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New York PSC Grants Extension Of Some Ordering Clause Deadlines Sought By ESCOs Concerning New Rules Requiring Customer Consent For Any Price Change (Including Variable Rates, Guaranteed Savings), But New UBPs' Effective Date Not Changed
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The Secretary of the New York PSC issued an order granting an extension of certain ordering clauses of the PSC's recent order adopting changes to the Uniform Business Practices to implement revisions to General Business Law (GBL) §349-d, which, among other things, generally prohibits ESCOs from changing the rate charged to a customer (with customer having the meaning as defined by law) without the affirmative consent of the customer
See more background on the PSC's order here
The Secretary's order did not grant extensions related to all of the ordering clauses sought by ESCOs, resulting in revised UBPs taking effect which ostensibly require that ESCOs comply with the new UBPs, and with the Secretary's order not explicitly providing that the granted extensions apply to the relevant new language in the new UBPs, and with the new UBPs retaining a December 31, 2025 effective date, as more fully detailed below
Specifically, the Secretary granted an extension of the, "compliance deadlines established by Ordering Clauses 6, 7, and 8".
The Secretary's ruling also explicitly provided that, "extensions to comply with Ordering Clauses
6, 7, and 8 are granted[.]"
Notably, Ordering Clauses 6, 7, and 8 did not have a specific compliance deadline in them. Rather, their requirements are incorporated into the revised UBPs, which were, in a separate ordering clause, ordered to be effective December 31, 2025, with the Secretary declining to grant an extension related to the overall effective date of the new UBPs
Ordering Clauses 6, 7, and 8, for which a compliance deadline extension was granted, are as follows:
6. Energy Service Companies shall include sample
customer renewal notices as part of the retail access
application requirements, as discussed in the body of this
Order.
7. Energy Service Companies shall include in customer
renewal notices: (1) the price charged for energy services; (2)
the price the Energy Service Company proposes to charge upon
renewal; (3) the price that is charged by the customer’s
distribution utility; and (4) information notifying the customer
how they may compare past bills with what they would have been
charged had they received energy services from the respective
distribution utility, including the internet address of any bill
calculator offered by such customer’s distribution utility’s
website, as discussed in the body of this Order.
8. Energy Service Companies shall obtain express
customer consent for any material change made to a contract with
a customer, as discussed in the body of this Order. Express
customer consent must be obtained and recorded in a verifiable
format that shall be furnished to Department of Public Service
staff upon request, as discussed in the body of this Order
The compliance deadline for Ordering Clauses 6, 7, and 8 is extended until such time as the PSC rules on pending petitions for rehearing or clarification filed by several ESCO parties
The Secretary stated, "It is anticipated that the Commission will establish new
deadlines for complying with the requirements set forth in
Ordering Clauses 6, 7, and 8 in the order it issues addressing
the [rehearing] petitions mentioned above."
The compliance deadline extensions for Ordering Clauses 6, 7, and 8 are applicable to all ESCOs, not only those petitioning for rehearing
Notably, while the Secretary granted extensions with respect to deadlines under these Ordering Clauses, the Secretary did not explicitly stay the new provisions of the UBPs which implement these ordering clauses. Moreover, the Secretary explicitly declined to extend the date on which the revised UBPs take effect, and did not explicitly state that the extensions of the ordering clauses supersede the new UBPs' requirements, or that the related new UBP language resulting from the extended ordering clauses is stayed
ESCO parties had sought extensions of the compliance deadline for several other ordering paragraphs, which the Secretary did not grant
M&R Energy Resources Corp. had additionally sought extension of Ordering Clause 2. The Retail Energy Supply Association had separately and additionally sought extension of Ordering Clauses 1, 2, and 9.
The Secretary expressly declined to grant an extension for Ordering Clauses 1, 2, and 9.
