Chapter PSC 134

PSC 134.02(1)(e) (e) Any other relevant factors concerning the customer’s circumstances, as household size, income and expenses.

PSC 134.02(2) (2) “Appliance” means any device which utilizes gas fuel to produce light, heat, or power.

PSC 134.02(3) (3) “British thermal unit” or “Btu” means the quantity of heat that must be added to one avoirdupois pound of pure water to raise its temperature from 58.5° Fahrenheit to 59.5° Fahrenheit under standard pressure.

PSC 134.02(4) (4) “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, or failure of a utility to meet a utility obligation.

PSC 134.02(5) (5) “Customer” means the party billed for payment of bills issued for use of utility service at a given premises.

PSC 134.02(6) (6) “Customer-requested termination” means that the customer or occupant has asked the utility to cease providing utility service to a premises.

PSC 134.02(7) (7) “Demand” means the amount of gas required per unit of time, usually expressed in cubic feet, Btu, or therms per unit of time.

PSC 134.02(8) (8) “Denied or refused service” means that a utility has refused to provide present or future service to a customer, occupant or premises.

PSC 134.02(9) (9) “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.

PSC 134.02(10) (10) “Dry calorific value” means the value of the total or net calorific value of a gas divided by the volume of dry gas in a standard cubic foot.

PSC 134.02(11) (11) “Dry gas” means a gas having a moisture and hydrocarbon dew point below any normal temperature to which the gas piping is exposed. As applied to determination of heating value or specific gravity dry gas means the complete absence of moisture or water vapor.

PSC 134.02(12) (12) “Gas” means any gas or mixture of gases suitable for domestic or industrial fuel and transmitted or distributed to the user through a piping system.

PSC 134.02 Note Note: The common types of gas are natural gas, manufactured gas, and liquefied petroleum gas distributed as a vapor with or without admixture of air.

PSC 134.02(13) (13) “Installment payment agreement” means an arrangement between a utility and a commercial or farm customer for payment of a deposit in installments.

PSC 134.02(14) (14) “Meter” means an instrument installed to measure the volume of gas delivered through it.

PSC 134.02(15) (15) “Municipality” means a town, city or village.

PSC 134.02(16) (16) “Net calorific value of a gas” means the number of British thermal units evolved by the complete combustion, at constant pressure, of one standard cubic foot of gas with air, the temperature of the gas, air, and products of combustion being 60° Fahrenheit and all water formed by the combustion reaction remaining in the vapor state.

PSC 134.02(17) (17) “New residential customer” 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.

PSC 134.02(18) (18) “Occupant” means the resident or residents of a premises to which utility service is provided.

PSC 134.02(19) (19) “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.

PSC 134.02(20) (20) “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.

PSC 134.02(21) (21) “Public utility” has the meaning of s. 196.01 (5), Stats.

PSC 134.02(22) (22) “Specific gravity of a gas” means the ratio of the molecular weight of a dry gas or gas mixture to the molecular weight of dry air.

PSC 134.02 Note Note: This is the dry specific gravity.

PSC 134.02(23) (23) “Standard cubic foot of gas” means the quantity of a gas that at standard temperature and under standard pressure will fill a space of 1 cubic foot when in equilibrium with liquid water.

PSC 134.02 Note Note: According to Dalton’s law, this is equivalent to stating that the partial pressure of the gas is: 30-0.522 = 29.478 inches of mercury column.

PSC 134.02(24) (24) “Standard pressure” means the absolute pressure of pure mercury 30 inches in height at 32° Fahrenheit and under standard gravity.

PSC 134.02 Note Note: Standard gravity is 32.174 feet per second which results in a standard pressure of 14.735 pounds per square inch absolute.

PSC 134.02(25) (25) “Standard service pressure” means the gas pressure which a utility undertakes to maintain on the meters of all customers, except the meters of customers utilizing high-pressure service, expressed in pounds per square inch above atmospheric pressure or psig.

PSC 134.02(26) (26) “Standard temperature” means 60° Fahrenheit based on the international temperature scale.

PSC 134.02(27) (27) “Therm” means 100,000 British thermal units.

PSC 134.02(28) (28) “Total calorific value” means the number of British thermal units evolved by the complete combustion, at constant pressure, of one standard cubic foot of gas with air, the temperature of the gas, air, and products of combustion being 60° Fahrenheit and all water formed by the combustion reaction condensed to the liquid state.

PSC 134.02(29) (29) “Unmeasured gas” means gas which has not been measured by a meter.

PSC 134.02(30) (30) “Voucher agreement” means a payment agreement guaranteed by a third party who has access to or control over the benefits and/or finances of a public assistance recipient. Included without limitation are:

PSC 134.02(30)(a) (a) Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) restrictive payment arrangements.

