Chapter PSC 134

PSC 134.14(5) (5) 

PSC 134.14(5)(a) (a) Whenever a meter with a rated capacity of 400 cubic feet per hour (CFH) or more is found to have a weighted average error of more than 2% slow, the utility shall bill the customer for the amount the test indicates has been undercharged for the period of inaccuracy, which period shall not exceed the last 2 years the meter was in service unless otherwise ordered by the commission after investigation. No back billing for an inaccurate meter will be sanctioned for the following:

PSC 134.14(5)(a)1. 1. The customer has called to the company’s attention his or her doubts as to the meter’s accuracy and the company has failed within a reasonable time to check it.

PSC 134.14(5)(a)2. 2. The rated capacity of the meter is 399 cubic feet per hour (CFH) or less.

PSC 134.14(5)(a)3. 3. The amount of the backbill is less than $50.

PSC 134.14(5)(b) (b) Backbilling shall be required for any size meter for any of the following circumstances.

PSC 134.14(5)(b)1. 1. The meter did not register.

PSC 134.14(5)(b)2. 2. An incorrect correction factor or meter constant was applied.

PSC 134.14(5)(b)3. 3. The meter or service were tampered with.

PSC 134.14(5)(b)4. 4. An incorrect index or gear ratio was applied.

PSC 134.14(5)(b)5. 5. Meters were switched between customers.

PSC 134.14(5)(b)6. 6. Rates were misapplied.

PSC 134.14(6) (6) A classified record shall be kept of the number and amount of refunds and charges made because of inaccurate meters, misapplication of rates, and erroneous billing. A summary of the record for the previous calendar year shall be submitted to the commission by April 1 of each year.

PSC 134.14 History History: Cr. Register, 1-2-56; r. and recr. Register, February, 1959, No. 38, eff. 3-1-59; am. (1), (2) and (4), renum. (5) to be (5) (a) and am., cr. (5) (b), Register, November, 1989, No. 407, eff. 12-1-89.

PSC 134.15 PSC 134.15 Employees authorized to enter customers’ premises. The utility shall keep a record of employees authorized pursuant to s. 196.171, Stats., to enter customers’ premises.

PSC 134.15 History History: Cr. Register, February, 1959, No. 38, eff. 3-1-59.

PSC 134.16 PSC 134.16 Maps and diagrams. Each utility shall have maps, records, diagrams, and drawings showing the location of its property, in sufficient detail so that the adequacy of service to existing customers may be checked and facilities located.

PSC 134.16 History History: Cr. Register, February, 1959, No. 38, eff. 3-1-59.

PSC 134.17 PSC 134.17 Complaints. Each utility shall investigate and keep a record of complaints received by it from its customers in regard to safety, service, or rates, and the operation of its system. The record shall show the name and address of the complainant, the date and nature of the complaint, and its disposition and the date thereof. A summary of this record for the previous calendar year shall be sent to the commission by April 1 of each year. Each utility also shall document all contacts and actions relative to deferred payment arrangements and disputes.

PSC 134.17 History History: Cr. Register, February, 1959, No. 38, eff. 3-1-59; am. Register, March, 1979, No. 279, eff. 4-1-79.

PSC 134.18 PSC 134.18 Record of interruption of service.

PSC 134.18(1) (1) Each utility shall keep a record of all interruptions to service affecting an entire distribution system of any urban area or an important division of a community. The record shall show the date and time of interruption, the cause, the approximate number of customers affected, and the date and time of restoring service.

PSC 134.18(2) (2) Each utility shall keep a record of all failures and notifications of difficulty with transmitted gas supply affecting each gate station. The record shall show the date and time of failure or notification, the date and time of resumption of normal supply, the operation of standby equipment including amount of gas produced, the number of customers whose service was interrupted and the maximum and minimum gas supply pressure during the period of difficulty.

PSC 134.18(3) (3) A summary of records required by subs. (1) and (2) shall be sent to the public service commission by April 1 of each year.

