Sec. 20.30.01.05. Refund of Deposit

A. Discontinuance of Service. Upon discontinuance of service, the utility, within 45 days, shall automatically refund the customer's deposit plus accrued interest, or the balance, if any, in excess of the unpaid bills including any penalties assessed for service furnished by the utility. A transfer of service from one premises to another within the service area of the utility may not be deemed a discontinuance of service within the meaning of these regulations.

B. Good Payment Record.

(1) The utility shall promptly and automatically refund the deposit plus accrued interest under the following conditions:

(a) The customer has paid bills for service for the first 4 years of service following payment of his deposit without having had service discontinued for nonpayment of bills within the last 2 years;

(b) The customer has paid all bills without having had more than two occasions within the last 12 months in which a bill was not paid in a reasonable period after it became due;

(c) The customer is not presently delinquent in the payment of his bills;

(d) The customer has not presented a bad check in payment of his bills within the last 2 years; and

(e) Detrimental credit information has not been recorded against the customer within the last 2 years.

(2) If a customer does not meet the foregoing conditions, the utility shall thereafter review the account every 12 months, and shall promptly and automatically refund the deposit plus accrued interest when the customer has met these standards.

C. Establishment of Credit. The utility shall promptly return the deposit plus accrued interest at any time upon request if the customer's credit has been established in accordance with the methods specified in Regulation .02B of this chapter, provided the customer does not owe outstanding bills for the service and meets the criteria set forth in §B of this regulation.

D. Option of Utility. The utility may refund a deposit plus accrued interest, in whole or in part, earlier than the times prescribed in this regulation.