Wisconsin Legislature: PSC 185.12(10s)

Note: Chapter PSC 185 as it was in effect on May 31, 1972 was repealed, and a new chapter PSC 185 was created, Register, May, 1972, No. 197, effective June 1, 1972. Chapter PSC 185 as it was in effect on January 31, 1997 was repealed and a new chapter PSC 185 was created effective February 1, 1997.

Subchapter I — General

PSC 185.11 Authorization for and application of rules.

(1) Chapter PSC 185 is part of the Wisconsin administrative code and constitutes a general order of the public service commission, the issuance of which is authorized by ss. 227.11 (2), 196.02, 196.06, 196.12, 196.15, 196.16, 196.19, and 196.37, Stats.

(2) Chapter PSC 185 is designed to effectuate and implement ss. 196.02, 196.03, 196.06, 196.12, 196.15, 196.16, and 196.17, Stats.

(3) The requirements of ch. PSC 185 shall be observed by all water public utilities, both privately and publicly owned, engaged in the pumping, purchasing, transmission, or distribution of water except that an exemption may be given by the public service commission.

(4) Nothing in this chapter shall preclude special and individual consideration being given to exceptional or unusual situations and, upon due investigation of the facts and circumstances involved, the adoption of requirements as to individual utilities or services which shall be lesser, greater, other, or different than those provided in this chapter.

(5) The manner of enforcing this chapter is prescribed in s. 196.66, Stats., and such other means as provided in statutory sections administered by the public service commission.

(6) In case of emergency, where public interest requires immediate action without waiting for compliance with the specific terms of this chapter, immediate corrective action shall be taken by the utility, which action, however, shall be subject to review by the public service commission.

History: Cr. Register, January, 1997, No. 493, eff. 2-1-97.

PSC 185.12 Definitions. The following terms as used in this chapter mean:

(1) “Ability to pay” means a customer’s financial capacity to meet the customer’s utility service obligation;

(2) “Actual meter read” means a reading obtained by the utility or other party upon physical inspection of the meter or remote outside meter (ROM);

(3) “Automatic meter reading” (AMR) system means a system which provides digitally encoded information from an encoded meter register. The encoded information is transferred to the utility by means of remote receptacles, telephone lines, cable TV lines, power lines, or radio transmission;

(3e) “Class AB utility” means a public utility that has more than 4,000 service connections.

(3m) “Class C utility” means a public utility that has not fewer than 1,000 nor more than 4,000 service connections.

(3s) “Class D utility” means a public utility that has less than 1,000 service connections.

(3u) “Commercial customer” means a business, not-for-profit organization, or other institution that provides goods or services and that takes service for non-residential purposes.

Note: Churches, private schools, private colleges and universities, co-ops, and associations are non-governmental entities and are considered commercial customers.

(4) “Commission” means public service commission of Wisconsin;

(5) “Complaint” means a statement or question by any person, whether a utility customer or not, concerning a wrong, grievance, injury, dissatisfaction, illegal action or procedure, dangerous condition or action committed or created by a utility, or failure of a utility to meet a utility obligation;

(6) “Customer” means any person, owner, occupant, firm, partnership, corporation, municipality, cooperative organization, governmental agency, political entity, etc., provided with water service by any water public utility and is the party billed for payment of bills issued for use of utility service at a given premises. This definition is intended to create billing and payment responsibilities, but does not limit the need to afford occupants other protection under this chapter (e.g., evictions, emergency);

(7) “Customer-requested termination” is cessation of service at the request of the customer;

(8) “Deferred payment agreement” means an arrangement between a utility and a customer for payment of a delinquent amount or deposit in installments;

(9) “Denied or refused service” means service that a utility has refused to provide to a present or future customer, occupant, or premises;

(10) “Disconnection” means an event or action taken by the utility to terminate or discontinue the provision of service, but does not include a customer-requested termination of service;

(10e) “Industrial customer” means a customer who is engaged in the manufacture or production of goods.

(10m) “Irrigation” means the use of water to sustain crops, lawns, or landscapes, including water used on athletic fields, parks, and golf courses.

(10s) “Irrigation customer” means a customer who has water service provided primarily for irrigation and other outdoor uses.

(11) “Meter” means an instrument installed to measure the volume and/or rate of flow of water delivered through it;

(11m) “Multi-family residential customer” means a customer taking service for a building that is intended primarily for residential purposes, has three or more dwelling units, and is served by a single water meter.

Note: For accounting purposes, sales to multi-family residential customers are recorded as commercial sales under to the Commission’s Uniform System of Accounts for Municipal Water Utilities (January 2008).