PSC 134.18(4) (4) Each interruption of service which affects more than 100 customers shall be reported by mail, telephone, or telegraph to the commission within 48 hours following the discovery of the interruption.

PSC 134.18(5) (5) Any interruption of a principal gas supply shall be immediately reported to the commission by telephone or telegraph by the utility or utilities affected.

PSC 134.18 History History: Cr. Register, February, 1959, No. 38, eff. 3-1-59.

PSC 134.19 PSC 134.19 Meter records and reports.

PSC 134.19(1) (1) Meter test records.

PSC 134.19(1)(a) (a) A utility shall keep a record of a meter test whenever a meter is tested. The meter test record shall include all of the following:

PSC 134.19(1)(a)1. 1. Information identifying the meter.

PSC 134.19(1)(a)2. 2. The reason for making the test.

PSC 134.19(1)(a)3. 3. The reading of the meter before it was removed from service.

PSC 134.19(1)(a)4. 4. All the data that was taken at the time of the test.

PSC 134.19(1)(a)5. 5. The results of the test measurement.

PSC 134.19(1)(b) (b) The meter test record must be sufficiently complete to permit convenient checking of the methods and calculations that have been employed.

PSC 134.19(1)(c) (c) Meter test records and meter history records may be kept as separate records or one record.

PSC 134.19 Note Note: Meter test records need not be separately retained from meter history records provided that the meter test records are incorporated into the meter history records.”

PSC 134.19(2) (2) Meter history records.

PSC 134.19(2)(a) (a) A utility shall keep a meter history record showing all of the following:

PSC 134.19(2)(a)1. 1. The date the meter was purchased.

PSC 134.19(2)(a)2. 2. The meter’s size.

PSC 134.19(2)(a)3. 3. Information identifying the meter.

PSC 134.19(2)(a)4. 4. The meter’s various places of installation, with dates of installation and removal.

PSC 134.19(2)(a)5. 5. The dates and results of all tests.

PSC 134.19(2)(a)6. 6. The dates and details of all repairs by the utility, or notations of the date and that the meter was returned to the manufacturer for repair.

PSC 134.19(2)(b) (b) The record shall be arranged in such a way that the record for any meter can be readily located.

PSC 134.19(2)(c) (c) Meter test records and meter history records may be kept as separate records or one record.

PSC 134.19(3) (3) Meter accuracy summaries. All utilities shall keep an “as found” high and light load test summary of all meters tested after being in service. This summary shall be made on a calendar year basis and forwarded to this commission by April 1 of the following year. This summary shall be divided according to the length of time since the last test, and meters found within each of the following per cent accuracy classifications:

PSC 134.19(3)(a) (a) Over 115; 110.1-115; 105.1-110; 103.1-105; 102.1-103; 101.1-102; 100.1-101; 100; 99-99.9; 98-98.9; 97-97.9; 95-96.9; 90-94.9; 85-89.9; under 85; passing gas does not register; does not pass gas; not tested; grand total average % error of fast meters; average % error of slow meters; total average error; number tested, number in service.

PSC 134.19 History History: Cr. Register, February, 1959, No. 38, eff. 3-1-59; CR 13-033: r. and recr. (1), (2), cr. (3) (title) Register July 2015 No. 715, eff. 8-1-15.

PSC 134.20 PSC 134.20 Preservation of records. A utility shall preserve the following records in a readable format and keep them available for inspection by the commission for the periods indicated. The list is not a complete list of all types of utility records.

PSC 134.20 Note Note: See Federal Power Commission Orders 54 and 156 for preservation of records. Public Service Commission’s Classification of Accounts, and s. 18.01, Stats.

PSC 134.20 Note Note: * Note that if meter test records are being used as meter history records under PSC 134.19 (1) (c), the meter test records must be preserved for the time period required for meter history records.

PSC 134.20 Note 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.

