Department of Community Services and Development
2389 Gateway Oaks Drive, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95833 Energy Help Desk Fax: 916-720-0464
Email: [email protected]
ACCOUNT RECONCILIATION REPORT
Please complete and attach to completed LIHEAP Direct Payment Summary Pay run date Account # Amount applied Date posted Full or Partial payment Returned amount Reason for returned amount 2026 Utility Direct Payment Agreement
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
AGREEMENT .............................................................................................................................. 1 ARTICLE 1 – SCOPE OF WORK ............................................................................................. 1
1.1 Purpose................................................................................................................................1
1.2 Term....................................................................................................................................1
1.3 Project Coordinators .........................................................................................................1
1.4 CSD Requirements............................................................................................................ 3
1.5 Utility Requirements ..........................................................................................................3
1.6 Payment Issuance and Processing ....................................................................................5
1.7 Direct Payment Summary and Account Reconciliation.................................................6
1.8 Pledges Under Energy Crisis Intervention Program/Fast Track ..................................6 ARTICLE 2 – REPORTING REQUIREMENTS ..................................................................... 8
2.1 Quarterly Pledge Reports................................................................................................. 8 ARTICLE 3 – CONTRACT CONSTRUCTION, ADMINISTRATION, AND
PROCEDURE ............................................................................................................................. 10
3.1 State Contracting Requirements – “Contractor Certification Clauses, CCC 04/2017” ....................................................................................................................................... 10
3.2 Applicable Laws and Requirements ............................................................................. 10
3.3 Additional Provisions...................................................................................................... 10 ARTICLE 4 – STATE CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS - GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS GTC 02/2025..................................................................................................... 13 ARTICLE 5 – ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES, TERMS AND CONDITIONS ................ 14
5.1 Confidentiality..................................................................................................................14 Attachment I – LIHEAP Direct Payment Summary............................................................... 15 2026 Utility Direct Payment Agreement
1 STATE OF CALIFORNIA
AGREEMENT
This Agreement consists of this Direct Payment Agreement (“Agreement”), and Attachment 1, which is incorporated herein by this reference. This Agreement is entered into between the California Department of Community Services and Development (CSD), and the Utility Company (Utility) named in section 1 of the STD 213 Agreement.
ARTICLE 1 – SCOPE OF WORK
1.1 Purpose
A. CSD will make payments to Utility for the purpose of crediting the accounts of qualified low-income energy customers of Utility who have been identified as eligible for utility assistance payments under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or other utility assistance program being offered by CSD. Categories of payment assistance include the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) and Energy Crisis Intervention Program – Fast Track (ECIP FT). HEAP provides one-time financial assistance to help offset an eligible household’s energy costs (utility bill). ECIP FT provides one-time assistance to low-income households that are in a crisis situation.
B. In order to carry out the purpose of this Agreement, CSD’s LIHEAP Local Service Providers (LSPs) will submit LIHEAP benefit pledges for low-income utility customers at risk of service disconnection or interruption due to nonpayment, as set forth in section 1.8 of this Agreement. The LIHEAP benefit pledge is intended to immediately notify utility companies of a low-income utility customer’s participation in LIHEAP and the amount of qualifying assistance the customer is to receive.
1.2 Term
The term of this Agreement shall be April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2029.
1.3 Project Coordinators
The Project Coordinator is tasked with managing all CSD inquiries regarding pledge payments or issues with the pledge process, mishandled or incorrect payments, clarification and updates of reports, and fraud and abuse. The Project Coordinators during the term of this Agreement are listed below. Either Party may designate a different Project Coordinator by notifying the other party in writing. Utility may designate contact personnel below for Utility’s Payment Unit and/or Utility’s Information Technology (IT) Unit. The role for the designated contact is to handle, process and communicate any specific payment and/or IT system issues directly with CSD.
