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Regulator Considers "Amnesty" Program For Non-Compliant Retail Suppliers

With Regulator Lacking Restitution Authority, Amnesty Program Would See Suppliers Voluntarily Offer Refunds, Avoid Civil Penalties If Doing So

December 17, 2018

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Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

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Note: This story was first published on Dec. 17 with an alert to our email subscribers

The Connecticut PURA has assigned a docket number, 18-12-22, to consider an "amnesty" program for retail electric suppliers who may have been non-compliant with the next-cycle rate information requirements

Under such amnesty program, suppliers could elect to self-report next-cycle rate violations and provide appropriate refunds, in exchange for PURA refraining from levying civil penalties. Such amnesty program is being considered since at least one court has found that PURA does not have the authority to provide restitution to customers

A PURA memo and request to open the docket number stated, "The General Statutes of Connecticut § 16-245d(2) requires suppliers to provide to the electric distribution companies (EDCs) certain information to appear in the billing summary portion of a customer’s bill, including but not limited to the next cycle rate. By Decision dated August 12, 2015, in Docket No. 14-07-19RE01, PURA Investigation into Redesign of the Residential Electric Billing Format - Billing Format Clarifications, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (Authority) clarified that the next cycle rate must be displayed on the bill before the rate is incurred by the customer. As a result, the next cycle rate on a customer’s bill would display the rate to be billed two billing cycles from the present billing cycle."

"Upon complaint and multiple subsequent investigations, the Authority has information suggesting that several suppliers have not met their requirement of providing the next cycle rate to the EDCs in a timely manner. At least one court has found that the Authority does not have the authority to provide restitution to customers. As a result, the Authority opens this docket to consider a process whereby suppliers could elect to self-report next cycle rate violations up to the date of this docket initiation and provide appropriate refunds to customers in accordance with orders issued in this docket; The Authority would provide a time-limited 'amnesty' period for such suppliers and refrain from levying civil penalties against them so long as suppliers are forthcoming with information and customers are fully reimbursed, as determined in a final decision in this docket," the memo stated

"Based on the foregoing and pursuant to the Conn. Gen. Stat. §16-245d(2), a docket should be opened to consider providing amnesty to suppliers for past next cycle rate violations in exchange for compliance with the terms of reimbursement to customers developed by PURA in its decision in this docket," the memo stated

Docket 18-12-22

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