The following Rules and Regulations are general policies which apply to each and every member or applicant for membership. They are to be considered a part of every contract made by the Rural Electric, unless modified by special terms written therein, and govern all classes of service. Copies of all Rates, Rules, Regulations, Consumer Policies, and By-laws are on file in the Rural Electric's offices and are to be open to inspection by members. They may be revised, amended, supplemented or otherwise changed from time to time by action of the board of directors.
I. Service Contracts
Each prospective member shall enter into a written membership contract, and service contract with the Rural Electric for each service, and shall agree to abide by the Rules and Regulations and By-laws of the Rural Electric.
a. The standard service extension contract shall be for a term of six (6) years from the date of availability of service; but where large or special investment is necessary to make service available, a contract of longer or shorter term, or with special guarantees of revenue, or requiring payment of a share of construction costs may be required to safeguard the Rural Electric's investment.
b. Each contract application shall contain a description of the premises to be served, shall state whether the applicant is owner, agent or tenant of the premises and shall include such other information as the Rural Electric may reasonably require.
c. Contract applications, and related fees and deposits, may be submitted only to the office of the Rural Electric in Brownstown, Indiana or duly authorized agents or employees of the Rural Electric.
d. An application or contract, when accepted by the Rural Electric, shall constitute a binding contract between the member and the Rural Electric, and no agent has power to modify, alter or waive any of its conditions.
e. A member may be relieved of responsibility for the balance of any service contract upon the assumption by another member, by written contract, or such responsibility.
f. Service will not be furnished to former members until all indebtedness and contractual obligations of such former membership have been satisfied.
g. Subject to these Rules and Regulations, all contracts made by the Rural Electric shall be binding upon, and oblige, and inure to the benefit of, the successors and assigns, heirs, executors, and administrators, of the parties thereto.
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II. Fees and Deposits
In addition to the standard refundable membership fee required for each member, certain other fees and deposits may be required as a condition of rendering or of continuing service, in order to guarantee the security of future and final bills.
a. A "meter deposit" may be required, up to an amount which when added to the membership fee will equal the amount which can be expected to accrue for sixty (60) days service at applicable rates. Such deposit will be refunded upon payment to the Rural Electric of all final charges due upon termination of service.
b. A "contract performance" advance payment may be required, when deemed necessary, to guarantee an initial service extension contract.
c. No interest in any form will be paid or allowed on any deposits, membership fees or advance payments held by the Rural Electric, except as may be required by law.
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III. Extension of Service
The Rural Electric's overhead distribution lines will be extended to serve applicants who enter into contract for such extensions, in accordance with rate schedules on file with and approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
a. The Rural Electric will design, construct, own and maintain all electric facilities up to and including the delivery point for each service. The facilities may be located on public right of way or upon right of way acquired by the Rural Electric, and used or useable as a part of the Rural Electric's general distribution system. Title to all such facilities shall remain with the Rural Electric.
b. The Rural Electric's obligation to extend its facilities to a new point of delivery is limited to the making of new investment to the extent warranted by the revenue anticipated from the business to be supplied. Where the business in prospect does not warrant the investment required to serve it, the Rural Electric will determine, from the circumstances of each case, what guarantees of revenue, or what financing, shall be required of the applicant.
c. The design of electric facilities and location of delivery points shall be determined by the Rural Electric from data provided by the member on his anticipated electrical load characteristics. Delivery points will be coordinated with the member's desires, to the extent feasible. Suitable locations for all necessary electrical equipment will be provided by the member at no cost to the Rural Electric.
d. Unless specifically contracted otherwise, the member shall be responsible for design, construction, ownership and maintenance of all electric facilities and equipment beyond the Rural Electric's delivery point, which shall normally also be the service metering point.
e. Upon request, the Rural Electric will consider the placement of certain facilities underground, with the condition that all excess costs incurred in making such placement will be payable, in advance, by the member making the request.
f. If voltage, phase, frequency or other electrical characteristics are required other than as available from the Rural Electric at applicable rates, the member requiring such service shall own, operate and maintain all equipment beyond the point of delivery necessary to meet his requirements.
g. Any member requesting relocation of any of the Rural Electric's facilities will be required to pay all costs incurred in making the relocation.
h. If the Rural Electric shall be required to relocate any of its facilities which also affect the point of delivery to a member, the member shall make all necessary changes to his own wiring at his expense.