2026 Utility Direct Payment Agreement
2 UTILITY’S PROJECT COORDINATOR
Name and Title: __________________________________________________________ Address: _______________________________________________________________ City, State, and ZIP Code: _________________________________________________ Email: _________________________________________________________________ Phone: _________________________________________________________________ UTILITY’S PAYMENT UNIT CONTACT
Name and Title: _________________________________________________________ Email: _________________________________________________________________ Phone: _________________________________________________________________ UTILITY’S INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) UNIT CONTACT
Name and Title: _________________________________________________________ Email: _________________________________________________________________ Phone: _________________________________________________________________ CSD’S PROJECT COORDINATOR
Candy Chung, Analyst I
Energy & Environmental Services Division
Department of Community Services and Development
2389 Gateway Oaks Drive, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95833 Email: [email protected]
Phone: (916) 573-2746
2026 Utility Direct Payment Agreement
3 1.4 CSD Requirements
A. CSD’s LSPs, and/or CSD personnel, will process LIHEAP applications and make a determination of the applicant’s eligibility for utility assistance based upon pre- established criteria in accordance with federal and state LIHEAP requirements.
B. CSD will make every effort to ensure the timely fulfillment of benefit payments on LIHEAP pledges within 90 days from the date the pledge was made.
C. CSD will host a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site and provide Utility with specifications, documentation, and samples of FTP Client configuration screens, as necessary, to enable Utility’s use of the FTP site. The Utility must use the FTP site to retrieve all Direct Pay records. Utility will use credentials furnished to them in order to receive Direct Pay data records provided by CSD.
D. In the course of performing the services under this Agreement, CSD may have access to confidential, commercial, or personal information concerning, but not limited to, technology, rate making, legislative, and personnel matters and practices of the Utility, its subsidiaries, affiliates, or members of the public. CSD shall not disclose any such information obtained as a result of this access without the prior written approval of Utility.
E. Any representation herein made by CSD relating to confidentiality or the operations, limitations, and requirements for the furnishing of personnel records, as set forth below, shall be subject to the Information Practices Act of 1977, Section 1798 et seq. of the California Civil Code, and the California Public Records Act, Section 7920.000 et seq. of the California Government Code.
F. The State Controller’s Office (SCO) shall issue payments in the form of a State of California warrant, and CSD will provide a Direct Payment Summary (Attachment 1), Pay Run Funding File, and Pay Run Total Sheet. The Pay Run Funding File shall provide Utility with the pay run date, the account holder’s name, account number, and LIHEAP benefit amount associated with the warrant. The Pay Run Total Sheet provides the program year, total number of payments, and total amount of all payments associated with the warrant total.
1.5 Utility Requirements
A. Utility shall review and reconcile the Direct Payment Summaries as necessary to ensure that undelivered LIHEAP benefits have been returned to CSD within 30 calendar days of receipt of warrant.
B. Utility shall track the liquidation of applied LIHEAP benefit or credit for a period of 12 months or until credit is fully liquidated, whichever occurs first.
2026 Utility Direct Payment Agreement
4 C. If a LIHEAP benefit or credit is not fully liquidated and the client’s account is closed within 12 months from the date of the LIHEAP benefit or credit, Utility shall treat the credit as an overpayment and shall return the credit to CSD within 30 days of the account closure. Utility shall identify the account holder’s name, the account number, account address, amount of credit returned, and date the original credit posted to the account.
D. If a LIHEAP benefit or credit is not fully liquidated and the client’s account is closed after 12 months from the date of the LIHEAP benefit or credit, the Utility shall treat the credit as a customer overpayment and shall return the credit to the account holder(s) within 30 days of the account closure.
E. To enable CSD to effectively monitor that the pledge process is working as intended and payment on LIHEAP pledges are made timely, CSD requires Utility to report specific information on broken and cancelled LIHEAP benefit pledges.
Utility will establish a process to report “broken” or “cancelled” pledges” as defined in Article 2.1.
F. Utility shall charge the eligible household, in the normal billing process, an amount not to exceed the difference between the actual cost of the home energy usage and the LIHEAP benefit amount. The actual costs of the home energy usage shall be consistent with appropriate utility company tariffs as approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), if applicable.
G. No customer receiving LIHEAP assistance pursuant to this Agreement will be subjected to disparate or adverse treatment by Utility due to receipt of such assistance, in accordance with applicable state laws.
H. CSD will notify Utility, by phone and follow up with an e-mail, when a submission error occurs resulting in a payment to the wrong account or utility, and will request a refund of the LIHEAP benefit. Utility shall respond within two business days and refund the LIHEAP benefit to CSD within ten business days from the date of CSD’s e-mail. Utility shall identify the account holder’s name, the account number, and date of the pay run, with the returned payment.
