PRINTER'S NO. 773
No. 729 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY AFFLERBACH, BELL, WAGNER, WILLIAMS, COSTA, BODACK,
BELAN, TARTAGLIONE, SCHWARTZ, TOMLINSON, MELLOW, RHOADES AND
MUSTO, MARCH 14, 1997
REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE,
MARCH 14, 1997
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 66 (Public Utilities) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, providing for reports by the Bureau of
3 Consumer Services.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Section 308(d) of Title 66 of the Pennsylvania
7 Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
8 § 308. Bureaus and offices.
9 * * *
10 (d) Bureau of Consumer Services.--
11 (1) The Bureau of Consumer Services shall investigate
12 and issue final determinations on all informal consumer
13 complaints and shall advise the commission as to the need for
14 formal commission action on any matters brought to its
15 attention by the complaints. Any party may appeal a final
16 determination issued by the Bureau of Consumer Services and
17 seek review by an administrative law judge or special agent
1 subject to the procedures in section 335 (relating to initial
2 decisions). The bureau shall on behalf of the commission keep
3 records of all complaints received, the matter complained of,
4 the utility involved, and the disposition thereof and shall
5 [at least] annually report by March 1 to the commission on
6 such matters. The report shall include an evaluation of each
7 public utility's customer service performance in the areas of
8 consumer complaint handling, payment arrangement
9 negotiations, collection of outstanding debt and compliance
10 with the standards of conduct for residential service. The
11 report shall also contain a profile of each individual
12 utility's performance, its numeric rank within its industry
13 and its trend over time in the relevant areas. The commission
14 shall make copies of the report, as prepared by the bureau,
15 available to the public without editing. The commission may
16 take official notice of all complaints and the nature thereof
17 in any proceeding before the commission in which the utility
18 is a party. The commission shall adopt, publish and generally
19 make available rules by which a consumer may make informal
20 complaints. The bureau shall also assist and advise the
21 commission on matters of safety compliance by public
22 utilities.
23 (2) Annually on or before April 15, the commission shall
24 submit a report to the Governor and to the Business and
25 Commerce Committee of the House and the Community and
26 Economic Development Committee of the Senate. The report
27 shall compare all nonresidential categories of ratepayers for
28 all electric and gas public utilities so that reasonably
29 accurate comparisons of rates can be made between similar
30 individuals or groups of nonresidential ratepayers receiving
19970S0729B0773 - 2 -
1 services in different service areas.
2 * * *
3 Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
B21L66BIL/19970S0729B0773 - 3 -