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ORDER NO. PSC-17-0230-TRF-EI DOCKET NO. 170096-EI PAGE 2 regular meter reading date may be advanced or postponed not more than 5 days without a proration of the billing for the period, but did not address the application of tiered rates to extended billing periods. Tiered rates, such as FPL's residential energy charges, apply a higher energy charge to usage above 1,000 kilowatt-hours. FPL has proposed to add language to Tariff Sheet No. 6.050 to reflect the statutory requirements and to include the Company's current billing practices in its tariff. The revised tariff sheet addresses both the proration of charges when billing periods are varied by more than five days, as well as the prohibition against charging higher tiered rates if the extension of a billing period of more than five days causes a customer's energy consumption to exceed the Company's tier threshold of 1,000 kilowatt-hours. FPL has represented that its current business practices regarding bill proration and administration of tiered rates are in compliance with Section 366.05(1)(b), F.S. Section 366.05(1)(c), F.S., provides that for an existing account, the total deposit may not exceed two months of average actual charges. For a new service request, the total deposit may not exceed two months of projected charges. Once a new customer has had continuous service for a 12-month period, the amount of the deposit shall be recalculated using actual data. Any difference between the projected and actual amounts must be resolved by the customer paying the additional amount that may be billed by the utility or the utility returning any overcharge. We amended Rule 25-6.097(1), F.A.C., to state that a utility's methodology for determining customer deposits for existing and new accounts shall conform to Section 366.05(1)(c), F.S.3 The prior rule language already required that the total amount of a deposit not exceed twice the average monthly bill. FPL's proposed amendments to Tariff Sheet Nos. 6.040 and 6.050 conform to the new statutory language regarding the recalculation of the deposit after 12-months. FPL's proposed amendments to Tariff Sheet Nos. 6.040 and 6.050 comport with this language by providing that: (a) if the recalculated deposit amount based on the previous 12-months billing history is less than the customer's current deposit amount, the difference between the deposit amounts will be applied as a credit to the customer account; and (b) if the recalculated deposit amount exceeds the customer's current deposit amount, the Company may request an additional deposit amount. FPL also proposed some administrative revisions to Tariff Sheet Nos. 4.020, 9.400, and 9.410 to conform to Rule 25-6.097, F.A.C. Pursuant to Rule 25-6.097(3), F.A.C., utility customers receive refunds of their deposits with interest after a period of 23 months of continuous service, assuming their payment record is satisfactory. Therefore, for the majority of utility customers, the deposit amount recalculation after a 12-month period of continuous service occurs only once. Having reviewed the applicable statutes, rules, and proposed tariffs filed by FPL, we find that the tariff sheet revisions conform to the applicable statutes and rules. Therefore, we approve FPL's requested modifications to Tariff Sheet Nos. 4.020, 6.040, 6.050, 9.400, and 9.410, as reflected in Attachment A, effective June 5, 2017. Based on the above, it is 3 Id.