I. Utility shall notify CSD upon any changes or updates to new customer account numbering format. Utilities must submit a request to change or update account numbering format no later than 60 days in advance of implementing the proposed change. It is imperative to allow CSD IT Support enough time to gather all necessary information to conduct system testing with Utility and to ensure that such changes will not result in the rejection of LIHEAP payments. Utility shall notify CSD's Program Coordinator of such changes so CSD can identify the appropriate CSD IT personnel to conduct system testing and updates.
2026 Utility Direct Payment Agreement
5 1.6 Payment Issuance and Processing
A. Payment for applicants’ electric and/or gas energy bills shall be made by CSD, via SCO, directly to Utility in the form of a warrant, payable to Utility.
B. Utility must use the FTP site to retrieve all Direct Pay records. Utility will use credentials furnished to them in order to receive Direct Pay data records provided by CSD.
C. CSD will post to the FTP site Utility’s Direct Pay Summary, Pay Run Funding File, and Pay Run Total Summary of payments for the purpose of reconciling the warrant.
D. Within 30 calendar days of receipt of the warrant, Utility agrees to process the LIHEAP benefit in accordance with the following:
1. Credit Accounts. Credit accounts of qualified low-income customers upon receipt of the State of California warrant. The credit should appear on the first billing statement after the credit has been posted. Utility will provide notification of LIHEAP benefit amount to each customer for whom a credit is made. The wording of said notification must contain the words “LIHEAP credit” and the date credit was applied to customer’s account.
2. New Accounts. If the qualified low-income customer’s account on the Pay Run Funding File has been closed and a new account has been opened with the same Utility, the LIHEAP benefit shall be credited to the new account.
3. Closed Accounts. If the qualified low-income customer’s account on the Pay Run Funding File has been closed, between the time a pledge has been made by the LSP and the Utility’s receipt of the LIHEAP benefit, and the account has an owing balance, Utility shall apply the LIHEAP benefit to the closed account. Any remaining amount of the LIHEAP benefit shall be refunded to CSD.
If the qualified low-income customer’s account number is closed with no outstanding balance, the total amount of the LIHEAP benefit shall be returned to CSD. All LIHEAP benefits returned to CSD shall be in accordance with section 1.7 of this Agreement.
4. Full Payment Return. The Utility shall make all reasonable attempts to identify the account and complete delivery of LIHEAP benefit. In the event the account cannot be identified, and the benefit cannot be posted to a customer’s account, Utility shall return the full LIHEAP benefit with the Direct Payment Summary.
2026 Utility Direct Payment Agreement
6 1.7 Direct Payment Summary and Account Reconciliation A. Completion of Direct Payment Summary. Within 30 calendar days of receipt of the warrant, Utility is responsible for completing and returning the Direct Payment Summary to CSD. The Direct Payment Summary shall include the following information:
1. Total number of customer accounts where Utility was successful in crediting full amount of eligible LIHEAP benefit;
2. Total number of customer accounts where Utility was only able to credit a partial amount of the LIHEAP benefit, also referred to as Partial Payment Return; and
3. Total number of customer accounts where Utility was unable to credit any of the eligible LIHEAP assistance amount, also referred to as Full Payment Return.
Failure to return the Direct Payment Summary may result in Utility being removed from the Direct Pay Program.
B. Account Reconciliation Report. Utility is responsible for completing and returning the Account Reconciliation Report to CSD. Utility shall return an Account Reconciliation Report, as an attachment to the completed Direct Payment Summary. The Reconciliation Report shall include all details provided to Utility on the Pay Run Funding file in addition to the following account information:
1. Identify each customer’s account number and the LIHEAP benefit amount applied to the account as a partial or full payment.
