Retail Supplier To Pay $100,000 Under Settlement With PUC Staff

December 8, 2020

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Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

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Reliant Energy Northeast LLC d/b/a NRG Business, NRG Home and NRG Retail Solutions ('NRG' or 'Company') has agreed to a forfeiture of $100,000 under a settlement with Staff of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio ('Staff') to resolve all of the issues identified by Staff in a Notice of Probable Non-Compliance dated November 27, 2019 ('Notice Letter' or 'Notice'), which largely addressed alleged enrollment violations

Additionally, under the settlement, NRG agrees to the following:

1. For a period of one year from the date of Commission approval of the Stipulation, NRG agrees to use, without material modification, its contact-free enrollment process, as approved in Case No. 20-1008-EL-WVR, for all in-store enrollments. The Signatory Parties understand and acknowledge that, at the conclusion of the one-year period, NRG may elect, at its own discretion, to continue using its contact-free enrollment process for in-store enrollments.

2. For a period of six months from the date of Commission approval of the Stipulation, NRG will provide Staff with a list of all its retail marketing locations and will use its best efforts to update the list at least seven calendar days prior to marketing at a location. The list will include the date, time, and location of the marketing event, subject to the acknowledged limitation in the next sentence. The Signatory Parties understand and acknowledge that NRG will not be able to specify the hours on specific dates when NRG sales agents are working in-store because NRG’s retail partners set the hours for the sales agents.

Dave Schrader, Manager, Communications East for NRG, provided the following statement concerning the settlement:

"NRG has reached an agreement with PUCO staff to resolve their concerns. We fully cooperated with PUCO staff and developed and implemented improved procedures, including contactless enrollments, to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to compliance with PUCO regulations. We continue to focus on providing our Ohio customers with a best-in-class enrollment and customer service experience."

--- Statement from Dave Schrader, Manager, Communications East for NRG

The settlement noted that the Signatory Parties agree that NRG has responded and resolved all customer complaints it received during the six months preceding the Notice Letter.

The Stipulation is not an admission or a finding of liability. The settlement states that NRG’s position is that the records and data do not indicate a pattern of noncompliant behavior, a trend, or a developing issue.

Staff in the November 2019 Notice of Probable Non-Compliance had alleged that, "Staff’s review of results from consumer investigations has revealed a pattern of non-compliant behavior from agents representing NRG."

The Staff Notice had alleged that, "Staff reviewed investigation records provided by NRG in response to complaints to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio ('PUCO') by customers. Those complaints involved customers disputing their enrollment, receiving misleading and incomplete information, or complaints of high bills. After reviewing the information and responses from NRG, Staff determined that customers are not receiving complete information regarding enrollment; some customers were enrolled without their consent; and customers are not being supplied with a copy of the contract to which they are agreeing."

The Staff Notice had alleged that, "Not all customers are knowingly enrolling with NRG. Multiple customers have stated that they agreed to receive additional information from NRG or answered questions from a representative and then declined to enroll. Later, customers received a rescission notice from their utility in the mail or discovered NRG appearing on their utility bill. Some enrollment documents provided in response to consumer investigations included false email addresses, including 'no@nrg.com', or incorrect physical addresses. Staff also determined that the signatures captured electronically are copied or transferred onto another document. This indicates to Staff that the customer did not read and sign all documents required to complete the enrollment."

The Staff Notice had alleged "Probable Non-Compliance Violations" as follows:

1. Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-21-03(A) 'Competitive retail electric service (CRES) providers shall not engage in unfair, misleading, deceptive or unconscionable acts or practices related to, without limitation the following activities: (1) Marketing, solicitation, or sale of a CRES. (2) Administration of contracts for CRES (3) Provision of CRES, including interactions with consumers.'

2. Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-29-03(A) 'A retail natural gas supplier ['CRNGS'] or governmental aggregator shall not engage in unfair, misleading, deceptive, or unconscionable acts of practices related to, without limitation, the following activities: (1) Marketing, solicitation, or sale of a competitive retail natural gas service. (2) Administration of contracts for such service. (3) Provision of such service, including interactions with customers.'

3. Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-21-03(C)'CRES providers shall not change or authorize the changing of a customer’s supplier of retail electric service without the customer’s prior consent, as provided for under rule 4901:1-21-06 of the Administrative Code.'

4. Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-29-03(D) 'A retail natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator shall not change or authorize the changing of a customer's supplier of competitive retail natural gas service without the customer's prior consent, as provided for under rule 4901:1-29-06 of the Administrative Code.'

5. Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-21-05(C) 'No CRES provider may engage in marketing, solicitation, or sales acts, or practices which are unfair, misleading, deceptive, or unconscionable in the marketing, solicitation, or sale of a CRES.'

6. Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-29-05(D) 'No retail natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator may engage in marketing, solicitation, sales acts, or practices which are unfair, misleading, deceptive, or unconscionable in the marketing, solicitation, or sale of a competitive retail natural gas service.'

7. Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-21-06(C) 'CRES providers are prohibited from enrolling potential customers without their consent proof of that consent as delineated in paragraph (D) of this rule.'

8. Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-29-06(B) 'A retail natural gas supplier and governmental aggregator is prohibited from enrolling potential customers without consent and proof of that consent as delineated in paragraphs (C), (D), and (E) of this rule.'

9. Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-21-06(D)(1)(a) 'Where enrollment occurs by mail, facsimile, or direct solicitation, the customer’s signature on a contract shall constitute consent.'

10. Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-29-06(D)(1) 'Where enrollment occurs by mail, facsimile, or direct solicitation, the customer’s signature on a contract shall constitute consent.'

11. Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-21-06(D)(1)(b) 'Prior to entering into a contract for service, CRES providers shall provide each customer with enrollment documents…'

12. Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-29-06(D)(2) 'Prior to entering into a contract for service, a retail natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator shall provide each customer with enrollment documents…'

13. Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-21-06(D)(1)(c) 'Before obtaining a signature from the applicant, CRES providers shall provide each customer a reasonable opportunity to read all enrollment documents and shall answer any and all questions posed by any applicant about information contained in the documents.'

14. Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-29-06(D)(3) 'Before obtaining a signature from the applicant, a retail natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator shall provide each customer a reasonable opportunity to read all enrollment documents and shall answer any and all questions posed by any applicant about information contained in the documents.'

15. Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-21-06(D)(1)(i) 'Terms and conditions print specifications The terms and conditions must be provided to the residential customer at the time of sale. Paper copies of terms and conditions must be printed in dark ink on white or pastel paper and be ten-point type or greater. Electronic copies of the signed contract may be provided in the following conditions: … (v) The CRES provider shall provide a mechanism by which both the submission and receipt of the electronic terms and conditions are recorded by time and date.'

16. Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-29-06(D)(6)(c) 'Terms and conditions print specifications The terms and conditions must be provided to the residential customer at the time of sale. Paper copies of the terms and conditions must be printed in dark ink on white or pastel paper and be ten-point type or greater. Electronic copies of the signed contract may be provided in the following conditions: … (v) The retail natural gas supplier shall provide a mechanism by which both the submission and receipt of the electronic terms and conditions are recorded by time and date.'

In addition to a $100,000 forfeiture, Staff in the November 2019 Notice had originally recommended that, "NRG cease all retail marketing and enrollment activities in the State of Ohio until this matter is resolved."

Staff's November 2019 Notice had also proposed the following corrective actions:

• Give each customer identified as having enrollment documents that are not complete, or for which the customer’s consent is not certain, the option to cancel without any penalties or to re-enroll with NRG, in which case, new enrollment and consent must be obtained in accordance with Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-21- 06 and/or 4901:1-29-06.

• For each customer who was switched without consent, return those customers to their utility and re-rate the last 6 months of their supply with NRG back to the utility’s price-to-compare.

Docket 20-1758-GE-UNC

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