PSC 134.20 History History: Cr. Register, February, 1959, No. 38, eff. 3-1-59; CR 13-033: am. Register July 2015 No. 715, eff. 8-1-15.

PSC 134.21 PSC 134.21 Heating values and specific gravity.

PSC 134.21(1) (1) Each utility which is furnishing gas service shall have on file with this commission for each municipality served the heating value, specific gravity, and composition of each type of gas regularly supplied and also for the gas which may be used for standby purposes and the range of values for peak shaving. The heating value filed shall be the total heating value with the indication whether it is on a wet or dry basis. (See definitions in s. PSC 134.02.)

PSC 134.21(2) (2) All gases whether the regular gas supply, a mixture of gases or a substitute gas used for peak shaving purposes shall operate properly in normal gas utilization equipment. Where used for emergency or standby, the gas shall operate reasonably well in such equipment. (The customer requiring gas of a particular chemical composition shall make such arrangements as may be required to protect against damage by reason of change in composition.)

PSC 134.21(3) (3) The monthly average heating value of the gases as delivered to the customers in any service area shall not be less than the heating value standard on file with this commission and the heating value at any time at constant specific gravity shall not be more than 5% above or 4% below this standard. At constant heating value, the specific gravity of the gas shall not vary more than 10% from the standards filed with the commission. If the heating value is varied by a greater amount than specified, the specific gravity shall be varied in such a way that the gas will operate satisfactorily in the customer’s utilization equipment. Customers using processes that may be affected by a change in the chemical composition of the gas shall be notified of changes. Agreements with such customers shall specify the allowable variation in composition.

PSC 134.21(4) (4) For required periodic heating value tests see s. PSC 134.25. The specific gravity of the gas shall be determined at least once each month when there is no change in the type or sources of gas and when there is a change in the type of gas. Whenever emergency or peak shaving plants are ran or when mixed gases are used, daily determinations of specific gravity shall be made.

PSC 134.21 History History: Cr. Register, February, 1959. No. 38, eff. 3-1-59.

PSC 134.22 PSC 134.22 Purity of gas.

PSC 134.22(1) (1) In no case shall gas contain more than 30 grains of sulphur per 100 standard cubic feet, 5 grains of ammonia per 100 standard cubic feet, nor more than 0.1 grain of hydrogen sulphide per 100 standard cubic feet. (Exception. If the gas is not to be placed in pipe or bottle type holders the hydrogen sulphide content may be 0.3 grains per 100 standard cubic feet.)

PSC 134.22(2) (2) Utilities supplying gas containing coal or water gas shall make quantitative determinations of total sulphur at least once every 6 months and qualitative hydrogen sulphide tests at intervals of 1 hour to 2 weeks depending upon the probability of this impurity being found.

PSC 134.22(3) (3) Utilities supplying liquefied petroleum gas, or liquefied petroleum air mixtures, or natural gas shall test the gas periodically for impurities or periodically obtain data concerning impurities from sources they believe the commission can accept as reliable.

PSC 134.22 History History: Cr. Register, February, 1959, No. 38, eff. 3-1-59.

PSC 134.23 PSC 134.23 Pressure variation.

PSC 134.23(1) (1) Every utility supplying gas shall file with the commission a standard service pressure by service areas. The service pressure shall be of such a value that the maximum pressure at any outlet as specified below shall not be greater than 12 inches of water column except for customers utilizing high-pressure service.

PSC 134.23(2) (2) For customers receiving standard service pressure, the gas pressure at the outlet of the utility’s service meters shall meet the following requirements:

PSC 134.23(2)(a) (a) At no outlet in the service area shall it ever be greater than one and one-fourth of the standard service pressure nor greater than 12 inches of water nor ever be less than one-half of the standard service pressure nor less than 4 inches of water.

PSC 134.23(2)(b) (b) At any single outlet it shall never be greater than twice the actual minimum at the same outlet.

