R746-310-8. Billing Adjustments

  A. Definitions --

  1. A "backbill" is that portion of a bill, other than a levelized bill, which represents charges not previously billed for service that was actually delivered to the customer during a period before the current billing cycle.

  2. A "catch-up bill" is a bill based upon an actual reading rendered after one or more bills based on estimated or customer readings. A catch-up bill which exceeds by 50 percent or more the bill that would have been rendered under a utility's standard estimation program is presumed to be a backbill.

  B. Notice -- The account holder may be notified by mail, by phone, or by a personal visit, of the reason for the backbill. This notification shall be followed by, or include, a written explanation of the reason for the backbill that shall be received by the customer before the due date and be sufficiently detailed to apprise the customer of the circumstances, error or condition that caused the underbilling, and, if the backbill covers more than a 24-month period, a statement setting forth the reasons the utility did not limit the backbill under Subsection R746-310-8(D), Limitations of the Period for Backbilling.

  C. Limitations on Rendering a Backbill -- If a utility is going to render a backbill it must do so within three months from the time the utility becomes aware of the circumstance, error, or condition that caused the underbilling. This limitation does not apply to fraud and theft of service situations.

  D. Limitations of the Period for Backbilling --

  1. A utility shall not bill a customer for service rendered more than 24 months before the utility actually became aware of the circumstance, error, or condition that caused the underbilling or that the original billing was incorrect.

  2. In case of customer fraud, the utility shall estimate a bill for the period over which the fraud was perpetrated. The time limitation of Subsection R746-310-8(D)(1) does not apply to customer fraud situations.

  3. In the case of a backbill for Utah sales taxes not previously billed, the period covered by the backbill shall not exceed the period for which the utility is assessed a sales tax deficiency.

  E. Payment Period -- A utility shall permit the customer to make arrangements to pay a backbill without interest over a time period at least equal in length to the time period over which the backbill was assessed. If the utility has demonstrated that the customer knew or reasonably should have known that the original billing was incorrect or in the case of fraud or theft, in which case, interest will be assessed at the rate applied to past due accounts on amounts not timely paid in accordance with the established arrangements.