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Consumer Counsel, Retail Suppliers Jointly Propose Revised Marketing Standards for Suppliers (Changes Address Customer Assignment, Door-to-Door Sales)

March 20, 2015

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Copyright 2010-15 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Karen Abbott • kabbott@energychoicematters.com

The Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel and several retail suppliers have filed specific, jointly proposed changes to recently adopted retail electric supplier marketing standards.

As EnergyChoiceMatters.com reported earlier this month, OCC and suppliers jointly asked PURA to re-open a docket addressing supplier marketing standards after the parties, working collaboratively, reached agreement on several revisions to the standards.

Specific changes have now been filed by the parties, and include changes to the current contract assignment requirements, and door-to-door sales requirements.

Under the adopted and current rules for contract assignments (such as the sale of a customer book), a supplier may not assign any contracts that "expire" prior to the date of the intended assignment, PURA said. Although PURA did not expand on this issue in its final order adopting the rules, PURA has previously interpreted fixed contracts which have rolled over to a monthly variable rate to have "expired" for purposes of contract assignment.

The parties propose deleting language regarding the non-assignability of "expired" contracts, and propose replacing it with language stating, "a supplier may not assign contracts or initiate a change order with the utility for customers that the supplier no longer has a contractual right to serve."

Under the adopted and current rules for contract assignments, PURA only permits assignments if the customer initials, in the original terms of service, that they understand an assignment clause contained in the terms of service.

The parties propose dropping this initialing requirement.

The parties' proposal would still require the initial terms of service to include an assignment paragraph or clause in bolded text, in a font size that is equal to the font size of the other clauses in the contract but in no event less than 10-point font, and that is clearly identified with a heading "Assignment or Transfer of Contract", which shall state in plain language that the customer agrees and gives consent to the contract being assigned or transferred to another supplier and describe the process, time and notice the customer will be provided prior to the assignment. A customer notice letter regarding assigned contracts would still be required.

Additionally, the parties propose that the specific advanced notice timeline required for contract assignments be waived, "under exigent circumstances, such as a distressed sale or bankruptcy."

Additionally, the letter currently required to inform customers of the assignment of their contract must list, "all the rate(s) that the customers will be charged by the new supplier after the assignment and the effective dates of such rate(s)."

The parties propose deleting this requirement. Any assignment will still require that the acquiring supplier will maintain all contractual terms and conditions, including the pricing terms, though the parties propose that acquiring supplier may disclose and implement more favorable pricing terms.

With regards to door-to-door sales, the current rules require that the agent follow a written script, and that the customer must sign a copy of this script attesting that the script was followed.

Parties propose deleting this script requirement.

Docket 14-07-20

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