(12) “New residential customer,” for purpose of deposit, means a customer who has not received utility service in his or her name during the previous 6 months from the utility from which service is requested;

(12m) “Non-residential customer” means any commercial, industrial, or public authority customer.

(13) “Occupant” means the resident or residents of a premises to which utility service is provided;

(14) “Percent registration” means the ratio of the meter registration divided by the actual volume or rate of flow, stated in percent. Stated more simply for domestic (volumetric) meters, this is the percent of the water delivered through a meter which the meter actually registers;

(15) “Private hydrant” means any hydrant whose lead is connected to a private water main, private lateral, or public main where the hydrant lead is owned by the customer;

(16) “Prompt payment” means payment prior to the time when a utility could issue a notice of disconnection for nonpayment of an amount not in dispute;

(17) “Protective service emergency” means a threat to the health or safety of a resident because of the infirmities of aging, other developmental or intellectual disabilities, or like infirmities incurred at any age, or the frailties associated with being very young;

(17m) “Public authority customer” means a customer that is a department, agency, or entity of the local, state, or federal government, including a public school, college, or university.

(18) “Public hydrant” means any hydrant and lead owned by the utility and connected to a utility-owned main, whether that main is in the public right-of-way or owned by the utility on an easement through private property;

Note: The hydrant and related fixtures would be recorded on the books of the utility.

(19) “Public utility” means an entity or individual included in s. 196.01 (5), Stats., which provides water for the public and an entity authorized by s. 66.0819, Stats., which provides water and sewer service for the public;

(20) “Remote outside meter” (ROM) means an analog device attached to a building structure which displays the reading of the base meter through electronic pulses sent from the base meter. Remote outside meters are considered part of the utility’s metering configuration.

(20g) “Residential customer” means a customer taking service for residential or domestic purposes but does not include a multi-family residential customer.

(20r) “Station meter” means a meter used to measure the volume or flow of water within a utility’s distribution system and not used to measure customer use. Station meter includes any meter used to measure water pumped from groundwater wells, surface water intakes, storage facilities, treatment facilities, or booster pumps.

(21) “Voucher agreement” means a payment agreement guaranteed by a third party who has access to or control over the benefits and finances of a public assistance recipient.

(22) “Water conservation” means practices, techniques, and technologies that reduce the demand for water, reduce water loss or waste, or improve water use efficiency.

Note: Examples of some public assistance are:

(a) Aid to families with dependent children (AFDC) restrictive payment arrangements;

(b) Social security representative payee;

(d) Legal guardian.

History: Cr. Register, January, 1997, No. 493, eff. 2-1-97; correction in (19) made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register October 2001 No. 550; CR 11-039: cr. (3e), (3m), (3s), (4m), (10e), (10m), (10s), (11m), (12m), (17m), (20g), (20r), (22) Register July 2012 No. 679, eff. 8-1-12; (4m) renum. to (3s) under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 1., Stats., Register July 2012 No. 679; 2019 Wis. Act 1: am. (17) Register May 2019 No. 761, eff. 6-1-19.

PSC 185.13 General requirement. Every utility shall furnish reasonably adequate service and facilities at the rates filed with the commission and subject to this chapter and the rules of the utility that are on file with the commission.

History: Cr. Register, January, 1997, No. 493, eff. 2-1-97.

PSC 185.15 Free or discriminatory service prohibited. No utility shall provide water service free or at a rate different than provided for in its rates. (See ss. 196.22 and 196.60, Stats.) This section applies to, but is not limited to, water service for all nonutility municipal purposes such as street and sewer flushing, and service to nonutility public buildings.

History: Cr. Register, January, 1997, No. 493, eff. 2-1-97.

PSC 185.16 Protection of water utility facilities.

(1) A water public utility upon receipt of written notice as required by s. 66.0831, Stats., from the property owner or from a contractor of work which may affect its facilities used for serving the public:

(a) Shall investigate and decide what action, if any, may reasonably be taken to protect or alter utility facilities in order to protect service to the public and to avoid unnecessary damage, such as identifying in a suitable manner the location of any underground utility facilities which may be affected by the work.

(b) Shall take such action as is reasonably and legally necessary to protect, remove, alter, or reconstruct its facilities, and shall perform this work with reasonable dispatch taking into account the conditions to be met, provided that nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect any right which the utility may have to require advance payment or adequate assurance of payment of the reasonable cost to the utility by the property owner or contractor.

(c) May, in order to protect its interests, require that the owner or contractor perform certain work upon or removal of that part of the service piping from the property upon which the excavating, building, or wrecking operations are being performed.

(2) This section is not intended to affect the responsibility of the contractor or owner, or the liability or legal rights of any party.

