R24-05                                  BILLS OF THE PROVIDER

(a)  Bills for natural gas service sent by the provider to the lessee shall contain all of the following information:

(1)           the Supplier's Unit Natural Gas Service Bill for the unit as a whole and the amount of charges allocated to the lessee during the billing period;

(2)           the name of the supplier;

(3)           the beginning and ending dates for the usage period and, if provided by the supplier, the date the meter for the unit was read for that usage period;

(4)           the past-due date, which shall not be less than 25 days after the bill is mailed or otherwise delivered to the lessee;

(5)           the name of the provider and a local or toll-free telephone number and address of the provider that the lessees can use to obtain more information about the bill;

(6)           the amount of administrative fee, returned check charge, and the late payment charge approved by the Commission and included in the bill, if any; and

(7)           a statement of the lessee's right to address questions about the bill to the provider and the lessee's right to file a complaint with, or otherwise seek recourse from, the Commission if the lessee cannot resolve a natural gas service billing dispute with the provider.

(b)  The provider or the provider's billing agent shall equally divide the actual amount of the Supplier's Unit Natural Gas Service Bill for a unit among all the lessees in the unit and shall send one bill to each lessee.

(c)  The amount charged shall be prorated when a lessee has not leased the unit for the same number of days as the other lessees in the unit during the billing period.

(d)  Each bill may include an administrative fee no greater than the amount authorized in Rule R18-6 for water service and, when applicable, a late payment charge no greater than the amount authorized in Rule R12-9(d) and a returned check charge no greater than the amount authorized in G.S. 25-3-506.

(e)  A late payment charge may be applied to the balance in arrears after the past-due date.

(f)  The provider may impose a returned check charge, not to exceed the maximum authorized by G.S. 25-3-506, for a check on which payment has been refused by the payor bank because of insufficient funds or because the lessee did not have an account at that bank.

(g)  The provider shall not charge the cost of natural gas from any other unit or common area in a lessee's bill.

(h)  No provider shall charge or collect any greater compensation for the costs of providing natural gas service than the rates approved by the Commission.

(i)  The provider may, at the provider's option, pay any portion of any bill sent to a lessee, in accordance with the provisions of the lease; provided, however, that (1) the provider must still send each lessee bills in accordance with the other provisions in Rule R24-5; (2) the provider must credit lessee bills or otherwise refund to lessees the amount, if any, by which the amount specified in the lease exceeds the amount actually owed by the lessee for natural gas usage in the immediately preceding month; and (3) the provider must comply with G.S. 62-140 regarding non-discrimination in billing for utility service.

(NCUC Docket No. GR-100, Sub 0, 04/06/18.)