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PUC Staff Issues Recommendation On TPV Waiver Sought By Retail Suppliers

August 22, 2018

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

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Staff of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio have recommended approval, as more specifically described below, of a petition for a waiver of third party verification for customer-initiated inbound calls to a retail natural gas supplier which result in an enrollment, provided that the entire call is recorded and meets applicable disclosure requirements

The waiver, sought by various retail suppliers, had been first reported by EnergyChoiceMatters.com (see background here)

As described by Staff, Direct Energy Services, LLC, Direct Energy Business, LLC, Dominion Energy Solutions, Inc., Interstate Gas Supply, Inc., and Southstar Energy Services, LLC (collectively, the "Applicants") had submitted an application to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (requesting a waiver of the provision of Ohio Administrative Code ("Ohio Adm.Code") 4901:l-29-06(E)(l) as it applies to customer-initiated inbound calls. Specifically, the Applicants have requested a waiver of the provision of the rule that requires Third Party Verification (TPV) on in-bound telephonic sales if the entire call is recorded by the supplier or aggregator and the recording is archived and retained in accordance with the Commission's rules.

Staff said that, "After reviewing the Application, Staff has no objection at this time to waiving the requirement for TPV verification of in-bound telephonic enrollments, so long as all other requirements of Ohio Adm.Code 4901:l-29-06(E)(l) remain in place. Thus, the applicants must still record the entire telephone call, including the sales portion of the call, the enrollment portion, and the verification portion, and must ensure that the other specific items listed in the rule are verified by the customer."

Staff specifically recommends that the waiver apply to the words, "by an independent third-party verifier," contained in Ohio Adm.Code 4901:l-29-06(E)(l) and that all other verification requirements contained therein would still apply

Staff said that, "Staff strongly believes that verifying the enrollment with the consumer in clear, plain language, using a template uniformly followed by all companies, provides a valuable safeguard which protects consumers. The intent of the rule is to make sure that, to the greatest extent possible, the consumer understands the key provisions of their service contract."

Staff noted that, "Currently, Ohio Adm.Code 4901:l-29-06(E)(l) is under review by Staff not only in response to the Applicant's waiver request, but as part of the Commission's five year rule review in Case No. 17-1847-GA-ORD. Staff believes that the proper venue for evaluating these enrollment rules is the 5 year rule review; however, the requested waiver could service [sic] a valuable service by allowing a field test of the streamlining of the Inbound enrollment process."

"With that in mind. Staff recommends that if the Commission grants the Applicants request for waiver detailed in the application of this docket, the waiver be limited to the pendency of the rule review for Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-29-06. If the waiver produces the benefits touted by the applicants, the waiver can be integrated into the rules and apply to all. Procedurally, the Staff recommends that the waiver become effective when approved by the Commission. The waiver would then expire when the rule review for Ohio Adm. Code 4901:1-29-06 is completed at which time the waiver would be either incomplete or part of the revised rule or rejected by the Commission. Either way, the revised or reauthorized rule will supersede the waiver," Staff said

"Finally, Applicants should be made aware that the granting of this waiver does not necessarily mean that the TPV requirement in Ohio Adm.Code 4901:l-29-06{E){l) will be adopted in the revised rule and that the Applicants bear any risk associated with changing back their business practices should the Commission as part of the rule review does not accept elimination of the TPV for incoming calls," Staff said

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