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Texas PUC Chair Expresses Concern About Concierge/Customer Agent Type Broker Services (Make REP Plan Purchasing Decision For Customer) And Whether Customers Are Getting Disclosures

March 31, 2017

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

Donna Nelson, Chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, during yesterday's open meeting expressed concern with various services which have developed, which charge customers a fee for selecting a retail electric provider and product on the customer's behalf, as Nelson worried whether customers were getting the disclosures as envisioned by the PUCT

"I've recently learned about these entities that are acting as brokers for residential customers ... They go in, they charge a monthly fee to the customer, and then they make the purchasing decisions for the customer," Nelson said in generally describing the services

Nelson cited Energy Ogre, Energy Simple, and Power Plug during the open meeting. Not all of the cited entities may necessarily offer service in the manner as generally described by Nelson, or may not at least do so currently.

According to The Power Plug's website (ostensibly the entity to which Nelson was referring), customers are presented with "recommendations" (plural) and it would appear the ultimate purchasing decision remains with the customer (as opposed to automatically being switched). The Power Plug states that it analyzes the customer's account for free and, "You choose from our recommendations." However, an executive with The Power Plug had previously described its service as automatically placing the customer with the best plan, having obtained authorization to act as the customer's agent.

Preston Ochsner, who had been associated with The Power Plug at launch, provided a statement to EnergyChoiceMatters.com stating that he is no longer associated with The Power Plug

"I am no longer associated with The Power Plug and do not know how it is currently being operated. I left last year to start The Solar Cooperative, and I am developing utility scale solar projects in Texas and Oklahoma. I agree with Commissioner Nelson that customers need to be in charge of their destiny," Ochsner said

Nelson said during the open meeting, "I am a firm believer in the competitive retail market, but I do believe that for the competitive retail market to work, customers need to be in charge of their destiny and we need to have adequate disclosure."

Nelson noted that the Commission has worked for a long time to ensure customers receive adequate disclosures, stating, "It's the hallmark of a competitive market."

Nelson reported that the PUCT's customer protection division has received questions about these services, but not complaints

"I would just like Staff to keep a close eye on these," Nelson said

"I worry about us having developed all these requirements with respect to disclosure for the customers so they can be able to make a choice, and if that can be circumvented by a third party coming, and to the REP, they [the concierge services] look like the customer," Nelson said

Nelson noted that some of these services are registered as aggregators, but did not know if all such entities were aggregators, "and I don't know the extent to which we have authority over some of them."

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