Section 37. Deferred payment agreements

1.  No  utility corporation or
  municipality shall terminate or refuse to take all actions  within  such
  corporation  or municipality's control and, where applicable, consistent
  with the provisions of the agreement  for  commodity  service,  if  any,
  between  the  corporation and the customer, provided such provisions are
  consistent with this  article,  to  restore  service  to  a  residential
  customer,   because   of   arrears   owed  the  utility  corporation  or
  municipality, unless the utility or municipality offers such customer  a
  deferred  payment  agreement for such arrears; provided, however, that a
  deferred payment agreement under this article shall not be available  to
  any  customer  who the commission determines has the resources available
  to pay his bill, and provided further, however, that any such  agreement
  may  provide  for  the  customer  to  make a downpayment of the arrears,
  provided that no such downpayment shall exceed one-half of the amount of
  arrears or three months average billing, whichever is less. In addition,
  the commission shall provide by regulation that (a) all deferred payment
  agreements authorized by this article be fair and equitable, considering
  the  customer's  financial  circumstances;  (b)  that  such   agreements
  obligate customers to make timely payment of current charges for service
  together  with payment of arrears during the pendency of the agreements;
  that such agreements may be renegotiated and amended where the  customer
  can  demonstrate  that there have been significant changes in his or her
  financial circumstances which have arisen due to conditions  beyond  the
  customer's control, and that, if the customer receives a utility service
  by  the  receipt  of  portions  of such service from each of two or more
  utility corporations and is billed for such  service  through  a  single
  bill,  the  payments  pursuant  to  the  deferred  payment agreement for
  current charges shall be allocated  to  each  such  utility  corporation
  based  on the current charges owing to each and the payments for arrears
  shall be allocated equitably on a pro-rata basis  between  such  utility
  corporations based on the amount of arrears owing to each.
    2.  Upon  offering  any  deferred  payment agreement, and prior to the
  signing thereof, a utility corporation  or  municipality  shall  give  a
  customer a copy of the agreement, in a form established or affirmatively
  approved by the commission, which shall contain a conspicuous, bold type
  notice that the customer may request the assistance of the commission in
  reaching  an  agreement. Any such agreement shall be signed in duplicate
  by the utility or municipality and the customer and each shall receive a
  signed copy thereof.