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After Show Cause Responses, New York PSC Allows ESCO To Continue Enrolling New Residential, Non-Residential Customers

February 26, 2018

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

After considering actions taken in response to a show cause order, the New York PSC issued an order maintaining MPower Energy, LLC's eligibility as an ESCO and continuing MPower's ability to enroll new residential and non-residential customers.

As previously reported, the PSC had issued a show cause order to MPower which had recounted various alleged violations of the UBPs by the company.

Among other allegations, Department of Public Service Staff had alleged that TPVs conducted by agents acting on behalf of MPower were non-compliant with the UBPs, and omitted several of the questions required under TPVs. Furthermore, Staff had alleged that, "After listening to the TPVs it was also apparent to Staff that, in several instances, the sales agent did not leave the premises before the TPV call was made."

Staff also cited complaints from customers which had alleged that MPower agents either said that the customer's existing ESCO no longer served the area, or that the agent was from the utility.

In its order, the New York PSC described MPower’s response to the show cause orders as follows: "The Company’s Initial Response included MPower’s statement that it was voluntarily suspending new enrollments in New York while the Company determined whether additional process improvements would minimize and/or eliminate customer complaints. The Company’s Second Response explained that it terminated its relationship with multiple third-party marketers who were directly involved and associated with the majority of complaints against the Company. MPower also committed to improving its business practices by: (1) moving all marketing in-house and adding additional resources to address customer complaints and issues; (2) implementing an additional sales verification process, which will include an additional call to the customer with a series of questions designed to ensure that the enrollment was authorized, not the result of deceptive marketing and/or false representations or promises, and that the sales representative was courteous and polite; (3) creating an incident report to track customer complaints against specific marketing representatives; (4) hiring a newly-appointed Director of Compliance and Quality Assurance to better manage and enforce compliance with MPower's internal policies and procedures; (5) implementing improved training materials and procedures for its sales force; and, (6) updating its TPV script to ensure compliance with the UBP."

The PSC further said in its order that, "In the months since the Commission issued the Show Cause Order, MPower has committed to abide by the corrective measures it has taken to assure strict UBP compliance when marketing to and enrolling new customers, and has worked with Staff to resolve all outstanding customer complaints. MPower has also revised its procedures for taking action against marketers who are linked to customer complaints in order to assure compliance with the standards set in the UBP. So long as MPower continues to abide by its improved procedures and compliance monitoring efforts, its operations as an ESCO should comply with the requirements of the UBP. Accordingly, MPower can continue to market to and enroll residential and non-residential customers."

"While MPower’s actions and submissions since the Show Cause Order provide reason to expect that MPower can be a responsible participant in the retail access market in New York State, it is appropriate that Staff continue to carefully monitor the Company’s actions to ascertain the extent to which MPower has implemented enhanced practices to assure continued compliance with the UBP. To this end, in addition to complying with the requirements of the consumer complaint process set forth in 16 NYCRR Part 12, when a customer complaint is sent to it by the Department, Mpower is directed to report additional details to the Department regarding each such complaint," the PSC said

"More specifically, for each customer complaint, MPower shall provide: (1) a detailed summary of the allegation made; (2) a detailed summary of the investigatory steps MPower took in response to the complaint; (3) a copy of the signed contract or sales agreement affected by or related to the complaint; (4) a copy of the TPV of the customer’s agreement to select MPower as his or her ESCO, where a TPV is required for enrollment; (5) the date(s) MPower enrolled the customer; (6) the date MPower ceased providing service to the customer; and, (7) what steps MPower has taken to avoid additional similar complaints," the PSC said

"Department Staff will monitor MPower’s complaint records for twelve months to assure that MPower has successfully implemented enhanced practices and continued compliance with the UBP. If, in its monitoring of MPower, Staff finds that the Company is not in compliance with the UBP, Staff is directed to take swift action to bring notice of the non-compliance to the Commission. Finally, as provided for in UBP Section 2.D.5., if MPower fails again to comply with the UBP, the PSL, or the Commission’s regulations and orders, the Commission will seriously consider revoking MPower’s eligibility to operate as an ESCO in New York State, or imposing any other consequences the Commission may deem appropriate in light of the circumstances and MPower’s past performance," the PSC said

MPower issued the following statement to EnergyChoiceMatters.com:

"MPower prides itself on developing long-term, positive relationships with its customers and providing them with the best possible customer service experience. As a result of its commitment to compliance and customer service, MPower has generally had very low complaint rates. The number of complaints that were cited by the Commission for the relevant time period represent less than 0.002 percent of MPower's New York customers. Since many of these complaints were without basis and others were resolved by MPower to the customer's satisfaction, MPower's actual complaint rate was even lower.

"In response to the Commission’s order to show cause, MPower described additional, even more aggressive compliance measures designed to further increase the strength of its long-term customer relationships and decrease the possibility of enrollments based on consumer confusion or deception. The Order issued today reflects that the Commission is in agreement. MPower remains committed to working with staff to resolve any complaints going forward and to refine its compliance procedures, where necessary, to eliminate any unanticipated confusion."

Case 17-M-0552

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