Section 56.275. Electronic bill payment

A utility may offer electronic payment options. Electronic payment programs must include the following requirements:

(1) Electronic bill payment shall be voluntary. A utility may not require a customer to enroll in electronic bill payment as a condition for enrolling in electronic billing.

(2) For electronic bill payment through a charge to a customer’s credit card or automatic withdrawal from a customer’s financial account, the program must set forth the date (or number of days after issuance of the bill) when the automatic payment shall be made.

(3) The terms of the payment procedures shall be fully disclosed to the customer in writing, either by mail or electronically, before the customer enters the program. Program changes shall be conveyed to the customer in writing, either by mail or electronically, and the customer shall be given an opportunity to withdraw from the program if the customer does not wish to continue under the new terms.

(4) The utility shall provide a receipt, or a confirmation, transaction or reference number, either electronically or on paper, to the customer upon payment through the electronic method. This requirement does not apply if the payment method is through a preauthorized automated debit from a customer’s financial account.

(5) The utility shall employ all reasonable measures to protect customer information from unauthorized disclosure and prevent access to customer account records by persons who are not properly authorized to have access.