Regulator Believes Two Suppliers Not In Compliance With Written Contract Rules, Opens Investigation of All Suppliers

The Connecticut PURA said that it has reason to believe that two retail electric suppliers are not in compliance with the currently effective rules requiring the provision of a written contract to certain customers, and opened an investigation of all suppliers' compliance with the written contract rule.

Conn. Gen. Stat. §16-245o(e) provides in pertinent parts: "Each electric supplier shall provide each customer with a demand of less than one hundred kilowatts, a written contract that conforms with the provisions of this section ... Each contract for electric generation services shall contain all material terms of the agreement, a clear and conspicuous statement explaining the rates that such customer will be paying, including the circumstances under which the rates may change, a statement that provides specific directions to the customer as to how to compare the price term in the contract to the customer's existing electric generation service charge on the electric bill and how long those rates are guaranteed."

"The Authority has reasons to believe that not all electric suppliers have been in compliance with this statute," PURA said, though PURA's statement regarding each named supplier was not a formal finding of a violation.

"For instance, Starion stated in its Written Exceptions dated April 24, 2014 in Docket No. 13-07-18: 'Starion does not support sending all existing customers a copy of their contract, agreement or terms and conditions ... Starion provides every customer with their terms and conditions at the time of enrollment with its welcome letter. Additionally, many of Starion's customer agreements are in the form of recorded audio statements, a third-party verification recording. Does the Authority seek to have all suppliers make a copy of the customers' third-party verification recording to send, via U.S. Mail, to each customer? Moreover, Starion does not have an electronically saved copy of each customer's agreement,'" PURA said.

"Similarly, Discount Power stated in its Written Exceptions dated April 24, 2014 in Docket No. 13-07-18: "the requirement that the supplier provide customers with a copy of their contract is unworkable. The fact is, most customers enroll by phone or on-line. Often, there is no physical contract beyond a TPV for telephone enrollment or an on-line enrollment for customers enrolling on the Company's website,'" PURA said.

"Based on the foregoing, PURA is initiating this docket to (a) investigate whether every electric supplier doing business in Connecticut is in compliance with Conn. Gen. Stat. §16-245o(e), and (b) determine the appropriate remedies for customers and/or penalties for any electric supplier that has failed to comply with §16-245o(e)," PURA said in opening Docket 14-05-37