PUCT's Nelson to Meet with Stakeholders on Teaser Rate Disclosure

PUCT Commissioner Donna Nelson will hold a stakeholder meeting on May 5 to discuss the appropriate disclosure of teaser rates by REPs.

Nelson said at Friday's open meeting that the goal is to address the Commission's concerns regarding disclosure without opening up a rulemaking.

Commissioner Kenneth Anderson suggested one possibility to ensure that customers understand the nature of teaser rates is to make the variable pricing history for the product more easily found by customers, such as by placing a link to the pricing history under the "Special Terms" of the product on Power to Choose, which appear on screen when the cursor hovers over the link.

Regarding other improvements to Power to Choose, Chairman Barry Smitherman expressed support for a concept similar to that expressed in a workshop earlier last week. Smitherman suggested that the Commission should encourage customers to make some decisions regarding their desired product type before comparing rates on Power to Choose, such as whether they want a fixed or month to month product, and whether they want a renewable option, so that the comparisons customers then see on screen may be narrowed to make navigation easier.