2. Identify the date each LIHEAP benefit was posted to the account.
3. Identify each customer’s account number and the amount of returned LIHEAP benefit resulting from unapplied benefits.
4. Identify the reason Utility was unable to apply the partial or full LIHEAP benefit.
1.8 Pledges Under Energy Crisis Intervention Program/Fast Track
A. Utility customers applying for LIHEAP assistance who have received a shutoff or disconnection notice may qualify for the Energy Crisis Intervention Program or Fast Track (ECIP FT) as determined by the LSP or CSD personnel processing the application. In order to render more timely assistance to low-income utility customers at-risk of experiencing service disruption or service termination due to 2026 Utility Direct Payment Agreement
7 non-payment, CSD has devised a process whereby Utility can receive immediate notification of an at-risk low-income utility customer’s participation in LIHEAP and the qualifying amount of LIHEAP assistance the utility customer is to receive. The notification of customer’s participation in LIHEAP and the amount of the qualifying LIHEAP benefit will be made by LSPs using Utility’s preferred method of notification.
B. Utility agrees to accept a pledge submission as notification of the utility customer’s participation in LIHEAP, from the LSP or CSD personnel and post the LIHEAP pledge amount as a credit pending on the customer’s account. Utility agrees to honor the pledge for up to 90 days and take into account the LIHEAP benefit amount when determining any scheduled disconnection or shutoff against the account during the pledge period.
C. Payment for LIHEAP pledges will be issued by CSD directly to Utility in accordance with payment issuance and processing instructions reflected in Section 1.6.
D. Fraud Prevention. If Utility’s personnel responsible for receiving pledges have any concerns or questions about the legitimacy of a pledge, or the caller’s authority to make pledges, Utility should notify the LSP or CSD’s Project Coordinator immediately to verify the validity of the pledge. 2026 Utility Direct Payment Agreement
8 ARTICLE 2 – REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
2.1 Quarterly Pledge Reports
Utility shall provide CSD with a Pledge Report, on a quarterly basis or as requested by CSD, to include:
A. Number of pledges received during the quarter;
B. Average value of pledges;
C. Number of cancelled pledges;
D. Broken Pledges:
1. Number of pledged accounts that received a benefit, after 90 days from the initial receipt of the pledge.
2. Number of pledged accounts that have not received a benefit after the initial receipt of the pledge and were not cancelled.
3. A detailed report of broken pledges to include the following:
a. Program Year;
b. Account number;
c. Pledge Date;
d. Pledge amount;
e. CSD’s LSP that made the pledge (Provider name or Provider number);
f. Name of employee that made the pledge;
g. Date credit was applied to the account if account was credited; and h. Number of days between initial receipt of pledge and delivery of benefit to customer’s account, if account was credited.
E. Definitions:
1. LIHEAP Pledge: A guarantee of payment made by the LSP or CSD staff for low-income customers at-risk of experiencing service disruption or service termination due to non-payment, which is made to Utility using the 2026 Utility Direct Payment Agreement
9 Utility’s preferred method of notification.
2. Broken Pledge: A pledge is deemed broken if the Utility does not receive a LIHEAP benefit payment for a pledged account from the LSP within 90 days, from the date the pledge was made, or if the benefit is never received by Utility.
3. Cancelled Pledge: A pledge that is cancelled by the LSP due to an error with the benefit amount or eligibility determination detected during the final application processing or data entry.
2026 Utility Direct Payment Agreement
10 ARTICLE 3 – CONTRACT CONSTRUCTION, ADMINISTRATION, AND PROCEDURE
3.1 State Contracting Requirements – “Contractor Certification Clauses, CCC 04/2017”
In accordance with State contracting requirements, specified contracting terms and conditions are made a part of this Agreement and are fully binding on the parties in accordance with State law. The provisions in their entirety are found at the Department of General Services’ website at:
https://www.dgs.ca.gov/OLS/Resources/Page-Content/Office-of-Legal-Services- Resources-List-Folder/Standard-Contract-Language
Click the “CCC 04/2017” link to download the current requirements.
3.2 Applicable Laws and Requirements
All services and activities undertaken by the parties in connection with this Agreement shall be performed in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, as may be amended from time to time, including any relevant memoranda of understanding and/or other cooperative agreements established between CSD, utility providers, and/or the Public Utilities Commission.
3.3 Additional Provisions
A. Amendment. Changes to this Agreement shall be made by formal amendment with exceptions specified in Section G, below.
B. Assignment. Neither this Agreement nor any of the rights, interests, or obligations under this Agreement shall be assigned by any party without the prior written consent of the other parties, except in the case where responsibility for program implementation and oversight may be transferred by the State to another State agency. In the event of such transfer, this Agreement is binding on the agency to which the program is assigned.
