities when you apply for an account with or are a current customer of a utility company in Washington.

Customer responsibilities

Use services safely and pay for them promptly
Contact Pacific Power when you have a problem with payment, service, safety, billing or customer service
Notify Pacific Power about billing or other errors
Contact Pacific Power when you anticipate a payment problem to try to set up a payment plan
Notify Pacific Power when you are moving to another location
Notify Pacific Power about stopping service in your name or about stopping service altogether
Allow safe, unobstructed access to your property for meter reading, tree trimming and other essential Pacific Power personnel and equipment
Provide notice to Pacific Power if you are making any significant change that may affect the electrical character of your load affecting you or others

Establishing credit
You can establish credit if any of the following are true:

You had service from a utility of the same type and had a good payment record.
You either own or are buying your home.
You’ve had continuous employment during the prior twelve consecutive months; are currently employed with a regular source of income.
You were a Pacific Power customer for at least six consecutive months during the last year with a satisfactory payment record.

Deposits
If a deposit is required, the amount will not be more than two months’ worth of the estimated yearly billing at your service address. You may be asked to make a deposit if:

You are not able to establish credit.
Your electric service has been disconnected within the last 12 months because you didn’t pay your bill.
You owe Pacific Power or some other electric or gas company an overdue amount for service.
Any other electric or gas company has sent you three or more overdue account notices during the last year.
A previous customer is still living at the residence where you would like to begin service and they still owe a balance on their account.

If you can’t pay all the required deposit, you have some alternative options to establish credit with Pacific Power:

You can arrange to pay half of the deposit immediately and the rest during the first two months of service.
Pacific Power can make a reasonable estimate of your monthly bill for electric service and you may pay in advance each month. You will need to pay in advance for the same amount of time that a deposit is usually held, at least one year.
This pre-payment arrangement may also be made as part of Pacific Power’s Equal Payment Plan.
You can furnish a guarantor for the deposit requirement. A guarantor is a current Pacific Power customer with satisfactory credit who will guarantee payment of the deposit amount on your behalf. Should your service be disconnected for nonpayment or you leave a balance owing when you discontinue service with Pacific Power, your guarantor will be responsible to pay up to the required deposit amount to cover any outstanding charges. Your guarantor will not be required to pay for any outstanding charges in excess of the required deposit amount.
You may submit a letter of credit from another utility confirming you had established credit while a customer.
You may seek relief from the required deposit under the Winter Low-Income Payment program.

Interest is paid on deposits at the rate set yearly by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.You get your deposit refunded (with interest) after you’ve paid your bills promptly for 12 consecutive months – providing Pacific Power has not had to disconnect your service for nonpayment or send you more than two overdue account notices. Your payment record is reviewed each year and your deposit refund – complete with interest – will be sent to you by check within 15 days, once you have paid your bill by the due date for 12 consecutive months.
If you move you will also get your deposit back, with interest, minus any amount owed to us.

Billing
You will receive a bill for electric service each month, based on the number of kilowatt-hours of electricity registered on your electric meter during the billing period. Your bill will show the date when your payment is due, the applicable rate schedule and the amount of the bill. You may ask that another person receive your bills and notices if you are unable to receive or understand them.

Our Equal Payment Plan is available if you’d like to spread your payments evenly out over a full year. The plan divides the total cost of electricity used each year into 12 equal monthly payments. Every year your account is reviewed to determine if your usage has changed. Any price changes will automatically be figured in the Equal Payment amount.

If you cannot pay a bill in full, we will try to work out a payment arrangement with you – taking into account your ability to pay, the amount you owe, your payment history and the reasons why you may not have been able to pay.

Disconnection notices
Electric service can be disconnected if your bill isn’t paid.

Here are the procedures and the rules governing how this would happen:
Each bill shows a payment date. After that date, the bill is considered past due. Before your service will be disconnected, we will send you a written notice mailed at least eight business days before the date we will disconnect service. Before the service is shut off, we will send you an additional five-day notice. If notice is hand delivered and no one is home, we’ll attach the notice to your front door. Service can then be stopped after the next business day. If service is not shut off within 10 business days after the disconnection date, a new notice will be provided unless prior arrangements were made. A Pacific Power representative will always accept cash payment of your delinquent account and not disconnect your electricity. However, there may be a field visit charge of $20 to pay the cost associated with the representative’s visit to collect the bill.
If your service is disconnected, to reconnect we will require payment of at least half of a new deposit plus a reconnect charge of $20 if connection is made during working hours or $40 after regular working hours. A service charge of $20 may be collected by Pacific Power for each payment returned to us by a bank because of insufficient funds. No service will be disconnected on Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays or any other day on which we cannot re-establish service on the same or following day, except in case of danger to life or property. Service may be disconnected during normal office hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
When the service and billing addresses for an account are different, notice by mail or in person will be made to the service address before disconnection, unless we can confirm that the customer in our records and the service user are the same. When separate notice to the service address is necessary, service will not be cut off until five business days after notice has been given to the service address.

The company can disconnect service, or refuse to provide service, if a customer:

Violates regulations, service agreements, or filed tariffs;
Has dangerous wiring or equipment that does not meet safety standards;
Tampers with the meter or the company’s equipment;
Uses equipment that interferes with service to others;
Denies the company reasonable access to property to make repairs or read a meter; or
Willfully wastes electricity through improper wiring, equipment or any other way.
Has fraudulently obtained service.

Moving
You need to let us know as soon as possible if you plan to move. It’s a good idea to do this yourself and not depend on someone else to do it for you.
We can’t close your account or process your closing bill until you let us know your move-out date.

Financial help
There are programs that give financial help to pay utility bills, depending on your circumstances. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides money to qualified customers who need help with winter heating bills. For more information, call our Customer Service Center at 1-888-221-7070.

Complaints and disputes
Pacific Power will promptly investigate every complaint or dispute we receive and we’ll report to you on the results. Contact us through our toll free phone number at 1-888-221-7070. This number is also printed on your bill.

If you’re not satisfied with the information or assistance you received from our representative, you have the right to request that your problem be reviewed by a supervisor. We will either transfer you directly to a supervisor, if one is immediately available, or provide you their name and how they can be reached. If you talk to the supervisor and still aren’t satisfied, you can call or write the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. Their toll free phone number is 1-800-562-6150 from within Washington or (360) 664-1120. The address is 1300 S. Evergreen Park Drive S.W., Olympia, WA, 98504-7250. Pacific Power will not knowingly disconnect your service while you are honestly pursuing a complaint with a supervisor or the Commission.

We've tried to tell you in a way that's easy to understand what Washington's laws say about your rights and responsibilities are as a utility customer. Copies of these rules (Chapters 480-100 of the Washington Administrative Code) and actual filed tariffs, including rate schedules and general rules and regulations, in their original wording, are available to you by calling 1-888-221-7070.

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