April 29, 2010, Introduced by Senators HUNTER, OLSHOVE, WHITMER, JACOBS, SWITALSKI, ANDERSON, BARCIA, GLEASON, BRATER, CHERRY, PRUSI, PATTERSON, BIRKHOLZ, KUIPERS, BROWN, NOFS and RICHARDVILLE and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
A bill to amend 1939 PA 3, entitled
"An act to provide for the regulation and control of public and
certain private utilities and other services affected with a public
interest within this state; to provide for alternative energy
suppliers; to provide for licensing; to include municipally owned
utilities and other providers of energy under certain provisions of
this act; to create a public service commission and to prescribe
and define its powers and duties; to abolish the Michigan public
utilities commission and to confer the powers and duties vested by
law on the public service commission; to provide for the
continuance, transfer, and completion of certain matters and
proceedings; to abolish automatic adjustment clauses; to prohibit
certain rate increases without notice and hearing; to qualify
residential energy conservation programs permitted under state law
for certain federal exemption; to create a fund; to provide for a
restructuring of the manner in which energy is provided in this
state; to encourage the utilization of resource recovery
facilities; to prohibit certain acts and practices of providers of
energy; to allow for the securitization of stranded costs; to
reduce rates; to provide for appeals; to provide appropriations; to
declare the effect and purpose of this act; to prescribe remedies
and penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,"
(MCL 460.1 to 460.11) by adding section 9d.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 9d. (1) If a utility observes an unsafe utility service
connection at a customer's location caused by unauthorized use of
utility service, the utility shall implement measures consistent
with good utility practices intended to cure or otherwise address
the unsafe connection and may take appropriate action to deter
future unauthorized use of utility services at that location,
including installation of additional utility facilities.
(2) At any customer location where a utility has shut off
service 2 or more times during the prior 24 months because of
unauthorized use of utility service, a utility may refuse to
provide utility service to that location notwithstanding any other
administrative rules or statutes if the utility determines that
denying utility service at that location will prevent the
reoccurrence of the unauthorized use.
(3) A utility shall reestablish utility service at a customer
location if the person requesting service does 1 of the following:
(a) Proves that the person is the legal owner of the property
by providing property ownership information and agrees to pay for
the actual cost to repair the utility's equipment and facilities
located on the owner's property, all fees and deposits required
under the utility's approved schedule of rates and tariffs, and all
charges due to the utility for the prior unauthorized use that
occurred during his or her ownership.
(b) Proves that the person is the legal owner of the property
by providing property ownership information and provides a signed
lease agreement that has been certified by the landlord that
establishes the identity of the tenant responsible for the prior
unauthorized use.
(4) If the legal owner cannot provide documentation
establishing the identity of the tenant responsible for the prior
unauthorized usage and the owner does not agree to pay for the
charges due to the utility for prior unauthorized usage, a utility
may still reestablish utility service if the owner proves that the
owner is the legal owner of the property by providing property
ownership information and agrees to payment of the additional fee
for reestablishing utility service at the location with multiple
prior occurrences of unauthorized use of utility service as
specified in the utility's approved schedule of rates and tariffs.
(5) If a person requesting service cannot provide property
ownership information, a utility may reestablish service if the
person can provide all of the following:
(a) Residency information.
(b) All documentation, fees, and deposits required by R
460.106, R 460.109, R 460.110, and R 460.144 of the Michigan
administrative code.
(c) Payment of any additional fee for reestablishing utility
service at a location with multiple prior occurrences of
unauthorized use as specified in the utility's approved schedule of
rates and tariffs.
(6) A property owner shall provide notice to a utility within
30 days after the owner abandons or surrenders a property. If a
property owner does not provide notice to the utility within 30
days after the property owner's abandonment or surrender of a
property, that property owner is liable, jointly and severally, for
any unauthorized use that occurs at the property after the owner's
abandonment or surrender of the property.
(7) Within 150 days of the effective date of the amendatory
act that added this section, electric and natural gas utilities
serving 1,000,000 or more customers shall establish and maintain a
service in which landlords of rental properties in the utility's
service territory who have registered with the utility for shut-off
notifications are notified of locations where electric and natural
gas utility services have been shut off because of unauthorized
use.
(8) As used in this section:
(a) "By-passing" means unmetered service that flows through a
device connected between a service line and customer-owned
facilities.
(b) "Meter tampering" means any act that affects the proper
registration of service through a meter and affects the flow of
energy.
(c) "Positive identification information" means a driver's
license or identification card issued by this or another state, a
military identification card, a passport, or other government-
issued identification containing a photograph.
(d) "Property ownership information" means a recorded warranty
deed, notarized closing papers, tax records, mortgage payment book,
or copy of an insurance policy for the address identifying an
individual or entity as the owner.
(e) "Residency information" means all of the following:
(i) Positive identification information.
(ii) A signed lease agreement that has been certified by the
landlord for the location where utility service is being requested.
(iii) Any first-class mail sent to the person requesting utility
service within the last 3 months at that person's previous
residence.
(f) "Unauthorized use of utility service" or "unauthorized
use" means theft, fraud, interference, or diversion of service,
including, but not limited to, meter tampering, by-passing, and
service restoration by anyone other than the utility or its
representative.