Agreement means the executed written form between you and the utility providing your service, except for service provided under a Special Agreement.

BIA means the Bureau of Indian Affairs within the United States Department of the Interior or the BIA's authorized representative.

Bill means our written statement notifying you of the charges and/or fees you owe the United States for the administration, operation, maintenance, rehabilitation, and/or construction of the electric power utility servicing you.

CFR means Code of Federal Regulations.

Customer means any person or entity to whom we provide service.

Customer service is the assistance or service provided to customers, except for the actual delivery of electric power or energy. Customer service may include: Line extension, system upgrade, meter testing, connections or disconnection, special meter reading, or other assistance or service as provided in the Operations Manual.

Day(s) means calendar day(s).

Delinquent means an account that has not been paid and settled by the due date.

Due date means the date by which you must pay your bill. The due date is printed on your bill.

Electric energy (see Electric power).

Electric power means the energy we deliver to meet customers' electrical needs.

Electric power rate means the charges we establish for delivery of energy to our customers, which includes administration costs and operation and maintenance costs in addition to the cost of purchased power.

Electric power utility means all structures, equipment, components, and human resources necessary for the delivery of electric service.

Electric service means the delivery of electric power by our utility to our customers.

Energy means electric power.

Fee (see Service fee).

I, me, my, you, and your means all interested parties, especially persons or entities to which we provide service and receive use of our electric power service.

Must means an imperative or mandatory act or requirement.

Operations Manual means the written policies, practices, procedures and requirements of the utility providing your service. The Operations Manual supplements this Part and includes our responsibilities to our customers and our customers' responsibilities to the utility.

Past due bill means a bill that has not been paid by the due date.

Power (see Energy).

Public notice is the notice provided by publishing information consistent with the utility's Operations Manual.

Purchased power means the power we must purchase from power marketing providers for resale to our customers to meet changing power demands. Each of our utilities establishes its own power purchasing agreement based on its power demands and firm power availability.

Rate (see Electric power rate).

Reserve Funds means funds held in reserve for maintenance, repairs, or unexpected expenses.

Revenue means the monies we collect from our customers through service fees and electric power rates.

Service (see Electric service).

Service fee means our charge for providing or performing a specific administrative or customer service.

Special Agreement means a written agreement between you and us for special conditions or circumstances including unmetered services.

Taxpayer identification number means either your Social Security Number or your Employer Identification Number.

Utility(ies) see (Electric power utility).

Utility office(s) means our facility used for conducting business with our customers and the general public.

We, us, and our means the United States Government, the Secretary of the Interior, the BIA, and all who are authorized to represent us in matters covered under this Part.

The purpose of this part is to establish the regulations for administering BIA electric power utilities.

This part applies to you if we provide you service or if you request service from us.

We promote efficient administration, operation, maintenance, and construction of our utilities by following and enforcing:

(a) Applicable statutes, regulations, Executive Orders, Indian Affairs manuals, Operations Manuals;

(b) Applicable written policies, procedures, directives, safety codes; and

(c) Utility industry standards.

(a) We maintain an Operations Manual for each of our utilities. Each utility's Operations Manual is available at the utility.

(b) The Operations Manual sets forth the requirements for the administration, management, policies, and responsibilities of that utility and its customers.

(c) We update our Operations Manual for each utility to reflect changing requirements to administer, operate, or maintain that utility.

(d) When we determine it necessary to revise an Operations Manual, we will:

(1) Provide public notice of the proposed revision;

(2) State the effective date of the proposed revision;

(3) State how and when to submit your comments on our proposed revision;

(4) Provide 30 days from the date of the notice to submit your comments; and

(5) Consider your comments and provide notice of our final decision.

(a) If you need electrical service in an area where we provide service, you must contact our utility in that service area.

(b) To receive service, you must enter into an Agreement with that utility after it has determined that you have met its requirements.

At a minimum, you must provide the utility with the following information when you request service:

(a) Your full legal name or the legal name of the entity needing service;

(b) Your taxpayer identification number;

(c) Your billing address;

(d) Your service address; and

(e) Any additional information required by the utility.

We are collecting this information so we can:

(a) Provide you with service;

(b) Bill you for the service we provide; and

(c) Account for monies you pay us, including any deposits as outlined in the Operations Manual.

We are required to collect your taxpayer identification number under the authority of, and as prescribed in, the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, Public Law 104-134 (110 Stat. 1321-364).

(a) You may appeal a decision in accordance with the procedures set out in 25 CFR part 2, unless otherwise prohibited by law.

(b) If the appeal involves the discontinuation of service, the utility is not required to resume the service during the appeal process unless the customer meets the utility's requirements.

(c) If you appeal your bill, you must pay your bill in accordance with this part to continue to receive service from us.

(1) If the appeal involves the amount of your bill, the bill will be considered paid under protest until the final decision has been rendered on appeal.

(2) If you appeal your bill but do not pay the bill in full, you may not continue to receive service from us. If the final decision rendered in the appeal requires payment of the bill, the bill will be handled as a delinquent account and the amount of the bill may be subject to interest, penalties, and administrative costs pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3717 and 31 CFR 901.9.

(3) If the appeal involves an electric power rate, the rate will be applied and remain in effect subject to the final decision on the appeal.