Retail Suppliers To Pay $174,000 Forfeiture Under Settlement With PUC Staff

Suppliers To Cease Offering Daily Rate Product In State, Agree To Extension Of Residential Marketing Suspension

December 22, 2020

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Copyright 2010-20 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

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SFE Energy Ohio, Inc. (SFE) and Statewise Energy Ohio, LLC (Statewise) would collectively pay a forfeiture of $174,000 under a settlement with Staff of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, to resolve a Commission investigation proceeding and various allegations of misleading and deceptive sales practices as alleged in a PUCO Staff Report

Additionally, under the stipulation, the suppliers would cease offering in Ohio their hybrid plan or fixed daily rate plan which charged customers a daily flat charge. PUCO Staff had alleged that such product contravene provisions of the administrative code which require disclosure of a charge, "per kilowatt hour" (see details in our prior story here), and failed to disclose how overages would be applied (permissible flat monthly offers must disclose the rate to be charged per month for the duration of the contract)

SFE and Statewise also agree to the continued suspension of all residential marketing activities and residential new customer enrollment in Ohio until March 15, 2021, and to provide restitution to certain customers

SFE Energy and Statewise Energy provided the following statement concerning the matter:

"SFE Energy and Statewise Energy are committed to being the preferred provider of energy for retail customers. While the companies disagreed with the allegations in the PUCO investigation, the companies instituted a voluntary marketing stay in July 2020 and reached the December 21, 2020 settlement with PUCO Staff and the Ohio Consumers' Counsel in order to focus on the continued delivery of excellent service to Ohio customers."

--- Statement from SFE Energy and Statewise Energy

As first reported by EnergyChoiceMatters.com, PUCO had opened an investigation of the suppliers as a result of various allegations of misleading and deceptive practices, including an allegation that an agent for SFE conducted a door to door sales call, shortly after such marketing was permitted to be resumed subject to health and safety conditions, while allegedly not wearing a mask. As alleged by Staff in the report, "On June 24 and 26, 2020, Staff received two videos that show a sales representative soliciting at a residential home on behalf of SFE Energy Ohio, Inc. (SFE Energy) making misleading and deceptive statements while not wearing a mask or other personal protective equipment (PPE)."

See our prior story for more details on the allegations

Apart from behavior which occurred in two discrete instances on June 24 and 26 (two solicitations in which allegedly misleading and deceptive statements were made that would lead the customer to believe the agent was soliciting on behalf of a party other than the supplier), the Stipulation is not an admission or finding of liability

More specifically, the terms of the stipulation include:

• As of June 30, 2020, both SFE and Statewise voluntarily ceased all residential marketing and customer enrollment activities in Ohio, including any door-to-door or other in-person residential marketing and customer enrollment. As reflected in the Commission's Order dated July 15, 2020, SFE and Statewise also ceased all door-to-door marketing to small commercial and mercantile gas and electric customers in Ohio. The Signatory Parties agree that this suspension by SFE and Statewise of all residential marketing activities and new customer enrollment in Ohio, and of all door-to-door marketing to small commercial and mercantile gas and electric customers in Ohio, will continue until March 15, 2021, for a total of more than eight (8) months, if SFE and Statewise submit an acceptable compliance plan to Staff. SFE and Statewise may continue to serve their existing customers in Ohio during this suspension. If the Stipulation has been filed on the case docket in this Investigation but the Commission has not yet approved the Stipulation by March 15, 2021, SFE and Statewise may commence all residential marketing activities and new customer enrollment in Ohio, and all door-to-door marketing and enrollment to small commercial and mercantile gas and electric customers in Ohio, on a provisional basis pending approval of the Stipulation by the Commission.

• By not later than January 15, 2021, SFE and Statewise will submit directly to Staff for review and comment a compliance plan for resuming and conducting residential marketing and enrollment activity in Ohio, and any door-to-door marketing and enrollment to small commercial and mercantile gas and electric customers in Ohio, that addresses the enrollment practices, auditing process for enrollments, and other corrective actions SFE and Statewise will take to address the issues noted in the Staff Report. Among other things, the compliance plan will include 100% touchless enrollment and photographic documentation of required face coverings by independent sales representatives at the point of sale so long as the Ohio Department of Health's social distancing requirements and mask mandates remain in place.

• After approval of the Stipulation by the Commission, SFE and Statewise will rerate all retail electric and natural gas residential customers enrolled by SFE or Statewise in Ohio through two specific vendors from January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020. This re-rate will result in restitution payments to Ohio consumers of approximately $105,000 in the aggregate. Re-rate means SFE and Statewise will calculate the difference between the rate it charged to the customer, including any fees, and the rate the customer would have paid to the applicable utility under the utility's standard service offer or default rate, and refund or credit the difference to the customer.

• After approval of the Stipulation by the Commission, SFE and Statewise will perform an audit of the two additional vendors for the time period from November 1, 2019 through June 26, 2020 and re-rate customers who were enrolled by misleading and deceptive sales practices. Those customers that are re-rated under this provision shall be notified by SFE or Statewise in the re-rate notice of their right to terminate, at no cost or penalty, their contracts with SFE or Statewise.

• After approval of the Stipulation by the Commission, SFE and Statewise will provide notice to (i) all customers enrolled from November 1, 2019 to June 26, 2020, and (ii) all customers enrolled on a hybrid plan and/or daily rate plan regardless of their enrollment date, that Commission Staff has alleged that SFE and Statewise engaged in misleading enrollment practices that impacted the customer during their enrollment and that customers may cancel their contracts with SFE or Statewise without penalty.

• After approval of the Stipulation by the Commission, SFE and Statewise will provide restitution in the form of re-rates to all customers that complained to the Commission's call center or SFE or Statewise and were enrolled during the period of January 1, 2020 and the date of the signing of the Stipulation. SFE and Statewise will also provide restitution in the form of re-rates to all SFE or Statewise customers that complain to the Commission's call center at any time from the date of the signing of the Stipulation through the date that is forty-five (45) days after the date of the notice sent under the provision described above

• Upon the execution of this Agreement, SFE and Statewise will terminate offering the hybrid plan and/or daily rate plan in Ohio until authorized by the Commission. Upon expiration of the current term for those customers enrolled with SFE or Statewise under a hybrid plan and/or daily rate plan, SFE and Statewise agree not to renew the customer for another hybrid plan and/or daily rate plan unless and until the Commission authorizes SFE and/or Statewise to offer the hybrid plan and/or daily rate plan in a separate proceeding. The Signatory Parties reserve all rights with respect to any position they might take in such separate proceeding.

• SFE and Statewise collectively agree to pay a total forfeiture of $174,000

• After approval of the Stipulation by the Commission, SFE and Statewise will re-rate any customers enrolled in November or December 2019 who submit a complaint either to the Commission or to SFE or Statewise up to a total of $26,000 in re-rates. Re-rates will be available to any such customers who call to complain within four months after the date of the approval of this Stipulation by the Commission. If less than $26,000 is paid by SFE and Statewise collectively for re-rates to these customers in the four-month period following approval of the Stipulation, the remaining amount will be paid to the Commission as an additional forfeiture

Case 20-1216-GE-COI

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