Texas PUC Rejects Aggregator Application Of Company Which Included Name "Power of Choosing Inc." In Application

February 28, 2020

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Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

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The Texas PUC rejected without prejudice the application for an electric aggregator certificate of sole proprietor Valerie Garza, due to uncured deficiencies in the application

As previously reported, the application had included the name "Power of Choosing Inc." under a section in which the application must list "Other Names"

Apart from the name issue, Staff had noted other deficiencies and open requests for clarification concerning the application that the applicant did not respond to, such as unclear information regarding the specific type of registration the application was seeking, and whether the applicant intended to collect deposits.

Regarding the name, Staff in a recommendation for dismissal with prejudice had stated, "Staff has reviewed the discussion from the November 24, 2019 open meeting regarding Docket No. 49733 [relating to the application of aggregator Just One Energy which was contested by retail provider Just Energy]. While the Commission does not regulate trademarks, the Commission owns the trademark for 'Power to Choose.' The name at issue in this docket is 'Power of Choosing, Inc.' This is substantially similar to the trademark owned by the Commission, and the Commission should be able to enforce its own trademarks without having to enforce outside parties' trademarks."

Staff had further said, "In addition, 16 TAC § 25.111(j) allows the Commission to suspend or revoke registration of an aggregator if the aggregator engages in 'fraudulent, unfair, misleading, deceptive or anti-competitive practices.' Providing services under a substantially similar business name to one of the Commission's trademarks would be misleading, because it may lead consumers to believe the aggregator is acting on behalf of the Commission. Therefore, the Commission should be able to deny applications based on requests to register business names that are substantially similar to the Commission's name and registered trademarks. The issue of the requested name is not the only issue with this application. Therefore, the Commission would not be rejecting this application based solely on the issue of the name for which Garza applied to use."

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