SECTION 24.163. Service Connections

(a) Water Service Connections.

(1) Tap Fees. The fees for initiation of service, where no service previously existed, shall be in accordance with the following:

(A) The fee charged by a utility for connecting a residential service applicant's premises to the system shall be as stated on the approved tariff. In determining the reasonableness of a tap fee, the commission will consider the actual costs of materials, labor, and administrative costs for such service connections and road construction or impact fees charged by authorities with control of road use if typically incurred and may allow a reasonable estimate of tax liabilities. The commission may limit the tap fee to an amount equal to the average costs incurred by the utility.

(B) Whether listed on the utility's approved tariff or not, the tap fee charged for all service connections requiring meters larger than 3/4 inch shall be limited to the actual cost of materials, labor and administrative costs for making the individual service connection and road construction or impact fees charged by authorities with control of road use and a reasonable estimate of tax liabilities. The service applicant shall be given an itemized statement of the costs.

(C) An additional fee may be charged to a residential service applicant, if stated on the approved tariff, for a tap expense not normally incurred; for example, a road bore for customers outside of subdivisions or residential areas.

(2) Installation and Service Connection.

(A) The utility shall furnish and install, for the purpose of connecting its distribution system to the service applicant's property, the service pipe from its main to the meter location on the service applicant's property. See also paragraph (3) of this subsection. For all new installations, a utility-owned cut-off valve shall be provided on the utility side of the meter. Utilities without customer meters shall provide and maintain a cut-off valve on the customer's property as near the property line as possible. This does not relieve the utility of the obligation to comply with §24.169 of this title (relating to Meters).

(B) The service applicant shall be responsible for furnishing and laying the necessary service line from the meter to the place of consumption and shall keep the service line in good repair. For new taps or for new service at a location with an existing tap, service applicants may be required to install a customer owned cut-off valve on the customer's side of the meter or connection. Customers who have damaged the utility's cut-off valve or curb stop through unauthorized use or tampering may be required to install a customer owned cut-off valve on the customer's side of the meter or connection within a reasonable time frame of not less than 30 days if currently connected or prior to restoration of service if the customer has been lawfully disconnected under these rules. The customer's responsibility shall begin at the discharge side of the meter or utility's cut-off valve if there are no meters. If the utility's meter or cut-off valve is not on the customer's property, the customer's responsibility will begin at the property line.

(3) Location of meters. Meters shall be located on the customer's property, readily accessible for maintenance and reading and, so far as practicable, the meter shall be at a location mutually acceptable to the customer and the utility. The meter shall be installed so as to be unaffected by climatic conditions and reasonably secure from damage.

(4) Relocation and conversion of meters. If an existing meter is moved to a location designated by the customer for the customer's convenience, the utility may not be responsible except for negligence. The customer may be charged the actual cost of relocating the meter. If the customer requests that an existing meter be replaced with a meter of another size or capacity, the customer may be charged the actual cost of converting the meter including enlarging the line from the main to the meter if necessary.

(b) Sewer Service Connections.

(1) Tap Fees. The fees for initiation of sewer service, where no service previously existed, shall be in accordance with the following:

(A) The fee charged by a utility for connecting a residential service applicant's premises to the sewer system shall be as stated on the approved tariff. In determining the reasonableness of a tap fee, the commission will consider the actual costs of materials, labor, and administrative costs for such service connections and road construction or impact fees charged by authorities with control of road use if typically incurred and may allow a reasonable estimate of tax liabilities. The commission may limit the tap fee to an amount equal to the average costs incurred by the utility.

(B) The fee charged for all commercial or nonstandard service connections shall be set at the actual cost of materials, labor and administrative costs for making the service connection and road construction or impact fees charged by authorities with control of road use and may include a reasonable estimate of tax liabilities. The service applicant shall be given an itemized statement of the costs.

(C) A fee in addition to the standard tap fee may be charged for a new residential service connection which requires expenses not normally incurred if clearly identified on the approved tariff; for example, a road bore for service applicants outside of subdivisions or residential areas.

(D) Tap fees for sewer systems designed to receive effluent from a receiving tank located on the customer's property, whether fed by gravity or pressure into the utility's sewer main, may include charges to install a receiving tank and appurtenances on the customer's property and service line from the tank to the utility's main which meets the minimum standards set by the utility and authorized by the commission. The tank may include grinder pumps, etc. to pump the effluent into the utility's main. Ownership of and maintenance responsibilities for the receiving tank and appurtenances shall be specified in the utility's approved tariff.

(2) Installation and Service Connections.

(A) The utility shall furnish and install, for the purpose of connecting its collection system to the service applicant's service line, the service pipe from its main to a point on the customer's property.

(B) The customer shall be responsible for furnishing and laying the necessary customer service line from the utility's line to the residence.

(3) Maintenance by Customer.

(A) The customer service line and appurtenances installed by the customer shall be constructed in accordance with the laws and regulations of the State of Texas governing plumbing practices which must be at least as stringent and comprehensive as one of the following nationally recognized codes: the Southern Standard Plumbing Code, the Uniform Plumbing Code, and/or the National Standard Plumbing Code, or other standards as prescribed by the commission.

