A. Social Security Numbers and ID Issues
In Massachusetts, customers are not required to produce Social Security numbers (SSN) as a condition of getting utility service. In addition, a person’s legal status in the United States is irrelevant when applying for utility service. These two points are particularly important information for immigrants who may be worried about applying for utility service or concerned about being asked to produce a Social Security number.
While a utility cannot legally insist that an applicant for service provide an SSN, companies frequently ask an applicant to produce one. Utility companies often ask for proof of an applicant’s identity in order to check whether that person owes the company money for service provided at a prior address. However, that does not mean that the applicant has to produce an SSN. Instead, if there is some question about the customer’s identity (for example, the company claims that the applicant is the same “John Smith” or “Juanita Ramirez” who owes the company money from a prior address), or the company asks for proof of identity as a matter of routine practice, the customer can produce a driver’s license or birth certificate, or records from a prior landlord to prove that the customer did not live at the same address that the company is claiming. Any reasonable proof of identity or prior residence should be sufficient.
On January 12, 2007, Karen Robinson, then the Director of the DPU’s Consumer Division, wrote a letter to all Massachusetts electric and gas companies clarifying this issue. She wrote that “Companies should not require that consumers provide a social security number to initiate service and should accept other forms of identification.”2
B. Deposits
Massachusetts investor-owned utilities (IOUs) are not allowed to collect deposits as a condition of an applicant obtaining new utility service (220 C.M.R. § 27.00). This regulation, which prohibits imposing deposits on residential accounts, refers to “any gas or electric utility company.” However, 220 C.M.R. § 27.00 does not apply to munis because there is a specific statute that allows these entities to charge deposits, M.G.L. ch. 164, § 58A. Under this law, utilities may require “a sufficient deposit to secure the payment for gas or electricity for three months” of usage “in advance.” Since deposits are collected before the customer moves in, the amount of the deposit is usually based on an estimate of how much the bills are likely to be over three months’ time. This means that a muni is likely to seek a larger deposit for gas service that is used for heating a one-family home and a much smaller deposit for electric usage in a one-bedroom apartment. However, nothing in the law requires a muni to collect a deposit, and a customer being asked to pay an unaffordable deposit should try to negotiate the deposit down to a more affordable amount.
C. Bills from a Prior Address
The most common problem low-income customers face when trying to get electric or gas service installed is that they owe money from a prior address. While IOUs cannot charge deposits, they are allowed to seek at least partial payment on bills from a prior address as a condition of providing new service at the new address. (Note, however, that Utility Company A cannot refuse to provide service at a new address because the customer owes Utility Company B money for prior utility service.)
This problem is discussed in detail in Chapter 7, ¶ D. Here, it is sufficient to note that the company cannot routinely insist on being paid 100% of the prior bill as a condition of providing new service. The customer has the right to sign a so-called “Cromwell waiver” and negotiate a payment plan on the amount due from the prior address.
2 For a copy of this letter, contact NCLC.