Delinquent Account - Collections and Bad Debt Policy - Policy No. 23-02

Sep 16, 2026

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Delinquent Account, Collections and Bad Debt Policy establishes rules for managing late payments and pre-collection notifications for Desert Community Energy (DCE) charges. It defines when customers must be notified for balances 90 days or more past due and outlines referral to DCE-designated collection agencies, including limitations for CARE, FERA, and Medical Baseline accounts with balances $500 or less. The policy also sets requirements for maintaining and auditing a bad debt reserve under US GAAP and grants Executive Director authority to cancel, recall, or deviate from collection processes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time1 min

AccessFree to download

Delinquent Accounts

Purpose and Scope

Late Payment Notices

Collections

Referral to Collection Agents

Exceptions for CARE/FERA/Medical Baseline

Pre-collection Notices

Bad Debt Reserve

Executive Director Authority

POLICY No. 23-02 Delinquent Account, Collectionsand Bad Debt Policy Subject: Delinquent Accounts, Collections and Bad Debt Policy Purpose: This policy establishes rules governing late payment and pre-collection notifications to customers, and the process by which a third-party collection agent will collect past due Desert Community Energy (DCE) charges on DCE’s behalf. Delinquent Accounts: All customers must pay all outstanding DCE charges for the period in which the customer received service from DCE. Southern California Edison (SCE) as part of its established dunning (collections) path for joint SCE and DCE customer performs pre-collection notifications through its billing system. Where feasible, DCE may send customers a late payment notice if the account has a DCE balance that is 90 days or more past due and the customer is not on a payment arrangement with SCE. The notice may be sent to a customer’s last known mailing address or, if a customer consented to receive electronic notices or bills, at a customer’s last known email address. Late payment notices should indicate that an outstanding balance is overdue and that failure to pay DCE charges to SCE or to enter into a payment arrangement with SCE may result in being referred to a collection agent designated by DCE. Collections: Except as provided elsewhere in this policy, any customer account with an outstanding DCE charge that is not subject to collection by SCE may be referred for collections to a collection agency designated by DCE. Customers enrolled in the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE), Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA), or Medical Baseline programs at the time SCE returns a receivable to DCE are not subject to the collections criteria if the balance is $500 or less. Any customer account that meets the collections criteria specified in above may receive a precollection notice informing the customer that charges owed to DCE are outstanding and that the customer’s account is collectible through a collection agent designated by DCE. DCE may engage one or more collection agents to collect past due funds from DCE customers on DCE’s behalf (Collection Agent) . The Collection Agent retained by DCE shall be licensed and accredited to help ensure compliance with all laws or regulations relating to consumer privacy and protection, credit, collections, and similar laws or regulations. Bad Debt Reserve: DCE shall establish a bad debt reserve based on either a percentage of revenue or accounts receivable and in line with US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) . The bad debt reserve shall be monitored by DCE staff and may vary over time based on current economic factors as well as specialized knowledge and judgement derived from current and past collections experience as well as relevant industry benchmarks. On an annual basis, DCE’s bad debt reserve metrics will undergo an external financial statement audit and updates will be provided to the DCE Board accordingly. Executive Director Authority: The Executive Director or the Executive Director’s designee may, in their discretion, cancel, recall an account from the Collection Agent, or otherwise deviate from Policy for reasons including but not limited to cases of unforeseeable events, exigent circumstances, operational need or customer hardship.

FAQs

What triggers a late payment notice under this policy?

A late payment notice may be sent when a customer has a DCE balance that is 90 days or more past due and is not on a payment arrangement with Southern California Edison (SCE). The notice goes to the last known mailing address or, if consented, the last known email address.

When can a customer account be referred for collections?

Accounts with outstanding DCE charges not subject to collection by SCE may be referred to a DCE-designated collection agency. Customers in CARE, FERA, or Medical Baseline are exempt from collection criteria when the balance is $500 or less at the time SCE returns a receivable to DCE.

How does DCE handle bad debt reserve and oversight?

DCE establishes a bad debt reserve based on a percentage of revenue or accounts receivable in line with US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP). DCE staff monitor the reserve and it may change based on economic factors and collection experience, with annual external audit and updates provided to the DCE Board.

Sep 16, 2026

Upload by Skyler