Notably, Ordering Clause 2 provides for the adoption of revised UBPs consistent with the PSC's order on affirmative consent for price changes
Specifically, Ordering Clauses 1, 2, and 9 provide that:
1. The Department of Public Service Staff Proposal for
Implementing Stronger Price Transparency for Customers, as filed
on March 26, 2024, is adopted, with modifications, as discussed
in the body of this Order.
2. Revisions to the Uniform Business Practices are
adopted in accordance with the discussion in the body of this
Order and Appendix A to this Order. These revisions shall
become effective on December 31, 2025.
9. Department of Public Service staff shall, by March
1, 2026, and every March 1 thereafter, collect information
regarding the number of energy service company customers served
on month-to-month contracts, as discussed in the body of this
Order.
Specifically, the new UBPs adopted under Ordering Clause 2 provide that, "All changes to the terms of the contract,
including changes to the price, commodity rate, product or service
type, will be considered material and will require that the ESCO obtain the customer’s express consent for renewal."
As stated by Ordering Clause 2, this UBP provision takes effect December 31, 2025.
As noted above, while the Secretary granted an extension for compliance with Ordering Clauses 8 which similarly provides, "Energy Service Companies shall obtain express
customer consent for any material change made to a contract with
a customer," the lack of any extension for the new UBPs' effective date, or stay of specific UBP provisions, places ESCOs in an unenviable position of having an extension granted for a specific ordering clause, but without explicit direction concerning UBP compliance
Similarly, the new UBPs which still take effect on December 31, 2025 under the Secretary's order include new language providing that, "In any notice regarding contract renewal,
the provider shall disclose the following information as it exists at the
time of such notice: (i) the price the provider currently charges for
energy services; (ii) the price it proposes to charge upon renewal; (iii)
the price that is charged by the customer's distribution utility; and (iv)
information notifying the customer how they may compare past bills
with what they would have been charged had they received energy
services from their respective distribution utility, including, the
internet address of any bill calculator offered on such customer's
distribution utility's website."
Ordering clause 7, for which an extension was granted, had similarly provided, "Energy Service Companies shall include in customer
renewal notices: (1) the price charged for energy services; (2)
the price the Energy Service Company proposes to charge upon
renewal; (3) the price that is charged by the customer’s
distribution utility; and (4) information notifying the customer
how they may compare past bills with what they would have been
charged had they received energy services from the respective
distribution utility, including the internet address of any bill
calculator offered by such customer’s distribution utility’s
website, as discussed in the body of this Order."
Concerning the need for the extensions, M&R in its request for an extension had stated, "The revisions to the Uniform Business Practices ('UBP Amendments') adopted in the November Order are scheduled to take effect on December 31, 2025. Absent an extension, M&R—along with other ESCOs—would be required to implement substantial and potentially irreversible operational changes while material aspects of the Order remain under Commission review. Requiring implementation under these circumstances would risk the need for subsequent reversal or re-implementation, imposing unnecessary administrative burdens on regulated entities, utilities, and the Commission itself."
M&R in its request for an extension had stated, "These changes include system reprogramming, revisions to enrollment and renewal workflows, modifications to notice protocols, and updates to customer communications, all within a compressed timeframe and under regulatory requirements that remain unclear as applied to month-to-month, variable-rate, and guaranteed-savings products. Proceeding with implementation under these conditions creates a heightened risk of inconsistent or inaccurate compliance, unnecessary customer disruption, and outcomes that may later prove incompatible with the Commission’s final resolution of the Petition."
M&R in its request for an extension had stated, "In addition, absent an extension, M&R may be forced to suspend its guaranteed savings product altogether. The November Order’s treatment of renewals effectively classifies routine product administration as repeated renewal events, triggering ongoing consent and notice obligations that make continued operation of such products impracticable. As a result, customers could lose access to a product designed to deliver clear savings relative to utility supply—not due to customer choice or performance issues, but because the regulatory framework, as currently interpreted, renders the product unworkable."
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December 30, 2025
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Copyright 2025 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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