199.10 Mailing procedure.

(1) In this section “enclosure" means a card, leaflet, envelope or combination thereof furnished by the corporation under this section. To accomplish its duty under s. 199.05 (1), the corporation, subject to the following limitations, may prepare and furnish to any investor-owned Class A public utility a statement to be printed upon the face of the public utility's periodic customer billing or an enclosure:

(a) An enclosure or statement furnished by the corporation under this section may not be submitted to the utility less than 21 calendar days in advance of the date of the public utility's periodic customer billing.

(b) An enclosure shall be of a size compatible with the utility's mailing envelope, shall otherwise conform to the specifications of the utility's billing enclosure inserting equipment and may not exceed in total weight .5 ounce avoir.

(c) A statement furnished by the corporation under this section shall be of a size compatible with the utility's normal periodic billing.

(d) An enclosure or statement furnished by the corporation under this section shall be limited to informing the reader of the purpose, nature and activities of the corporation and informing the reader that the utility consumer billed and others in his or her household may contribute money to the corporation directly. The enclosure or statement shall have the character of a circular and may not have the character of a bill, statement of account or personal correspondence.

(e) The corporation may not furnish any enclosure or statement to a public utility under this section unless the enclosure or statement has been approved by the public service commission under sub. (2m).

(2)

(a) Except as provided under pars. (b) and (c), any public utility furnished with a statement or enclosure under sub. (1) shall print or otherwise include or enclose such statement or enclosure within, upon or attached to the periodic customer billing which the public utility mails or delivers to any residential consumer.

(b) No public utility may be required to include a statement or enclosure under sub. (1) in its periodic billing more than 2 times per year.

(c) No public utility whose normal periodic customer billing method is by postcard may be required to mail an enclosure of the corporation under par. (a).

(2m) Prior to furnishing a statement or enclosure to a utility under sub. (1), the corporation shall submit the statement or enclosure to the public service commission. The public service commission shall approve the statement or enclosure if it determines that the statement or enclosure is not false or misleading and that the statement or enclosure satisfies the requirements of this section.

(3) If the weight of a public utility's periodic customer billing, when combined with the corporation's statements or other enclosures under sub. (1), exceeds one ounce avoir, the corporation shall reimburse the public utility for the proportion of the total postage cost of the billing which is equal to the corporation's proportion of the total weight of the billing. The corporation shall promptly reimburse with interest at the current prime rate each public utility for all other reasonable costs incurred by the public utility, above the utility's normal billing costs, in complying with this section. The corporation may postpone for 3 months after the date of the first election of directors under s. 199.12 reimbursement of the public utilities for all costs incurred through the date of such election. If any public utility is unable to collect any amount due from the corporation under this section within 3 months after the date the amount is due, the public utility may refuse further requests to mail an enclosure until the amount is paid.

(4) A dispute arising from the operation of this section shall be resolved by negotiations between the corporation and the public utility if possible, or by a civil proceeding in circuit court. Neither the public utility nor the corporation may fail to comply with this chapter by reason of the existence of such a dispute.

History: 1979 c. 72; 1983 a. 27; 1985 a. 135.