History: Cr. Register, January, 1997, No. 493, eff. 2-1-97; correction in (1) (intro.) made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register October 2001 No. 550.

PSC 185.17 Interference with public service structures.

(1) No utility having any work upon, over, along, or under any public street or highway or upon, over, along, or under any private property shall interfere with, destroy, or disturb the structures of any other public service corporation or railroad encountered in the performance of such work so as to interrupt, impair, or affect the public service for which such structures may be used, without first reaching an agreement concerning the location and the nature of the proposed work.

(2) A utility shall exercise care when working in close proximity to existing facilities. When the facilities are underground and are to be exposed or possibly may be exposed, hand digging shall be employed. In these cases, such support as may be reasonably necessary for protection of the facilities shall be provided in and near the construction area. When backfilling an excavation, such procedures and materials shall be employed to provide reliable support for existing underground facilities in and near the construction area.

(3) A utility shall, in the absence of working arrangements, give at least a 3-day written notice (not counting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) to all utilities or railroads and to those who may have facilities in and near the construction area which may be affected by the proposed work. The utility proposing to work shall obtain from the affected party the location of the existing facilities determined to be affected or to be in and near the construction area. Contacting a one-call system, such as the diggers’ hot line system established under s. 182.0175 (1m), Stats., shall constitute compliance with this subsection.

(4) A utility upon receiving a notice of proposed construction shall furnish in 3 days detailed information relative to location and type of facilities that are present in the proposed construction area. Where practical in those cases where the facilities are underground, they shall be marked physically in the field relative to location.

(5) Nothing in this section shall prevent a utility from proceeding as quickly as possible with any emergency construction work which might interfere with existing facilities. However, all reasonable precautions shall be taken to avoid or minimize damage or interference to the other facilities and notification shall be given as soon as possible to the utilities which have facilities in the construction area.

History: Cr. Register, January, 1997, No. 493, eff. 2-1-97; correction in (3) made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register April 2007 No. 616.

PSC 185.18 Location of records. All records required or necessary for the administration of this chapter shall be kept within this state unless otherwise authorized by the commission. These records shall be available for examination by the commission or its authorized representative at all reasonable hours. (See s. 196.06 (6), Stats.)

History: Cr. Register, January, 1997, No. 493, eff. 2-1-97.

PSC 185.19 Retention of records.

(1) A utility shall preserve the following records in a readable format and keep them available for inspection by the commission for the period indicated. The list is not to be taken as comprehending all types of utility records.

- See PDF for table

Note: See also “Investigation to Consider Proposed Changes to Records Retention Requirements for Electric, Gas and Water Utilities” adopted by the commission in docket 5-US-114, December 12, 2006, as amended March 19, 2009, for a more comprehensive listing of retention periods of specific records.

(2) A utility may apply for a waiver from any portion of pars. (a) through (e) of this section. Such application shall include a list of the paragraphs to which the waiver would apply. Also, include the reasons the utility believes it cannot or shall not have to comply with pars. (a) through (e) and the impacts such a waiver would have on the utility’s ability to maintain usable continuing property records, if any.

History: Cr. Register, January, 1997, No. 493, eff. 2-1-97; CR 13-033: am. (1) Register July 2015 No. 715, eff. 8-1-15.

Subchapter II — Rate Schedules and Rules

PSC 185.21 Schedules to be filed with the commission.

(1) Included in schedules. The schedules of rates and rules shall be filed with the commission by the utility and shall be classified, designated, arranged, and submitted so as to conform to the requirements of the current tariff or rate schedules and the special instructions which have been and may from time to time be issued by the commission. Provisions of the schedules shall be definite and so stated as to minimize ambiguity or the possibility of misinterpretation, and shall include, together with such other information as may be deemed pertinent, the following:

(a) All rates for service with indication for each rate of the class of customers to which it applies. There shall also be shown any limitations on the service furnished under such rate, the prices per unit of service, and the number of units per billing period to which the prices apply, the period of billing, the minimum bill, method of measuring demands (where applicable) and consumptions, and any special terms and conditions applicable. The charge for late payment, if any, and the period during which the bill may be paid without late payment charge shall be specified;

(b) At commission discretion a copy of each contract or the standard contract form with a summary of the provisions of each signed contract may be required if service to other utilities or municipalities for resale is furnished at a standard filed rate;

(c) Extension rules for extending service to new customers indicating what portion of the extension or cost shall be furnished by the utility, and if the rule is based on cost, the items of cost included;

(d) Designation of such portion of the service facilities as the utility furnishes, owns, and maintains;

(e) Rules with which prospective customers shall comply as a condition of receiving service and the terms of any contracts required;