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.

Deposits
A nonresidential applicant or customer may be required to demonstrate satisfactory credit. If a deposit is required, the amount will not be more than two months’ worth of the estimated yearly billing at your service address. The deposit is due and payable not earlier than 5:00 of the sixth business day after notice of the requirement. 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 sent 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 determinants such as 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. 

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 three-day notice. If notice is hand-delivered and no one is present, 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 disconnection visit charge of $15 to pay the cost of the representative’s call 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 $15 may be collected by Pacific Power for each check 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. 

Pacific Power 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 Pacific Power's equipment;
• Uses equipment that interferes with service to others;
• Denies the company reasonable access to property to make repairs or read a meter; 
• Willfully wastes electricity through improper wiring, equipment or any other way.
• Has fraudulently obtained service.

Closing your account
You need to let us know as soon as possible if you plan to move or close your account. 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.

Complaints and disputes
We 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 assistance you received from the first person you talked to at Pacific Power, you have the right to request that your problem be handled by a supervisor, and we'll give you the supervisor's name and how he or she 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 Dr. 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.

Mailing address:
PO Box 400
Portland, OR 97207-0400