PSC 134.23(2)(c) (c) At any one outlet the normal variation of pressure shall not be greater than the following:

PSC 134.23(3) (3) For customers utilizing gas at high pressure, a service pressure shall be agreed upon by the utility and the customer, and the maximum pressure variation shall not exceed 15% of the agreed pressure unless the commission shall authorize a greater variation.

PSC 134.23(4) (4) No utility shall furnish gas to any customer at pressures higher than its filed standard service pressure until it has filed with the commission acceptable service rules governing high-pressure service to customers desiring to utilize gas at pressures higher than standard service pressure. Such service rules shall provide that the utility will make high-pressure service available to its customers upon request whenever high pressure gas is available at the customer’s premises or may be made available in accordance with the utility’s filed extension rules, and when such high pressure is required for proper operation of the customer’s present or proposed utilization equipment.

PSC 134.23 History History: Cr. Register, February, 1959, No. 38, eff. 3-1-59.

PSC 134.25 PSC 134.25 General use of calorimeter equipment.

PSC 134.25(1) (1) Unless specifically directed otherwise a calorimeter shall be maintained at each gas producing or mixing plant whether the plant is in continuous operation or used only for standby or peak shaving purposes. The calorimeter shall be used to check the operation of the plant and shall measure the heating value of the gas going to the gas lines.

PSC 134.25(2) (2) Unless specifically directed otherwise calorimeters shall be maintained in operation in locations where the heating value of the gas can be measured from each different supplier.

PSC 134.25(3) (3) Unless specifically directed otherwise a calorimeter shall be maintained and used to measure the heating value of the gas actually sold to customers in those cases where mixed gases are used.

PSC 134.25(4) (4) Tests of heating value of the gas shall be made daily whenever gas is supplied at the calorimeter location unless specifically directed otherwise by the commission. The original records of the tests shall be dated, labeled and kept on file for 6 years. A copy of the daily average heating value of gas sold to customers shall be sent to the commission each calendar month.

PSC 134.25(5) (5) The calorimeter equipment shall be maintained so as to give results within + or - 1%. Recording calorimeters used to test or control the production or mixing of gas or measure the heating value of purchased gas when therm rates are not applicable shall be tested with a gas of known heating value at least 3 times a year or when the accuracy is in question. Recording calorimeters used only with standby or peak shaving production plants shall be tested with a gas of known heating value at least 2 times a year. Non-recording calorimeter equipment such as the Junkers shall be tested with a gas of known heating value at least once a year or tested against another calorimeter of known accuracy at least once a year.

PSC 134.25 History History: Cr. Register, February, 1959, No. 38, eff. 3-1-59; am. (5), Register, January, 1965, No. 109, eff. 2-1-65.

PSC 134.251 PSC 134.251 Use of recording calorimeter for therm billing.

PSC 134.251(1) (1) In the application of gas rates based on the therm, a recording calorimeter shall be used to determine the heating value of the gas being distributed to utility customers. These calorimeters will be located as set forth in s. PSC 134.25 (2) and (3). They shall have such accuracy characteristics as to be able to measure the heating value of the gas to within + or -2 B.t.u., shall be able to reproduce these readings to within +or - 2 B.t.u., and shall be able to hold their accuracy over an extended period of time. The instruments shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

PSC 134.251(2) (2) Each utility selling gas shall file with the commission a complete installation report stating the following information: location of calorimeter, kind of gas tested, type of scale, uniform or split scale range, date installed, publication number of manufacturer’s applicable book of instructions, outline of the building, the location of the calorimeter or calorimeters within the building, the size, length, gas pressure, and general route of the gas sample pipe from the supply main to each calorimeter and location of all secondary equipment necessary for the operation of the recording calorimeter.

PSC 134.251(3) (3) 

PSC 134.251(3)(a) (a) Each utility selling gas shall keep a chronological record of dates and results of tests and operations performed on the calorimeter to test and maintain accuracy.

PSC 134.251(3)(b) (b) Twice every month the following tests shall be made: