Section 407-640-2 - GENERAL PROVISIONS REGARDING PRIVATE FIRE PROTECTION SERVICESA. The service drop portion of the private fire service line shall be installed at the expense of the customer, but shall be owned, maintained, and replaced by the utility at utility expense and shall extend from the main to the edge of the utility's easement or the public right-of-way. The balance of the line shall be installed, owned, maintained, and replaced by the customer at the customer's expense.B. A utility may institute service and maintenance policies, as contained in its filed Terms and Conditions of Service, which it determines to be in the best interest of its ratepayers or in the safe operation of the water utility, regarding the provision of private fire protection service. A utility may implement different policies for different types of private fire protection installations, such as private hydrants, sprinkler systems, or standpipes, where there is good cause to do so.C. A utility may require, as a term of service, a showing by the customer on a periodic basis that certain reasonable maintenance, testing, or inspection procedures have been conducted in order that the installation be consistent with the health or safety standards of the water utility.D. The utility may refuse service to or disconnect a private fire protection installation from service if it does not comply with the utility's terms and conditions of service or in the reasonable opinion of the utility management subjects the water system to unnecessary potential risk or expense.E. The customer shall keep the water utility informed of the location of any private fire protection installation connected to the utility system and the operating status of each.F. A water utility shall not be required to upgrade its system in order to provide greater water pressure to support the installation of a private fire protection installation. The utility may upgrade its system for this purpose if it constitutes reasonable system development consistent with the factors contained in Chapter 65 section 2(G) of the Commission's Rules, or if the customer agrees to pay the costs of the upgrade.G. Private fire protection service shall normally be provided on an unmetered basis. The utility may, for good cause, require a particular service or a class of services to be metered. Said meters shall be installed at the expense of the customers taking service and shall be sized to accommodate the maximum flow rate identified for the private fire service. If a customer is to be billed for water used for an incidental service, such incidental service shall be billed based upon the meter size required for the actual water use rather than the actual meter size. The private fire service shall be billed based upon the demand of the sprinkler system.H. A pipeline for separately metered domestic water service may be connected to a private fire service line outside the building provided that each system is provided with a separate shutoff which the utility may control. The utility may require a separate service from its mains in order to maintain water quality or to ensure access to disconnect either service.I. As a condition of service, the utility shall require its private fire service customers to report reasonable estimates of the volumes of water used annually for flushing and testing the private fire service and the amount of water used in the event of a fire.65- 407 C.M.R. ch. 640, § 2