UTILITIES CODE
CHAPTER 184. ELECTRIC AND WATER METERING
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 184.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "commission"
means the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
SUBCHAPTER B. METERING IN APARTMENTS, CONDOMINIUMS, AND MOBILE HOME
PARKS
§ 184.011. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Apartment house" means one or more buildings
containing more than five dwelling units each of which is rented
primarily for nontransient use with rent paid at intervals of one
week or longer. The term includes a rented or owner-occupied
residential condominium.
(2) "Dwelling unit" means:
(A) one or more rooms that are suitable for
occupancy as a residence and that contain kitchen and bathroom
facilities; or
(B) a mobile home in a mobile home park.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 184.012. NEW CONSTRUCTION OR CONVERSION. (a) A
political subdivision may not authorize the construction or
occupancy of a new apartment house, including the conversion of
property to a condominium, unless the construction plan provides
for the measurement of the quantity of electricity consumed by the
occupants of each dwelling unit of the apartment house, either by
individual metering by the utility company or by submetering by the
owner.
(b) This section does not prohibit a political subdivision
from issuing a permit to a nonprofit organization for construction
of a new apartment house for occupancy by low-income elderly
tenants if the nonprofit organization establishes, by submitting
engineering and cost data and a sworn statement, that all cost
savings will be passed on to the low-income elderly tenants.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 184.0125. HOUSING FOR OLDER PERSONS. (a) Section
184.012 does not prohibit a political subdivision from issuing a
permit for the construction of housing for older persons with 100 or
more dwelling units.
(b) Before issuing a permit, certificate, or other
authorization for the construction of housing for older persons, a
political subdivision shall require that the construction plan
provide for the requirements prescribed by this section.
(c) To qualify for the exemption provided by this section,
the housing, at a minimum, must have:
(1) significant facilities and services specifically
designed to meet the physical or social needs of older persons or,
if the provision of those facilities and services is not
practicable, the housing must be necessary to provide important
housing opportunities for older persons;
(2) at least 80 percent of the dwelling units set aside
for occupancy by at least one person 55 years of age or older in each
dwelling unit; and
(3) policies and procedures that demonstrate an intent
by the owner or manager to provide housing for persons 55 years of
age or older.
(d) The owner or manager must adhere to the policies and
procedures required by Subsection (c)(3).
(e) In this section, "housing for older persons" means
housing:
(1) intended for and solely occupied by persons 62
years of age or older; or
(2) intended and operated for occupancy by at least
one person 55 years of age or older in each dwelling unit.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, § 18.16(a), eff. Sept. 1,
1999.
§ 184.013. SUBMETERING. (a) The owner of an apartment
house or mobile home park may submeter each dwelling unit in the
apartment house or mobile home park to measure the quantity of
electricity consumed by the occupants of the dwelling unit.
(b) Electric submetering equipment is subject to:
(1) the same rules adopted by the commission for
accuracy, testing, and recordkeeping of meters installed by
electric utilities; and
(2) the meter testing requirements of Subchapter C,
Chapter 38.
(c) If not more than 90 days before the date an owner,
operator, or manager of an apartment house installs individual
meters or submeters in the apartment house the owner, operator, or
manager increases rental rates and the increase in rental rates is
attributable to the increased cost of utilities, the owner,
operator, or manager, on installation of the meters or submeters,
shall:
(1) immediately reduce the rental rate by the amount
of the increase attributable to the increased cost of utilities;
and
(2) refund the amount of the increased rent:
(A) collected in the 90-day period preceding the
installation of the meters or submeters; and
(B) attributable to the cost of increased
utilities.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 184.014. RULES. (a) The commission shall adopt
rules under which an owner, operator, or manager of an apartment
house or mobile home park for which electricity is not individually
metered may install submetering equipment to allocate fairly the
cost of the electrical consumption of each dwelling unit in the
apartment house or mobile home park.
(b) In addition to other appropriate safeguards for a tenant
of an apartment house or mobile home park, a rule adopted under
Subsection (a) must provide that:
(1) the apartment house owner or a mobile home park
owner may not charge a tenant more than the cost per kilowatt hour
charged by the utility to the owner; and
(2) the apartment house owner shall maintain adequate
records relating to submetering and make those records available
for inspection by the tenant during reasonable business hours.
(c) A rule adopted under this section has the same effect as
a rule adopted under Title 2, and a utility company and the owner,
operator, or manager of an apartment house subject to this
subchapter is subject to enforcement under Sections 15.021, 15.022,
15.028, 15.029, 15.030, 15.031, 15.032, and 15.033.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
SUBCHAPTER C. METERING IN RECREATIONAL VEHICLE PARKS
§ 184.031. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Recreational vehicle" has the meaning assigned by
Section 522.004(b), Transportation Code.
