§317. Natural gas consumer agreements

A. No provider of natural gas shall stop gas from entering the residential premises of any residential consumer who is on active duty for nonpayment for gas supplied to the premises.

B. Upon return of a residential consumer from active duty, the provider shall offer the residential consumer a period equal to at least the period of service on active duty to pay any arrearages incurred during the period of service. The provider shall inform the residential consumer that, if the period the company offers presents a hardship to the consumer, the consumer may request a longer period to pay the arrearages. If the provider is a public utility as defined in R.S. 45:1161, the consumer may request the assistance of the Public Service Commission to obtain a longer period. No late payment fees or interest shall be charged to the residential consumer during the period of active duty or the repayment period.

C. If a provider that is a public utility determines that amounts owed by a residential consumer who is on active duty are uncollectible, the provider may file an application with the Public Service Commission for approval of authority to recover the amounts. The recovery shall be through a rider on the base rates of customers of the provider or through other means as may be approved by the commission, provided that any amount approved to be recovered through a rider or other means shall not be considered by the commission in any subsequent rate determination.

Acts 2005, No. 296, §1, eff. June 29, 2005.