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IV. Wiring and Equipment
Each member's wiring and equipment shall be installed in accordance with the National Electric Code (NEC), other applicable codes and with requirements established by the Rural Electric. They shall be subject to inspection and approval by the Rural Electric and/or other agencies having jurisdiction. Changes, additions or significant repairs as well as original installations should be inspected and approved.
a. The Rural Electric may refuse to make connection to a member's equipment or to continue service thereto whenever in its judgement such installation is not in proper operating condition or does not conform to established requirements for member wiring systems or apparatus.
b. Performance of an inspection will in no way obligate the Rural Electric to warrant, guarantee or otherwise assume liability for materials and/or workmanship which are not provided by it or its employees.
c. It shall be the responsibility of the member to notify the Rural Electric in writing before any significant change is made in total connected load, load characteristics, purpose or location of his installation. Failure to give such notice shall render the member liable for any damage to meters or accessories, transformers, or wires, of the Rural Electric, caused by the additional or changed installation.
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V. Right of Way and Access
Each member shall grant, as a condition of membership, without charge to the Rural Electric, necessary easements over, under and across land owned by the member, for transmission and distribution lines of the Rural Electric.
a. Each applicant for membership shall refund to the Rural Electric any and all sums previously paid to him by the Rural Electric for rights of way.
b. Suitable easements shall be granted for extension and maintenance of service to other members as well as for the member's own requirements.
c. Any applicant for membership or service extension shall be required to secure to, and for, the Rural Electric, all necessary and convenient rights of way and to pay the costs incident thereto.
d. Duly authorized representatives of the Rural Electric shall have the right of ingress to and egress from the premises of members at all reasonable times, for the purpose of reading, testing, inspection, repairing, replacing or removing its meters or other property, or inspecting the member's installation or for the purpose of removing its property on the termination of its contract or on discontinuance of service for whatever reason.
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VI. Responsibilities of Members
The Rural Electric's responsibility extends only to the supplying of service at the point of delivery. The member shall assume full responsibility for electricity upon his premises at and from the point of delivery thereof, and for the wires, apparatus, devices and appurtenances thereon used in connection with the service. The member shall indemnify, save harmless and defend the Rural Electric against all claims, demands, cost or expense, for loss, damage, or injury to persons or property in any manner directly or indirectly arising from, connected with, or growing out of the transmission or use of electricity by the member at or on the member's site or point of delivery.
a. The member shall protect the equipment of the Rural Electric on his premises and shall not interfere with or alter or permit interference with or alteration of the Rural Electric's meters or other property except by duly authorized representatives of the Rural Electric.
b. All purchased electric service on the premises of the member shall be supplied exclusively by the Rural Electric, and the member shall not, directly or indirectly, sell, sublet, assign or otherwise dispose of, such electric service, or any part thereof, without the consent of the Rural Electric. No other source of supply of electricity shall be introduced or used by a member in conjunction with service supplied without written consent of the Rural Electric.
c. The member shall give immediate notice to the office of the Rural Electric of any interruptions, or irregularities or unsatisfactory service and of any defects known to him.
d. It shall be the responsibility of each member to read his meter accurately each month and to submit this reading to the Rural Electric no later than the past due date for that month's bill payment or such other date as may be specified by the Rural Electric.
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VII. Continuity of Service
The Rural Electric will use reasonable diligence to provide and maintain uninterrupted service; but in case of cessation, deficiency, variation in voltage, or any other failure of or reversal of the service, resulting from acts of God, public enemies, accidents, strikes, riots, wars, repairs, order of Court, or other acts reasonably beyond the control of the Rural Electric, it shall not be liable for damages, direct or consequential, resulting from such interruption or failure.
a. The Rural Electric may, at any time that it deems necessary, suspend the supply of electrical energy to any member or members for the purpose of making repairs, changes, or improvements upon any part of its system. It shall make an effort to furnish reasonable notice of such discontinuance to members, where practicable.
b. The Rural Electric reserves the right to discontinue service on reasonable notice for nonpayment of bills or any other indebtedness; if entry to its meter or meters is refused or if access thereto is obstructed or hazardous; or if these Rules and Regulations or the Rural Electric's requirements for members' wiring systems and apparatus are violated.
c. The Rural Electric reserves the right to discontinue the supply of electric service to any member or members without notice for fraudulent representation as to the use of electric service; for any disapproval of member's equipment or installation on account of serious defects or hazardous conditions; for repairs or emergency operation; for unavoidable shortage or interruptions in Rural Electric's source of supply; whenever such action is necessary to protect Rural Electric from fraud or abuse; or upon cancellation of contract.