(B) It shall be the customer's responsibility to maintain the customer service line and any appurtenances which are the customer's responsibility in good operating condition, such as, clear of obstruction, defects, leaks or blockage. If the utility can provide evidence of excessive infiltration or inflow into the customer's service line or failure to provide proper pretreatment, the utility may, with the written approval of the commission, require that the customer repair the line or eliminate the infiltration or inflow or take such actions necessary to correct the problem. If the customer fails to correct the problem within a reasonable time, the utility may disconnect the service after notice as required under §24.167 of this title (relating to Discontinuance of Service). Less than ten days notice may be given if authorized by the commission

(C) If the customer retains ownership of receiving tanks and appurtenances located on the customer's property under the utility's tariff, routine maintenance and repairs are the customer's responsibility. The utility may require in its approved tariff that parts and equipment meet the minimum standards set by the utility to ensure proper and efficient operation of the sewer system but cannot require that the customer purchase parts or repair service from the utility.

(c) Line extension and construction charges. Each utility shall file its extension policy with the commission as part of its tariff. The policy shall be consistent and nondiscriminatory. No contribution in aid of construction may be required of any service applicant except as provided for in the approved extension policy.

(1) Contributions in aid of construction shall not be required of individual residential service applicants for production, storage, treatment, or transmission facilities unless that residential customer places unique, non-standard service demands upon the system, in which case, the customer may be charged the additional cost of extending service to and throughout his property, including the cost of all necessary collection or transmission facilities necessary to meet the service demands anticipated to be created by that property.

(2) Developers may be required to provide contributions in aid of construction in amounts sufficient to reimburse the utility for:

(A) existing uncommitted facilities at their original cost if the utility has not previously been reimbursed. A utility shall not be reimbursed for facilities in excess of the amount the utility paid for the facilities. A utility is not required to allocate existing uncommitted facilities to a developer for projected development beyond a reasonable planning period; or

(B) additional facilities compliant with the commission's minimum design criteria for facilities used in the production, transmission, pumping, or treatment of water or the commission's minimum design criteria for wastewater collection and treatment facilities and to provide for reasonable local demand requirements. Income tax liabilities which may be incurred due to collection of contributions in aid of construction may be included in extension charges to developers. Additional tax liabilities due to collection of the original tax liability may not be collected unless they can be supported and are specifically noted in the approved extension policy.

(3) For purposes of this subsection, a developer is one who subdivides or requests more than two water service connections or sewer service connections on a single contiguous tract of land.

(d) Cost utilities and service applicants shall bear.

(1) Within its certificated area, a utility shall be required to bear the cost of the first 200 feet of any water main or sewer collection line necessary to extend service to an individual residential service applicant within a platted subdivision unless the utility can document:

(A) that the developer of the subdivision refused to provide facilities compatible with the utility's facilities in accordance with the utility's approved extension policy after receiving a written request from the utility; or

(B) that the developer of the subdivision defaulted on the terms and conditions of a written agreement or contract existing between the utility and the developer regarding payment for services, extensions, or other requirements; or in the event the developer declared bankruptcy and was therefore unable to meet obligations; and

(C) that the residential service applicant purchased the property from the developer after the developer was notified of the need to provide facilities to the utility.

(2) A residential service applicant may be charged the remaining costs of extending service to his property; provided, however, that the residential service applicant may only be required to pay the cost equivalent to the cost of extending the nearest water main or wastewater collection line, whether or not that line has adequate capacity to serve that residential service applicant. The following criteria shall be considered to determine the residential service applicant's cost for extending service:

(A) The residential service applicant shall not be required to pay for costs of main extensions greater than two inches in diameter for water distribution and pressure wastewater collection lines and six inches in diameter for gravity wastewater lines.

(B) Exceptions may be granted by the commission if:

(i) adequate service cannot be provided to the applicant using the maximum line sizes listed due to distance or elevation, in which case, it shall be the utility's burden to justify that a larger diameter pipe is required for adequate service;

(ii) larger minimum line sizes are required under subdivision platting requirements or building codes of municipalities within whose corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction the point of use is located; or

(iii) the residential service applicant is located outside the CCN service area.

(C) If an exception is granted, the utility must establish a proportional cost plan for the specific extension or a rebate plan which may be limited to seven years to return the portion of the applicant's costs for oversizing as new customers are added to ensure that future applicants for service on the line pay at least as much as the initial service applicant.

(3) The utility shall bear the cost of any oversizing of water distribution lines or wastewater collection lines necessary to serve other potential service applicants or customers in the immediate area or for fire flow requirements unless an exception is granted under paragraph (2)(B) of this subsection.

(4) For purposes of determining the costs that service applicants shall pay, commercial customers with service demands greater than residential customer demands in the certificated area, industrial, and wholesale customers may be treated as developers. A service applicant requesting a one inch meter for a lawn sprinkler system to service a residential lot is not considered nonstandard service.

(e) Other Fees for Service Applicants. Except for an affected county, utilities shall not charge membership fees or application fees.

Source Note: The provisions of this §24.163 adopted to be effective October 17, 2018, 43 TexReg 6826