Pa. PUC Proposes Removing Exemption from Licensing for Gas Marketing Services Consultants

The Pennsylvania PUC this morning voted to issue for comment a rulemaking to re-examine the regulations regarding natural gas supplier (NGS) licensing requirements.

The PUC opened review of this issue last fall (10/14)

Today's order was not available as of press time, but the PUC said in a news release that the Commission voted 5-0 to seek comments on the rulemaking to review the NGS licensing requirements and existing exemptions for marketing services consultants and nontraditional marketers.

The Commission is proposing the following revisions to the regulations:

• Eliminating the definitions of a "marketing service consultant" and a "nontraditional marketer";

• Eliminating the exemption from licensing requirements of marketing service consultants and nontraditional marketers; and

• Eliminating the requirement that NGS report annually the names and addresses of nontraditional marketers and marketing services consultants who currently or will be acting as agents for the NGS for the upcoming year.

The current Commission regulations require all NGSs to obtain a license from the PUC in order to offer service. "Marketing service consultants" and "nontraditional marketers" have been exempted from these requirements.

Some marketing service consultants and nontraditional marketers still apply for licenses, despite the fact that they are not required to do so. To date, the Commission's practice has been to issue licenses to such entities if they meet the financial and technical requirements to obtain a license. The elimination of the exemptions from licensing for these entities will require all entities meeting the definition of a NGS to be licensed.

"To ensure that we, as a Commission, are able to make the best decision possible, I strongly encourage interested parties to comment on these proposed changes and to review and consider all of the comments that were submitted in 2001 for the development of our current regulation," Commissioner Pamela A. Witmer said in a statement.

"My affirmative vote for this tentative order should not be interpreted as my concurrence with this rulemaking," Commissioner James H. Cawley also said in a statement. "Rather, my affirmative vote only reflects my willingness to listen to stakeholder feedback on how best to balance the needs of utilities, service providers, and customers in the provision of natural gas supply requirements as our industry matures."

Cawley asked stakeholders to respond to the following:

1. Should the Commission affirm its current practice by not licensing any nontraditional marketers or consultants so as not to appear to favor one entity over another?

2. What problems may result from terminating the licenses of nontraditional marketers or consultants that have voluntarily subjected themselves to our regulation, and how could the Commission mitigate those problems?

3. Are nontraditional marketers and consultants presently acting in a manner contrary to existing NGS consumer protection regulations?

4. Is there a segment of natural gas market service providers that should be more closely regulated?

The docket is L-2011-2266832.