Utility Permitted to Collect Past‐Due Accounts

A water company in Idaho was ordered by a public utilities commission (PUC) to make specific improvements but not to collect or attempt to collect past‐due water bills, claiming inequities involved in billing customers for their years of service. The Supreme Court of Idaho ruled that the collection of past‐due accounts by a utility is not an inequity, and that the PUC order could be considered inequitable in that it discriminates against customers who were diligent in paying their water bills. The order prohibiting collection of past‐due accounts was set aside.