(2) "Supplying utility" means the electric utility
from which a recreational vehicle park owner purchases electricity
consumed at the recreational vehicle park.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 184.032. METERED SALE UNDER COMMISSION RULES. The
metered sale of electricity by a recreational vehicle park owner in
compliance with submetering rules adopted by the commission under
Title 2 does not constitute the provision of electric service for
compensation.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 184.033. METERED SALE UNDER THIS
CHAPTER. Notwithstanding any provision of Title 2, the metered
sale of electricity by a recreational vehicle park owner does not
constitute the provision of electric service for compensation if:
(1) the electricity is consumed in a recreational
vehicle that is located in a recreational vehicle park;
(2) the owner can show that the owner does not annually
recover from recreational vehicle occupants through metered
charges more than the supplying utility charges the owner for
electricity that is submetered, taking into account fuel refunds;
(3) the owner establishes a fiscal year for the
purposes of this subchapter and maintains for at least three years
records of:
(A) bills received from the supplying utility;
(B) charges made to recreational vehicle
occupants; and
(C) consumption records for each fiscal year;
(4) the owner charges for electricity using a fixed
rate per kilowatt hour for each fiscal year computed at the
beginning of the fiscal year in the manner provided by Section
184.034; and
(5) the owner complies with the refund requirements of
Section 184.035.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 184.034. COMPUTATION OF CHARGES. (a) For the
purposes of computing the charge for electricity under Section
184.033(4), the recreational vehicle park owner shall divide the
amount charged the owner by the supplying utility for the preceding
fiscal year by the total number of kilowatt hours consumed by
occupants visiting the park in the preceding fiscal year and round
the quotient to the nearest cent.
(b) If since or during the preceding fiscal year the
supplying utility increases its rates, the owner may recompute the
preceding fiscal year's charges by the utility using the current
rates charged by the utility.
(c) If since or during the preceding fiscal year the
supplying utility decreases its rates, the owner shall recompute
the preceding fiscal year's charges by the utility using the
current rates charged by the utility.
(d) An owner may not:
(1) include a charge by the supplying utility for
electricity used in a common area or office of the recreational
vehicle park in computing the amounts under Subsection (b) or (c);
or
(2) recover that charge through a metered charge to a
recreational vehicle occupant.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 184.035. REFUND OF SURCHARGES. A recreational
vehicle park owner who determines at the end of a fiscal year that
the owner has collected more than the amount charged by the
supplying utility shall refund the excess amount to occupants
visiting the park in the succeeding fiscal year.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
SUBCHAPTER D. CENTRAL SYSTEM UTILITIES
§ 184.051. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Apartment house" means one or more buildings
containing two or more dwelling units rented primarily for
nontransient use with rent paid at intervals of one week or longer.
(2) "Apartment house owner" means the legal
titleholder of an apartment house or an individual, firm, or
corporation purporting to be the landlord of tenants in the
apartment house.
(3) "Central system utilities" means electricity and
water consumed by and wastewater services related to a central air
conditioning system, central heating system, central hot water
system, or central chilled water system in an apartment house. The
term does not include utilities directly consumed in a dwelling
unit.
(4) "Customer" means an individual, firm, or
corporation in whose name a master meter is connected by a utility.
(5) "Dwelling unit" means one or more rooms that are
suitable for occupancy as a residence and that contain kitchen and
bathroom facilities.
(6) "Nonsubmetered master metered utility service"
means an electric utility service that is master metered for an
apartment house but is not submetered.
(7) "Tenant" means a person who is entitled to occupy a
dwelling unit in an apartment house to the exclusion of others and
who is obligated to pay for the occupancy under a written or oral
rental agreement.
(8) "Utility" means a public, private, or member-owned
utility that provides electricity, water, or wastewater service to
an apartment house served by a master meter.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 184.052. RULES. (a) The commission shall adopt
rules governing billing systems or methods used by an apartment
house owner to prorate or allocate among tenants central system
utility costs or nonsubmetered master metered utility service
costs.
(b) In addition to other appropriate safeguards for a tenant
of an apartment house, a rule adopted under this section must
require that:
(1) a rental agreement contain:
(A) a clear written description of the method of
computing the allocation of central system utilities or
nonsubmetered master metered utilities for the apartment house;
and
(B) a statement of the average apartment unit
monthly bill for all apartment units for any allocation of central
system utilities' costs or nonsubmetered master metered utility
service costs for the previous calendar year; and
(2) the apartment house owner:
(A) not impose a charge on a tenant in excess of
the actual charge imposed on the owner for utility consumption by
the apartment house; and
(B) maintain adequate records, including utility
bills and records concerning the central system utility or
nonsubmetered master metered utility service consumption of the
apartment house, the charges assessed by the utility, and the
allocation of central system utilities' costs or nonsubmetered
master metered utility service costs to the tenants and make the
records available for inspection by the tenants during normal
business hours.
(c) A rule adopted under this section has the same effect as
a rule adopted under Title 2, and an owner, operator, or manager of
an apartment house subject to this subchapter is subject to
enforcement under Sections 15.021, 15.022, 15.028, 15.029, 15.030,
15.031, 15.032, and 15.033.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
SUBCHAPTER E. LIABILITY FOR RULE VIOLATION
§ 184.071. LIABILITY. (a) A landlord who violates a
commission rule relating to submetering of electric utilities
consumed exclusively in a tenant's dwelling unit or a rule relating
to the allocation of central system utility costs or nonsubmetered
master metered electric utility costs is liable to the tenant for:
(1) three times the amount of any overcharge;
(2) a civil penalty equal to one month's rent;
(3) reasonable attorney's fees; and
(4) court costs.
(b) A landlord is not liable for the civil penalty provided
by Subsection (a)(2) if the landlord proves that the landlord's
violation of the rule was an unintentional mistake made in good
faith.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
