Texas Retail Provider Enters Settlement To Resolve Alleged Disconnection Violations -- EnergyChoiceMatters.com

Texas Retail Provider Enters Settlement To Resolve Alleged Disconnection Violations

October 11, 2023

Email This Story
Copyright 2010-23 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

The following story is brought free of charge to readers by VertexOne, the exclusive EDI provider of EnergyChoiceMatters.com

Frontier Utilities, LLC (Frontier) would pay $88,500 under a settlement with Staff of the Public Utility Commission of Texas to resolve alleged violations of Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA) § 39.101(h), relating to customer safeguards, and 16 TAC §§ 25.483(b)(2)(B), related to disconnection of service, and 25.483(j), related to disconnection of service.

Under PURA § 39.101(h), a REP may not disconnect service to a residential customer during an extreme weather emergency or on a weekend day.

An "extreme weather emergency" is defined in 16 TAC § 25.483(j)(1) as a day when, "the previous day's highest temperature did not exceed 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and the temperature is predicted to remain at or below that level for the next 24 hours anywhere in the county, according to the nearest National Weather Service (NWS) reports; or the NWS issues a heat advisory for a county, or when such advisory has been issued on any one of the preceding two calendar days in a county."

Commission Staff alleged that from November 1, 2020 through September 1, 2022, Frontier authorized the disconnection for nonpayment of electric service for 90 customers located in counties affected by extreme weather emergencies to be completed during the pendency of the emergencies.

The settlement states that the transmission and distribution utilities that received Frontier’s request to disconnect service for nonpayment did not complete any of the authorized disconnections

Under 16 TAC § 25.483(b)(2)(B), prior to authorizing disconnections for non-payment of residential and small non-residential customers, a REP shall file an affidavit from an officer of the company, in a project established by the Commission for this purpose, affirming that the REP understands and has trained its personnel on the Commission’s rule requirements related to disconnection and reconnection, and has adequately tested all necessary electronic transactions related to disconnections and reconnections of service.

The settlement states that Frontier began authorizing disconnections for nonpayment of residential and small nonresidential customers as early as 2009.

Commission Staff alleged that Frontier did not file the affidavit required under 16 TAC § 25.483(b)(2)(B) in Project No. 29760 until August 3, 2023.

The settlement states that Frontier asserts it has implemented the following protective measures to prevent future authorizations of disconnections for nonpayment during extreme weather emergencies, and will continue to implement such measures going forward:

a. Additional Personnel Receiving NWS Alerts
Frontier has increased the number of operations personnel who receive NWS emergency weather alerts. Frontier’s current multi-step verification process now not only ensures all moratoriums are properly entered into internal systems but also utilizes two operations personnel to mitigate potential human error. When it is determined that an extreme weather emergency is occurring, one operations personnel enters the moratorium(s) and another operations personnel checks what has been entered for accuracy before any disconnection for nonpayment orders are sent. Because Frontier has increased the number of personnel who receive NWS alerts, Frontier will also conduct cross training on the verification process to further prevent errors due to staff absence or turnover.
b. In-Depth Disconnect/Reconnect Request Evaluation
Frontier’s increase in the number of operations personnel receiving NWS alerts has put Frontier in a better position to more proactively evaluate decisions surrounding disconnection requests and take actions to ensure all processes comply with Commission rules. Frontier continuously discusses processes and makes decisions related to extreme weather moratoriums in order to ensure compliance with Commission rules.

The settlement states that Frontier asserts that it will implement the following protective measures to further prevent future authorizations of disconnections for nonpayment during extreme weather emergencies:

Seasonal Preparedness Meetings
Frontier has implemented a plan to begin conducting seasonal preparedness meetings to review system processes, conduct additional as-needed trainings, and ensure all teams are prepared for potential future weather events while adhering Commission rules.

The settlement states that Frontier neither admits to nor denies the allegations of violations detailed in the settlement

Docket No. 55642

ADVERTISEMENT
NEW Jobs on RetailEnergyJobs.com:
• NEW! -- Natural Gas Senior Scheduler -- Retail Supplier
• NEW! -- Pricing Analyst - Retail Power
• NEW! -- Electricity Pricing Analyst -- Retail Supplier
• NEW! -- Business Development Manager -- Retail Supplier
• NEW! -- Call Center Manager -- Retail Supplier
• Senior Billing Subject Matter - (Remote) -- Retail Supplier

Email This Story

HOME