Commission Rule 515-12-1-.05(4) limits cash deposits for establishing or reestablishing credit to no more than two-and-one-half times the average bill for service for the next twelve months, which is about 21% of the annual cost of telephone service. For seasonal service, deposits cannot exceed one-half of the estimated charge for the service for the season involved.
The deposit is calculated based upon what the company expects your usage for the upcoming 12-month to be taking into consideration variables such as your past usage, weather for the period, cooling and heating degree days, and other variables which may be available to the company.
If you don't expect any significant change in your usage patterns, then you can get a general idea (understand that the calculation will not be exact) of what your maximum deposit would be by adding up your most recent 12 bills and multiplying the sum by 21%. As an example, if the sum of the bills you added up equaled to $1300.00, your maximum deposit would be $273.00 ($1300 X .21 = $273). Or, if you only have an active account for a partial year and your estimated total usage for that time is $650, then your deposit would be $325 ($650 X .50 = $325).
Note: You may read the entire context of these rules by clicking on Georgia PSC Rules.
