Pennsylvania Consumer Advocate: Expect More "Enforcement Actions" Against Retail Suppliers

Retail energy suppliers should expect to see more "enforcement actions" imposed on them, Tanya McCloskey, Pennsylvania Acting Consumer Advocate, told the Retail Energy Supply Association's Energy Competition Symposium.

McCloskey noted that the PUC developed a set of standards for retail energy marketing, but those standards are not being followed by all suppliers, and that "enforcement actions" will be used to ensure compliance.

McCloskey reported that her office continues to receive a large volume of retail energy marketing complaints, with the most common complaints concerning:

• Door-to-door marketing, including use of utility logos or "deceptive" information by suppliers

• Do Not Call list violations

• Pass-through components imposed by suppliers on customers who have been sold a "fixed price" product

• Roll-over to variable rates at the end of a fixed price term

In addition to "enforcement actions," McCloskey said that the OCA would continue to work with the attorney general to issue "consumer alerts" to alert customers about fraudulent or deceptive behavior by retail energy suppliers