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VIII. Meters
The Rural Electric's rates, as approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission are for single family farm or residential service or single businesses metered separately.
a. The Rural Electric will normally furnish a single meter at the point of delivery to the member's premises. Any member desiring service at two or more separately metered points of connection to the Rural Electric will be billed separately for each such point. The registrations of meters will not be added for billing purposes.
b. The Rural Electric shall have the right, at its option and at its expense, to place special meters or instruments, on the premises of any member, for the purpose of special tests of all, or any part, of the member's load.
c. Any person or persons starting the use of service without first giving notice and enabling the Rural Electric to read the meter may be held responsible for any amount due for service supplied to the premises from the time of the last known reading of the meter as shown on the Rural Electric's books. A member shall also give notice of intended termination of service and may be held liable for service used after such notice to terminate until a final meter reading acceptable to the Rural Electric is obtained. Notice to terminate service prior to the expiration of a service contract will not relieve the member of any remaining obligations under the contract.
d. If a meter or other property belonging to the Rural Electric is tampered or interfered with, the member being supplied through such equipment shall pay the amount which the Rural Electric may estimate is due for service rendered but not registered on the Rural Electric's meter, and for such replacements and repairs as are necessary, as well as for the costs of inspection, investigation and protective installations. Such tampering or interference may also be subject to prosecution under applicable statues at the discretion of management.
e. Each meter shall be tested and adjusted periodically in accordance with Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission regulations. Special tests at the request of a member will be made upon submission of a signed agreement by the member in accordance with Commission rules.
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IX. Billing
Bills for regular service will be rendered monthly from meter readings furnished by the member, or otherwise computed according to the Rural Electric's Rate Schedules and Rules and Regulations then in effect, and shall be due on the date determined by the Rural Electric. Bills for special, or short term service, including the cost of connecting and disconnecting, may be rendered at the discretion of the Rural Electric, and shall be payable on demand.
a. All bills for regular service are payable within 17 days of mailing and will be delinquent after that period.
b. The Rural Electric may find it convenient or advisable to install larger transformers than actually required. However, any minimum monthly charge to be based on transformer size shall be based on the transformer capacity required to serve the member's load. Where two or more members are served from the same transformer, the minimum charge for each shall be based on the transformer capacity which would normally be installed for his individual requirements.
c. All bills will be sent by U.S. Mail with first class postage prepaid, from Brownstown, Indiana. Failure to receive a bill shall not entitle a member to any discount or to the remission of any charge for non-payment within the time specified.
d. In any billing period for which the Rural Electric is not provided a suitable meter reading by the member, an estimated bill shall be rendered in accordance with established practices of the Rural Electric.
e. When it is in the interests of the Rural Electric to do so, the Rural Electric may elect to read certain meters on a regular basis without cost or penalty to the members involved.
f. The Rural Electric shall have the right to estimate and render corrected bills covering any period or periods for which a meter is found to have been misread, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
g. When a member is served for a period less than that normally included between two regular meter reading dates his bill for that period shall be regularly computed except that:
1. Security light charges shall be prorated for the actual number of days used.
2. The monthly minimum for a member connected during the month shall be prorated to the nearest ten percent (10%) of the month served but shall not be less than the regular rate minimum.
h. If it shall become necessary to visit a member's premises to collect a delinquent bill or take other action because of a delinquent account, the member shall be charged the costs of such visits, in accordance with approved tariffs.
i. Whenever a member's payment for any indebtedness to the Rural Electric is made by check and said check is returned by the bank for "insufficient funds," "no account" or "account closed" a charge in accordance with approved tariffs will be made to the member's account, payable on demand. If such check is not made good immediately upon notice, prosecution under applicable law may be made. The account involved will be considered delinquent until the check is made good or other payment is made in full.
j. Whenever a service has been disconnected for any reason, a service charge in accordance with approved tariffs will be made as a condition of reconnection.
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X.
Miscellaneous
a. Whenever these regulations provide that notice be given or sent to the Rural Electric or office of the Rural Electric, such notice delivered or mailed, postage prepaid, shall be deemed sufficient.
b. The failure by the Rural Electric to enforce any of the terms of these Rules and Regulations shall not be deemed as a waiver of the right to do so.
c. The usual supply of electric service shall be subject to the provisions of these Rules and Regulations, but where special conditions or problems arise for which provision is not otherwise made, the Rural Electric may modify or adapt its supply terms to meet the peculiar requirements of such cases.
d. These Rules and Regulations may be altered, amended or repealed by the
affirmative vote of a majority of the board of directors taken at any regular or
special meeting of that body; provided that notice of such alteration, amendment
or repeal shall have been given with the notice of the meeting.
Rules
& Regulations