PSC 134.02(30)(b) (b) Social Security representative payee.

PSC 134.02(30)(c) (c) General Relief voucher payment systems.

PSC 134.02(30)(d) (d) Legal guardian.

PSC 134.02 History History: History 1-2-56; r. and recr. Register, February, 1959, No. 38, eff. 3-1-59; r. and recr. Register, October, 1989, No. 406, eff. 11-1-89; 2019 Wis. Act 1: am. (20) Register May 2019 No. 761, eff. 6-1-19.

PSC 134.03 PSC 134.03 Service. Every gas utility shall furnish reasonably adequate service and facilities at the rates filed with the commission and subject to these rules and the rules of the utility filed with this commission which are applicable thereto and not otherwise. The utility shall be operated in such manner as to obviate so far as reasonably practicable, undesirable effects upon the operation of standard services, standard utilization equipment, equipment of the utility, and upon the service and facilities of other utilities and agencies.

PSC 134.03 History History: 1-2-56; r. and recr. Register, February, 1959, No. 38, eff. 3-1-59.

PSC 134.04 PSC 134.04 Schedules to be filed with commission. 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 current tariff or rate schedule circulars and 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:

PSC 134.04(1) (1) All rates for service with indication for each rate of the type of gas and the class of customers to which each rate applies. There shall also be shown any limitations on loads and type of equipment which may be connected, 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 and consumptions, including method of calculating or estimating loads or minimums, and any special terms and conditions applicable. The discount for prompt payment or penalty for late payment, if any, and the period during which the net amount may be paid shall be specified.

PSC 134.04(2) (2) By municipalities, but without reference required to any particular part thereof, the type of gas supplied and the type of service (firm and/or interruptible).

PSC 134.04(3) (3) Forms of standard contracts required of customers for the various types of service available.

PSC 134.04(4) (4) If service to other utilities or municipalities for resale is furnished at a standard filed rate, either a copy of each contract or the standard contract form together with a summary of the provisions of each signed contract. The summary shall show the principal provisions of the contract and shall include the name and address of the customer, the points where gas is delivered, rate, term, minimums, load conditions, heating value of gas, pressures, and any special provisions such as rentals.

PSC 134.04(5) (5) Copies of special contracts for the purchase, sale, or interchange of gas.

PSC 134.04(6) (6) List of villages, cities, and unincorporated communities where urban rates are applicable, and towns in which service is furnished.

PSC 134.04(7) (7) Definitions of classes of customers.

PSC 134.04(8) (8) Extension rules for extending service to new customers indicating what portion of the extension or cost thereof will be furnished by the utility; and if the rule is based on cost, the items of cost included.

PSC 134.04(9) (9) Type of construction required of the customer if different from requirements in ch. PSC 135.

PSC 134.04(10) (10) Designation of such portion of the service facilities as the utility furnishes, owns, and maintains.

PSC 134.04(11) (11) Rules with which prospective customers must comply as a condition of receiving service, and the terms of contracts required.

PSC 134.04(12) (12) Rules governing the establishment of credit by customers for payment of service bills.

PSC 134.04(13) (13) Rules governing disconnecting and reconnecting service.

PSC 134.04(14) (14) Notice required from customer for having service discontinued.

PSC 134.04(15) (15) Rules covering temporary, emergency, auxiliary, and standby service.

PSC 134.04(16) (16) Rules covering the type of equipment which may or may not be connected.

PSC 134.04(17) (17) The list of service areas and the rates shall be filed in such form as to facilitate ready determination of the rates available in each municipality and in such unincorporated communities as have service at urban rates. If the utility has various rural rates, the areas where the same are available shall be indicated.

PSC 134.04 History History: 1-2-56; r. and recr. Register, February, 1959, No. 38, eff. 3-1-59; reprinted to restore dropped copy, Register, February, 1985, No. 350.

PSC 134.05 PSC 134.05 Information available to customers.

PSC 134.05(1) (1) Each utility shall have available in its offices where payments are received, copies of its rates and rules applicable to the locality. The rates and rules shall be available for customer inspection and reasonable notice as to their availability shall be provided to customers.

PSC 134.05(2) (2) Each gas utility, for every municipality in which it serves, shall provide in the respective telephone directories a telephone listing by which the utility can be notified during a 24-hour day of any utility service deficiency or emergency which may exist.

PSC 134.05(3) (3) Where a second language is common in a particular area served by the utility and so identified by the commission, all rules pertaining to billing and credit shall be available upon customer request for distribution in English and that second language in every business office of the utility in that area accessible to the public and where customer payments are received.

