Retail Supplier To Exit State's Market, Pay Forfeiture Under Settlement With PUC Staff -- EnergyChoiceMatters.com

Retail Supplier To Exit State's Market, Pay Forfeiture Under Settlement With PUC Staff

April 6, 2022

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Copyright 2010-21 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

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Switch Energy, LLC (Switch) and the Staff of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (Staff) have entered into a stipulation under which, among other things, Switch would exit the Ohio market and pay a $25,000 forfeiture

The stipulation would resolve all of Switch’s alleged violations identified by the Staff.

On December 9, 2021, Staff had sent a letter of Probable Noncompliance regarding the acts and practices of Switch identified therein. The letter of probable noncompliance was not appended to the settlement nor, as of publication time, has it been filed publicly as a separate filing

EnergyChoiceMatters.com had exclusively reported last summer that Staff had recommended denial of the renewal of Switch's retail electric supplier license in Ohio

In such August recommendation, Staff had alleged various marketing violations and further specifically alleged, "Switch is ... under current investigation by the Ohio Staff for marketing violations and submitting falsified or altered recordings to Staff in response to an investigation into a Commission call center complaint."

Staff had alleged that Switch engaged in, "[a] misleading enrollment and submitting an altered TPV recording to Staff in response to Staff’s investigation of a consumer complaint[.]"

See our prior story for more details on the prior allegations

Under the stipulation, Switch will withdraw its current request for re-certification as a retail electric supplier in Ohio and abandon its retail natural gas certificate in Ohio

The settlement does not address the disposition of Switch customers (if any) in Ohio

As first reported by EnergyChoiceMatters.com, Switch had defaulted at PJM in November 2021 and the electric customers it was serving at such time were returned to default service

In a November 2021 statement concerning the default at PJM, Switch had said, "As an award-winning retail electric provider Switch has saved our customers money on their commodity purchases. We are pivoting to a more customer-centric business model where we can deliver even greater value. Our strategic reset involves exiting the regulated retail energy provider market."

Under the stipulation, Switch’s current owners agree not to operate as an owner, officer, director, or partner for another retail electric or gas company in Ohio for five years

Case Nos. 13-0764-EL-CRS and 16-1136-GA-CRS

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