(a) The utility commission by rule shall establish a procedure that allows a retail public utility that takes over the provision of services for a nonfunctioning retail water or sewer utility service provider to charge a reasonable rate for the services provided to the customers of the nonfunctioning system and to bill the customers for the services at that rate immediately to recover service costs.
(b) The rules must provide a streamlined process that the retail public utility that takes over the nonfunctioning system may use to apply to the utility commission for a ruling on the reasonableness of the rates the utility is charging under Subsection (a). The process must allow for adequate consideration of costs for interconnection or other costs incurred in making services available and of the costs that may necessarily be incurred to bring the nonfunctioning system into compliance with utility commission and commission rules.

(c) The utility commission shall provide a reasonable period for the retail public utility that takes over the nonfunctioning system to bring the nonfunctioning system into compliance with utility commission and commission rules during which the utility commission or the commission may not impose a penalty for any deficiency in the system that is present at the time the utility takes over the nonfunctioning system. The utility commission must consult with the utility before determining the period and may grant an extension of the period for good cause.
(d) At the time the utility commission approves the acquisition of a nonfunctioning retail water or sewer utility service provider under § 13.301, the utility commission shall:
(1) determine the duration of the temporary rates for the retail public utility, which must be for a reasonable period; and
(2) rule on the reasonableness of the temporary rates under Subsection (b) if the utility commission did not make a ruling before the application was filed under § 13.301.