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Texas Retail Providers Oppose Requirement For REPs To "Determine" Customer's Authority To Enroll Account, Also oppose Increase Verification Information Required For Enrollments Proposed in PUCT Staff Strawman

July 25, 2016

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Copyright 2010-16 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

Texas retail electric providers have opposed a proposal contained in a strawman filed by Staff of the Public Utility Commission of Texas that would require retail electric providers to obtain a second data point for account access verification for door-to-door enrollments conducted via electronic device.

For door-to-door enrollments via electronic device, the Staff strawman would require the REP to, "obtain or confirm two of the following account access verification data for the applicant: last four digits of the social security number, mother's maiden name, city or town of birth, month and day of birth driver's license number or government issued identification number."

All other forms of enrollment only require the REP to obtain one of the above-listed account access verification data points. REPs do not verify the information received from the customer under this requirement; the data point is used to verify the customer's authorization to access the account in the future.

The NRG Retail Companies said that, "there is no policy reason for electronic enrollments to be more burdensome for REPs, aggregators, or applicants than any other method of enrollment."

"Moreover, some of the items permitted as account access verification data by the Staff Strawman -- specifically mother's maiden name, city of birth, and month and day of birth (as a standalone identifier) -- cannot be validated by a REP or aggregator, an cannot therefore serve as positive identification to protect a customer from potential fraudulent activity. Rather, collection of additional data points simply invites more opportunity for error and prolongs the enrollment process without providing additional protection for the customer," the NRG companies said

TXU Energy similarly said, in separately filed comments, "TXU Energy believes that only one form of account access verification data, as currently required by 16 TAC § 25.474, provides the needed security to help prevent unauthorized access to a customer's account."

Additionally, several REPs took issue with Section (f)(2) of Staff's Strawman which states that, for electronic door-to-door enrollments, "the REP or aggregator shall determine that the applicant or customer has the authority to complete a move-in or switch of providers at the location."

To satisfy this requirement, a REP would have to seek proof from the customer that they have the authority to complete an enrollment before the sales presentation is started.

REPs noted that no other sales channel would require the REP to "determine" if the customer is authorized to complete an enrollment; rather, the REP or aggregator is to rely upon the representation of the applicant or customer that the authority exists.

REPs noted that while it may be appropriate to require the customer to affirm they have authority to switch an account (and for REPs to document such response), REPs cannot independently, "determine" if customers have such authority as would be required by the Staff strawman.

Direct Energy said that, "it is impossible for a REP or aggregator to determine whether the applicant or customer does in fact have such authority."

"Additionally, as noted by the Commission in the preamble discussion of revisions to 25.474 undertaken in project 27084, 'in many cases a REP has no way to verify that the information an applicant provides is accurate, and agrees that practically speaking, REPs will have to rely on the information provided by customers,'" Direct Energy noted

The NRG companies said that, "there is no way for the sales representative to make the determination required by the Strawman. Commission rules, in fact, do not govern whether a particular individual has authority to enroll for electric service at a given location; that decision instead rests with the occupants of a particular premise."

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