C. Cancellation/Termination. Either party may terminate this Agreement by giving 30 days written notice to the other party.
D. Dispute Resolution. Unless otherwise mutually agreed to, any disputes between CSD and Utility regarding the construction or application of this Agreement and claims arising out of this Agreement or its breach shall be submitted to mediation within 30 calendar days of the service of a written request by one party onto the other party, in accordance with the following procedures:
The parties shall make best efforts to settle all disputes arising under this Agreement as a matter of normal business and without recourse to either 2026 Utility Direct Payment Agreement
11 mediation or litigation. If the parties are unable to resolve a dispute with respect to this Agreement, either party may send a notice to the other requesting a meeting at which senior officers or officials of the parties will attempt to resolve the dispute. If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute within ten days after the meeting notice is received by the party to whom it is directed, or such longer period as the parties may agree, then either party may initiate mediation as set forth herein.
E. Executive Order N-6-22 – Russia Sanction: On March 4, 2022, Governor Newson issued Executive Order N-6-22 (the EO) regarding Economic Sanctions against Russia and Russian entities and individuals. “Economic Sanctions” refers to sanctions imposed by the U.S. government in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine, as well as any sanctions imposed under state law. The EO directs state agencies to terminate contracts with, and to refrain from entering into any new contracts with, individuals or entities that are determined to be a target of Economic Sanctions. Accordingly, should the State determine Contractor is a target of Economic Sanctions or is conducting prohibited transactions with sanctioned individuals or entities, that shall be grounds for termination of this agreement. The State shall provide Contractor at least 30 calendar days to provide a written response. Termination shall be at the sole discretion of the State.
F. Merger/Entire Agreement. This Agreement, including the attachments, documents and instruments referred to in this Agreement, constitutes the entire agreement and understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement and supersedes all prior understandings and agreements, whether written or oral, among the parties with respect to such subject matter.
G. Minor Modifications. Utility and/or CSD may request modifications to the Agreement for minor adjustments during the contract term to implement process improvements and program efficiencies as appropriate.
H. Nonwaiver. The waiver by either party of any breach of any term, covenant, or condition contained in this Agreement, or any default in the performance of any obligations under this Agreement, shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any other breach or default of the same or any other term, covenant, condition, or obligation; nor shall any waiver of any incident of breach or default constitute a continuing waiver of the same. All waivers shall be in writing.
I. Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is found invalid or unenforceable in any respect for any reason, the validity and enforceability of any such provision in any other respect and of the remaining provisions of this Agreement will not be in any way impaired and shall remain in full force and effect.
J. Subcontracts. No subcontracts shall be permitted under this Agreement; therefore, references to subcontractor or subcontracts as part of standard provisions that have been included herein shall have no applicability.
2026 Utility Direct Payment Agreement
12 K. Venue. In the event that suit shall be brought by either party to this Agreement, the parties agree that venue shall be exclusively vested in the State Courts of the County of Sacramento, or where otherwise appropriate, exclusively in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento, California.
2026 Utility Direct Payment Agreement
13 ARTICLE 4 – STATE CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS - GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS GTC 02/2025
The California General Terms and Conditions (GTC 02/2025), hereby incorporated into this Contract by reference, is available at the following web address:
https://www.dgs.ca.gov/OLS/Resources/Page-Content/Office-of-Legal-Services-Resources-List- Folder/Standard-Contract-Language
Click the “GTC 02/2025” link to download the current requirements. 2026 Utility Direct Payment Agreement
14 ARTICLE 5 – ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES, TERMS AND CONDITIONS
5.1 Confidentiality
A. Utility hereby agrees to provide required security to ensure the confidential, physical security and safekeeping of all data, information, files, and documents (“customer information”) pertaining to the recipients of LIHEAP utility assistance payments, while such customer information is in its possession. Utilizing security procedures and measures no less effective than those employed by CSD, Utility will, in accordance with applicable law and the terms of this agreement, protect from unauthorized use and disclosure all sensitive data, documentation, or other customer information provided to Utility by CSD for purposes of this Agreement.