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RESA: If Specific Suppliers Are Not Complying With Customer Protections, PURA Should Exercise Enforcement Power, Rather Than Opening Generic Investigation

March 2, 2017

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Copyright 2010-17 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

The Retail Energy Supply Association asked the Connecticut PURA to close a proceeding opened to address a petition from the Office of Consumer Counsel to conduct an investigation into, "the effects of abusive electric supplier marketing practices on vulnerable populations," as RESA said, to the extent particular suppliers are not complying with the robust set of existing customer protections, PURA should exercise its enforcement powers.

OCC in its petition noted that PURA has statutory authority to require that certain customers only be served on default service (Standard Service), and be prohibited from shopping (see story here)

RESA recited a litany of customer protections already established in statute applicable to retail suppliers specifically, as well as additional consumer protections which suppliers must abide by, such as the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act and the Home Solicitation Sales Act

RESA said that should PURA wish to consider additional measures, the matter should be addressed in the existing supplier marketing standards proceeding (PURA recently issued a request for comment concerning interaction of such proceeding and the OCC's petition)

"A petition presented to the Authority must set forth '[a] concise and explicit statement of the material facts on which the Authority is expected to rely in granting the authorization or other relief sought . . . .' The OCC’s claimed basis for this proceeding falls short of this basic requirement. In fact, the Petition is supported by nothing more than a generic statement that OCC reviewed 'recent customer complaints regarding electric suppliers . . . .,'" RESA said

"If the OCC has been presented with complaints regarding particular suppliers that are alleged to have violated existing standards, the OCC should request an investigation into those specific complaints and the activities of those suppliers; it should not request a generic investigation into all suppliers and potentially subject all suppliers to some new set of standards. In fact, if a supplier is operating in a non-compliant mode, no level of prescriptive rulemaking will drive that entity to adjust its behavior short of unique enforcement attention and oversight," RESA said

"If the Authority determines that an electric supplier has violated existing statutes, regulations or orders, it has a myriad of enforcement options available to it, including the ability to impose civil penalties. If a supplier is found to have violated Connecticut General Statutes section 16-245o, the Authority also has the ability to suspend or revoke the supplier’s license or prohibit the supplier from accepting new customers. Moreover, any violation of Connecticut General Statutes section 16-245o is 'deemed an unfair or deceptive trade practice.' CUTPA provides for enforcement mechanisms and remedies independent of and in addition to those available to the Authority under Title 16. In addition, at the conclusion of an investigation finding that a supplier violated any state or federal law, the Authority can transmit such findings to appropriate enforcement officials and recommend further investigation or immediate enforcement action; thereby, subjecting suppliers to the potential, independent enforcement authority of those officials," RESA noted

"Thus, rather than opening a generic, industry wide investigation, if the Authority believes that 'recent customer complaints' warrant further review, it should take appropriate action to investigate the supplier(s) that are the subject of such complaints. Accordingly, RESA encourages the Authority to close this proceeding without further action and, instead, rely on the multitude of existing standards that already exist and to take appropriate enforcement action when necessary to ensure those standards are implemented in a manner that protects all consumers, including the subset of customers identified by OCC in its Petition, and that allows for the continued development of the retail electric market in Connecticut," RESA said

To the extent PURA declines to close the proceeding, RESA said its scope should be limited to actions specifically authorized by statute -- namely, consideration of whether certain vulnerable customers should be required to be served on Standard Service, and not permitted to be served by a retail supplier

RESA noted that the OCC, in its petition, had stated that the requirement that vulnerable customers be served on Standard Service, "is only one of many solutions for consideration in the proposed investigation docket," but RESA said such alternative relief envisioned by OCC, "far exceeds what the General Assembly explicitly contemplated or authorized."

RESA further said that the proceeding should be limited to those vulnerable customers as defined by statute, which are customers: (1) who are hardship cases for purposes of subdivision (3) of subsection (b) of section 16-262c; (2) having moneys due and owing deducted from such customers’ bills by the electric distribution company pursuant to subdivision (4) of subsection (b) of section 16-262c; (3) receiving other financial assistance from an electric distribution company; or (4) who are otherwise protected by law from shutoff of electricity services.

OCC has sought to expand the customers for whom the proceeding would examine protections to include seniors and consumers for whom English is a second language

Docket 17-01-33

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