PSC 134.05(4) (4) Each utility shall provide written notice to its residential customers annually, and a written notice to all new residential customers, at a minimum, of the rules on deposits, payment options including deferred payment agreements and budget billing, disconnection and dispute procedures; of the availability of information on energy conservation practices, of the advisability of setting water heater thermostats no higher than 125° Fahrenheit, of the availability of the customer’s actual gas consumption (or actual degree-day gas consumption) for each billing period during the prior 12 months or the actual number of months that the customer has lived at that location if less than 12 months, and of the availability of agencies or programs which may provide financial aid assistance or counseling. Such notice shall contain a reply procedure to allow customers an opportunity to advise the utility of any special circumstances, such as the presence of infants or elderly persons or the use of human life-sustaining equipment, and to advise the utility to contact a specific third-party agency or individual prior to any disconnection action being taken.

PSC 134.05(5) (5) A utility shall provide on request to current or prospective customers, tenants or property owners residential energy consumption information. This information shall include either the average consumption for the prior 12 month period or figures reflecting the highest and lowest consumption amounts for the previous 12 months. Provision of this information is neither a breach of customer confidentiality nor a guarantee or contract by the utility as to future consumption levels for the premises in question.

PSC 134.05 History History: 1-2-56; r. and recr. Register, February, 1959, No. 38, eff. 3-1-59; renum. PSC 134.05 to be PSC 134.05 (1); cr. (2), Register, January, 1965, No. 109, eff. 2-1-65; am. (1), renum. (2) to be (3) and cr. (2) and (4), Register, January, 1975, No. 229, eff. 2-1-75; am. Register, March, 1979, No. 279, eff. 4-1-79; am. (4), Register, October, 1980, No. 298, eff. 11-1-80; am. (4) and cr. (5), Register, October, 1989, No. 406, eff. 11-1-89.

PSC 134.051 PSC 134.051 Application for residential service.

PSC 134.051(1) (1) For purposes of this section, “written” or “in writing” means legibly printed on paper or, with the intended recipient’s permission, legibly printed in an electronic form that the recipient can electronically store and retrieve for future reference.

PSC 134.051(2) (2) 

PSC 134.051(2)(a) (a) A residential user of gas service shall apply for service.

PSC 134.051(2)(b) (b) A utility may require a verbal or written application for residential service. The utility shall establish a written policy for when a written application is required. A utility may accept an application for service from a person other than the user or potential user of service.

PSC 134.051(2)(c) (c)

PSC 134.051(2)(c)1. 1. Except as provided in par. (d) and sub. (3), a utility may only require that an applicant provide the following information in an application:

PSC 134.051(2)(c)1.a. a. Legal name and birthdate of the user of service and the person responsible for bill payment, if different than the user.

PSC 134.051(2)(c)1.b. b. If the user of service has telephone service, the telephone number of the user of service. If the person responsible for bill payment is different than the user and the person responsible for bill payment has telephone service, the utility may also require the telephone number of the person responsible for bill payment. Lack of telephone service is not grounds for service refusal.

PSC 134.051(2)(c)1.c. c. Address where service is to be provided.

PSC 134.051(2)(c)1.d. d. Mailing address if different from service address.

PSC 134.051(2)(c)1.e. e. Date requested for service to begin.

PSC 134.051(2)(c)1.f. f. The most recent previous address of the person responsible for bill payment.

PSC 134.051(2)(c)1.g. g. Initial identification data under subd. 2.

PSC 134.051(2)(c)2. 2. A utility shall accept any of the following items as adequate initial identification data, although it may accept other forms of identification:

PSC 134.051(2)(c)2.a. a. Driver’s license number.

PSC 134.051(2)(c)2.b. b. State identification card number.

PSC 134.051(2)(c)2.c. c. Passport number.

PSC 134.051(2)(c)2.d. d. Social security number or the last 4 digits of the social security number.

PSC 134.051(2)(c)3. 3. If a utility requests the initial identification data under subd. 2., it shall inform the applicant of all acceptable forms of initial identification data and allow the applicant to choose which the applicant wishes to provide.

PSC 134.051(2)(d) (d) If a utility determines that an applicant’s response under par. (c) 1. a. to f. indicates that additional information is necessary to further evaluate the applicant’s credit history or identity, the utility may require the applicant’s addresses for the past 6 years as part of its application for service. Each utility shall establish a written policy for requesting the application information under this paragraph.

PSC 134.051 Note Note: Also see s. PSC 134.061, which allows a request for a deposit if an applicant has an outstanding account balance that accrued within the last 6 years.