Arkansas Administrative Code

23 CAR § 455-521. Transferring past due balances to other accounts. A utility may only transfer a past due balance from a customer’s closed account to one (1) of the following active accounts: (1) An account of the same customer for the same class of service at any location; or (…

23 CAR § 455-601. Authorized suspension. The only reasons a utility may suspend service to an account are: (1) A bill for utility service to the current customer remains unpaid after the close of business on the last day to pay as printed on the most recent shut-off notice; (2) A…

23 CAR § 455-602. Unauthorized suspension. A utility may not suspend service to an account for the following reasons: (1) Not paying for nonutility merchandise or nonutility services purchased, rented, or leased from or through the utility; (2) Not paying for a different kind or …

23 CAR § 455-603. Bankruptcy. (a) A utility may not suspend service to a trustee or debtor in bankruptcy for failure to pay a bill incurred prior to a bankruptcy filing if the trustee or the debtor pays a deposit under 23 CAR § 455-402(a)(7) within twenty (20) days of the order f…

23 CAR § 455-604. Notification of suspension of service. (a)(1) A utility must notify a customer in writing five (5) calendar days before it suspends service. (2) If a utility delivers the notice to the customer’s premises, the utility must leave the notice in a conspicuous place…

23 CAR § 455-605. Shut-off notice — Submission requirements. A current copy of the form to be used for shut-off notices and any revisions to that form shall be provided to the Arkansas Public Service Commission’s Consumer Services Office.

23 CAR § 455-606. Third-party notification of suspension. (a) A residential customer may name a consenting person or agency to receive a copy of all shut-off notices. (b) A utility shall mail one (1) copy of all shut-off notices to the customer and one (1) to the other person or …

23 CAR § 455-607. Form and contents of shut-off notice. Each shut-off notice shall contain the following information: (1) The title “SHUT-OFF NOTICE”, “CUT-OFF NOTICE”, or “DISCONNECT NOTICE” in type at least one-quarter inch (1/4”) high; (2) The name and address of the customer,…

23 CAR § 455-608. Payment requirements to prevent suspension. (a) A customer must pay the utility or its authorized agent before the utility’s close of business on the last day to pay as printed on the most recent shut-off notice to prevent suspension. (b) The utility may require…

23 CAR § 455-609. Suspension procedures. (a) Suspension date and time requirements. (1)(A) A utility may suspend service only during normal utility business office hours. (B) However, no suspension shall occur during the last hour of the utility’s normal business office hours. (2…

23 CAR § 455-610. Closing suspended accounts. (a) A utility shall not close a suspended account until a customer has been given seven (7) calendar days to have service reconnected after suspension. (b) Once an account is closed, a utility may treat a former customer who wants ser…

23 CAR § 455-611. Collection fees. A utility may charge an Arkansas Public Service Commission-approved collection fee under the following conditions: (1) The last day to pay, as printed on the shut-off notice, has passed; and (2)(A) A utility employee: (i) Accepts payment at the …

23 CAR § 455-612. Reconnection of service. (a)(1) The utility shall reconnect service at the request of the customer if all reasons for suspension have been eliminated. (2) The utility shall reconnect service in the normal course of business when suspension was the fault of the c…

23 CAR § 455-613. Delayed payment agreement and extension agreement. (a)(1) This section applies to: (A) Any residential customer; and (B) Small commercial customers whose average bill for the most recent twelve (12) months is two hundred dollars ($200) or less. (2) As used in th…

23 CAR § 455-614. Delayed payment agreements — Submission requirements. A current copy of the form to be used for delayed payment agreements and any revisions to that form shall be provided to the Arkansas Public Service Commission’s Consumer Services Office.

23 CAR § 455-615. Cold weather rule. (a)(1) Electric and gas utilities may not suspend residential service on a day when the National Weather Service forecasts that a temperature of thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit (32° F) or lower will occur at any time during the following twenty-…

23 CAR § 455-616. Agency guaranty of payment. (a) Requirements. (1) When a social service agency agrees orally or in writing to pay at least one-quarter (1/4) of an overdue bill, the utility shall continue service, or restore service suspended for nonpayment, if the customer qual…

23 CAR § 455-617. Medical need for utility service. (a) General requirements. (1) Each utility must honor a physician’s certificate that attests to the fact that a residential utility customer or any other permanent resident of the household has a serious medical condition. (2) T…

23 CAR § 455-618. Elderly and individuals with disabilities. (a) This section only applies to residential customers. (b) Identification of the elderly and individuals with disabilities. Utilities shall attempt to identify eligible individuals by informing them that a special prog…

23 CAR § 455-619. Provisions for landlords and tenants. (a) Account identification. (1) Each utility shall file with the Arkansas Public Service Commission procedures for identifying accounts where service is provided at an address different from the mailing address of the bill. …

23 CAR § 455-620. Stopping service at customer request. (a) Notice. (1) A customer who wants to stop service must tell the utility at least five (5) days before the requested disconnection date. (2) The minimum five-day notice period begins: (A) On the day the customer telephones…

23 CAR § 455-701. Application records. (a)(1) Each utility must keep a record of each written or verbal application for utility service except as provided in the exception to 23 CAR § 455-301(b). (2) Records of applications must be kept for at least two (2) years unless cancelled…

23 CAR § 455-702. Account records. (a) Each utility shall keep a ledger or other record of billings to and all money paid by each customer. (b) The record shall contain all information necessary to figure bills, including: (1) Customer name; (2) Mailing address; (3) Service locat…

23 CAR § 455-703. Deposit records. Each utility shall keep a record containing the following information for each customer account: (1) The name of the customer for whom the deposit is made; (2) The service location; (3) The deposit amount; (4) The deposit date; (5) The reason fo…

