Pennsylvania Imposes Conditions on Another Supplier in Granting License

The Pennsylvania PUC has again tentatively proposed to condition the grant of an electric supplier license to an applicant on several reporting conditions.

Specifically, the PUC issued a tentative order yesterday that would grant Hiko Energy LLC an electric supplier license but which would also impose certain reporting conditions on Hiko Energy for a period of 18 months. Hiko Energy has 10 days to file comments on the tentative order.

This is the fourth time in the past few months the PUC has issued such a tentative order in connection with a supplier's license application.

Under the tentative order, Hiko Energy is to be licensed to serve all customer classes in all service areas.

The PUC is proposing the additional conditions due to Hiko Energy's, "high number of complaints compared to other energy service companies in New York."

"Hiko received 79 complaints in 2011 and 98 complaints in the first four months of 2012. While the sheer volume of complaints in New York does not itself demonstrate a compliance problem or inappropriate behavior, a number of the complaints include allegations or other indicators of possible problems so as to cause concern. As a result, we intend to impose some additional conditions on Hiko," the PUC said.

During the application process, Hiko Energy already committed to fully comply with the PUC's Interim Guidelines on Marketing and Sales Practices for Electric Generation Suppliers and Natural Gas Suppliers (at M-2010-2185981).

The additional conditions on Hiko tentatively proposed to be adopted by the PUC include:

a. In its response to the Commission's Bureau of Consumer Services (BCS) regarding a complaint alleging slamming, improper enrollment or deception, Hiko shall provide BCS with copies of the documentation that Hiko has supporting its position. The documentation can include written enrollment forms, disclosure statements, audio recordings, third party verification, marketing and sales materials and any other relevant documentation. Failure to provide documentation supporting an enrollment may result in a finding against Hiko and possible referral to the Commission's office responsible for enforcement action.

b. Hiko will provide a report the first week of each calendar quarter to staff capturing: (i) the complaints by category; (ii) the resolution for each complaint and (iii) any process improvements/changes, organizational changes, etc. implemented to reduce and/or eliminate similar complaints going forward;

c. Hiko will provide a single point of contact for Commission staff for resolution of consumer inquiries and/or complaints received by BCS.

d. Hiko shall operate in accordance with BCS requirements for complaint management and handling. Notwithstanding the above;

- Hiko will send a written response, either via electronic mail, regular mail or by facsimile, to the BCS advocate assigned to mediate complaints filed against Hiko, within 10 days of receipt of the complaint,

- Hiko will send a written response to the consumer who filed the complaint, within 10 days of receipt of the complaint,

- Hiko will respond to supplemental or new information referred by BCS, within 10 days of receipt of such information, and

- Hiko will provide final resolution in writing to BCS and notify the complaining consumer of same.

e. Not less than sixty days before the expiration of the 18 months, Hiko shall file a status report with the Commission describing its compliance with the Public Utility Code, Commission Orders and Regulations, and the conditions set forth above. A copy of this status report shall be provided to the Commission's Bureau of Technical Utility Services and the Commission's Bureau of Consumer Services.