Retail Supplier To Assign Mass Market Customers To Another Supplier, Or Drop To SOS, Under Settlement -- EnergyChoiceMatters.com

Retail Supplier To Assign Mass Market Customers To Another Supplier, Or Drop To SOS, Under Settlement

Settlement Includes Over $1 Million To Customers & In Penalties

November 16, 2023

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

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The Illinois Commerce Commission approved without modification a settlement agreement between Realgy, LLC d/b/a Realgy Energy Services ('Realgy' or the 'Company') and Staff of the Illinois Commerce Commission concerning an investigation into whether Realgy was permitted to assess a 'Real Time Settlement' or 'RTS' charge to customers under the terms and conditions of the contracts entered into by the respective customers

Realgy entered into the Settlement Agreement without admission of fault, or any criminal, civil, or other liability. The ICC's approval order also notes, "Realgy denies and has contested and continues to contest the allegations, conclusions, violations, and liability asserted in the Staff Report, Initiating Order, Charging Document, direct testimony, and rebuttal testimony[.]"

While the settlement had been previously reported, its terms were confidential until the ICC approved the settlement today

As more fully discussed below, under the settlement Realgy has agreed to either assign all its residential and small commercial customers in Illinois to another retail supplier in accordance with 83 Ill. Adm. Code 412.240 and 83 Ill. Adm. Code 512.240 or return those customers to default utility supply service within 90 days of the settlement's effective date, and has agreed that it would not assess or otherwise attempt to collect any final balancing, final settlement, or any other sort of early termination fee from its vacating customers;

The settlement notes that while Realgy customers at People’s Gas Light and Coke Company and North Shore Gas Company were not impacted by the Realgy RTS charges, "Realgy agrees to return or assign all its residential and small commercial customers [in Illinois], regardless of whether the customers were impacted by RTS, within 90 days[.]"

In researching this matter, ECM has learned that Realgy Energy Services is an investment banking client of Ochsner Interests, Inc.

As background, on April 15, 2021, the Illinois Commerce Commission ('Commission') had issued an order initiating the proceeding ('Initiating Order'), as recommended in a Staff Report to the Commission, and directed Staff to investigate whether Realgy was permitted to assess a 'Real Time Settlement' or 'RTS' charge to its Illinois ARES and AGS customers under the terms and conditions of the contracts entered into by the respective customers, and, if the charges are valid, to investigate the sales, solicitation and marketing practices, policies, and procedures related to those contracts, and further authorized Staff to investigate Realgy’s call center operations

On March 14, 2022, Staff had filed a Verified Charging Document in which it alleged that the additional RTS charge assessed to Realgy’s ARES and AGS customers was not allowable, and alleged that Realgy committed various significant violations of rules and statutes governing the marketing and sales practices of ARES and AGS, including Section 16-115 and Section 19-115 of the Act; Section 2DDD of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, 815 ILCS 505/2DDD; 83 Ill. Adm. Code 410; 83 Ill. Adm. Code 412; and 83 Ill. Adm. Code 501.

Under the adopted settlement:

• Realgy is required to pay the total sum of $887,608 to Realgy’s current and former residential and small commercial customers assessed the RTS fee.
• Realgy is required to pay $150,000 to the State of Illinois. This sum shall be deposited into the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Supplemental Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (“LIHEAP”) Fund.
• If Realgy chooses to continue to serve large commercial electric customers, Realgy must file a verified application with the Commission within 120 days of the Settlement Agreement, initiating a new docketed proceeding to request a change to the certificate of authority it currently holds such that it be amended to an ARES Part 451 Subpart C certificate of service authority, 83 Ill. Adm. Code 451. At no time during the application process for an ARES Part 451 Subpart C certificate of service authority shall Realgy be considered unlicensed to serve large commercial electric customers.
• Within 120 days of the Settlement Agreement, Realgy will voluntarily surrender its ARES Part 451 Subpart D certificate of service authority.
• Within 120 days of the Settlement Agreement, Realgy will voluntarily surrender its AGS Part 551 certificate of service authority, 83 Ill. Adm. Code 551, to serve residential and small commercial customers.

Docket 21-0364

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