23 CAR § 455-704. Complaint records. (a) A utility shall keep an up-to-date record of all customer complaints, showing the: (1) Name and address of the complainant; (2) Account number; (3) Date and character of the complaint; (4) Action taken to resolve the complaint; and (5) Dat…

23 CAR § 455-705. Test and inspection records. (a) Utilities shall make a complete record of every test or inspection that this part requires. (b) The record shall include the: (1) Time; (2) Date; (3) Place; (4) Tester; (5) Inspector; and (6) Results. (c) Utilities shall keep tes…

23 CAR § 455-706. Operating records. (a)(1) Each utility shall keep a detailed record of its production, transmission, and/or distribution operations. (2)(A) The record shall include any units of service produced, purchased, and sent out. (B) The record shall also include any fue…

23 CAR § 455-707. Service outage records. (a) Each utility shall keep records of all detected or documented service outages. (b) Each record shall include the time, date, location, duration, cause, and extent of each outage. (c) Utilities shall keep the records at least two (2) y…

23 CAR § 455-708. Location of records. (a) Utilities shall keep records: (1) Within the State of Arkansas; (2) At the offices of the utility; or (3) At locations outside the State of Arkansas authorized by the Arkansas Public Service Commission. (b) Such records shall be availabl…

23 CAR § 455-709. Reports to the Arkansas Public Service Commission. (a) Outages. (1) Utilities shall promptly report outages in an individual city, town, or in the same general area that last more than four (4) hours and affect one hundred (100) or more customers by telephone to…

23 CAR § 455-801. Safe and adequate service. (a) Each utility shall operate and maintain its entire system so that service is safe, adequate, and reliable. (b) Each utility shall inspect its entire system as necessary to have a reasonable knowledge of the system’s condition at al…

23 CAR § 455-802. Electrical inductive and conductive effects. (a) All utility companies shall coordinate their efforts and use all reasonable means to minimize the detrimental electrical inductive and conductive effects between utility systems. (b) Priority shall be given to eli…

23 CAR § 455-803. Extensions, additions, repairs, changes, and improvements. After a public hearing, the Arkansas Public Service Commission may require a utility to make extensions, additions, repairs, or changes in or improvements to any equipment, main, or line if the Arkansas …

23 CAR § 455-804. Service interruptions. (a) Scheduled interruptions. (1) Scheduling. Except in an emergency, utilities shall schedule interruptions so that the inconvenience to customers is minimized. (2) Notice. Utilities shall make reasonable efforts to: (A) Notify customers a…

23 CAR § 455-805. Emergency repair service and telephone number. (a)(1) Each utility shall perform emergency repair service. (2) The utility shall take into account both the needs of the customer and the safety of utility personnel. (3) Emergency restoration requirements are in t…

23 CAR § 455-806. Emergency response to outages. (a) Restoration priority. Utilities shall first attempt to restore service that affects public health and safety. (b) Restoration procedures. (1) Each utility shall have written procedures for designated employees to follow during …

23 CAR § 455-807. Marking locations of underground facilities. Unless otherwise agreed to by the excavator, each utility shall mark the approximate location of its underground facilities, in compliance with Arkansas Code §§ 14-271-110 and 14-271-111, within two (2) working days o…

23 CAR § 456-101. Background. (a)(1) In Order No. 3 of Docket No. 01-023-NOI styled In the Matter of a Notice of Inquiry into Whether Arkansas Gas Utilities Should Integrate Gas Price Hedging, Fixed Price Options and Other Alternate Mechanisms into Gas Procurement Plans, the Arka…

23 CAR § 456-102. Purpose. (a) The purpose of this part is to implement the Arkansas Public Service Commission’s policy principles as referenced in 23 CAR § 456-101. (b) Each gas utility is expected to take all reasonable and prudent steps necessary to develop a diversified gas s…

23 CAR § 456-103. Annual submission of gas supply portfolio plan required. (a) No later than May 15 of each year, each gas utility shall submit its gas supply portfolio plan, along with its contracting and hedging objectives, to the General Staff for its review and a determinatio…

23 CAR § 456-104. Minimum filing requirements for annual submission of gas supply portfolio. (a) Overall gas supply objectives, identifying key strategies and planning parameters and measures of performance, such as: (1) Weighted average cost of gas (WACOG); and (2) Volatility of…

23 CAR § 456-105. Recovery of hedging costs. (a)(1) Gas utilities shall have the opportunity to recover reasonable and prudent explicit costs associated with financial risk management instruments used in the acquisition of natural gas supplies. (2) Utilities have the right to see…

23 CAR § 456-106. Recordkeeping requirements. Each gas utility is required to maintain records for any hedging programs it chooses to utilize that document the following: (1) The overall risk management plan, including the utility-specific goals and guidelines as more fully descr…

23 CAR § 456-107. Customer education. (a) Each gas utility shall engage in appropriate customer education efforts concerning: (1) The utility’s good-faith estimate of gas prices for each upcoming winter heating season; and (2) Options available to customers for responding to thos…

23 CAR § 456-108. Customer options. (a) Within sixty (60) days of the effective date of this part, levelized billing or average payment plans shall be made available to all qualified residential and small business customers. (b) Each gas utility shall assess the demand for, and f…

23 CAR § 457-101. Purpose. The purpose of this part is to establish rules for net energy metering and interconnection.

23 CAR § 457-102. Statutory provisions. (a) This part is developed pursuant to the Arkansas Cost-Shifting Prevention Act of 2023, Arkansas Code § 23-18-601 et seq., as amended. (b) This part is promulgated pursuant to the Arkansas Public Service Commission’s authority under Arkan…