Regulator Issues Revised Proposal Governing Door-to-Door Electricity Marketing

The Massachusetts DPU has issued a revised proposal governing the notice and conduct of door-to-door electricity sales.

The latest proposal revises provisions from an earlier draft concerning the proposed requirement that retail electric suppliers shall notify, in advance, the DPU of door-to-door marketing.

The latest proposal still requires suppliers to file a door-to-door marketing notice with the DPU no later than 5:00 p.m. the day before the start of the door-to-door marketing campaign and in the format set forth by the Department.

However, under the latest draft, such notice shall not be required to list the cities or town in which the door-to-door marketing shall take place. Suppliers had raised logistical concerns with such a requirement, noting the start date for campaigns in various towns may vary depending on numerous factors, including weather, competitor activity, and the speed of local permit processing.

The revised proposal only provides that suppliers "may" include in their filed door-to-door notices, "[t]he names of each city and town in which the Supplier expects to conduct door-to-door marketing and the expected dates of the door-to-door marketing campaign for the specific town or city."

The revised proposal goes on to state that, "Although the Second Revised Proposal makes providing the location and timing of a Supplier’s door-to-door campaign optional, the Department strongly encourages each Supplier submitting a Notice to include this information. In addition, the Department may require a Supplier to include the optional information if we determine that, due to customer complaints or other issues related to the Supplier’s door-to-door marketing practices, more detailed information is necessary."

Additionally, addressing logistical concerns raised by suppliers, the revised proposal provides that a door-to-door marketing notice submitted to the Department will be valid for 30 days, at which point a competitive supply company would need to resubmit a notice if it is continuing its door-to-door marketing campaign.

The supplier must also file a new notice if, prior to the expiration of the 30 day period, there is a change in the information provided in the current notice (e.g., the primary contact person for the supplier changes or the supplier has hired a new third party door-to-door agent), the revised proposal provides

Among other things, the revised door-to-door notice marketing is proposed to include an attestation by the Supplier that it or its third-party door-to-door agent: (a) has obtained all required municipal permits and licenses; and (b) will comply with all municipal notice requirements.

Additionally, the revised proposal would require the door-to-door marketing notice to include an attestation by the supplier that it or its third-party door-to-door agent has conducted the following for each person who will participate in the door-to-door marketing campaign:

a. a Massachusetts-specific background check;

b. a nation-wide (50 state) background check; and

c. a sex-offender registry search.

A new requirement under the revised proposal would be that, in addition to listing supplier contact information regarding the door-to-door marketing campaign, the door-to-door marketing campaign shall include contact information for the entities with whom the supplier has entered into a contractual agreement to conduct its door-to-door marketing activities (third-party door-to-door agent).

In addition to the notice requirements, the Department proposes that all suppliers and third-party door-to-door agents conducting door-to-door marketing shall be required to adopt the following specific standards of conduct:

1. All personnel engaging in door-to-door marketing shall produce and display identification clearly stating the supplier’s name (under which it does business) and logo, and the individual’s name, photo, and identification number.

2. All personnel engaging in door-to-door marketing shall provide a phone number on request that the customer can call to verify the identity of the individual and Supplier they are representing.

3. All personnel engaging in door-to-door marketing shall identify the supplier which he/she represents upon commencement of the sales call.

4. Personnel engaging in door-to-door marketing may not represent, in any way, that he/she is affiliated with the local distribution company serving the customer.

Finally, the revised proposal has eliminated the earlier proposed requirement for competitive supply companies to maintain customer complaint data.

"While the Department strongly believes that competitive supply companies, as part of their regular course of business, should maintain accurate and up-to-date customer complaint data and immediately notify the Department of any serious complaints, establishing those requirements within the context of D.P.U. 14-140, is not practical at this time. However, the Department will further examine this issue either in a separate proceeding or in the context of a competitive supply working group," the revised proposal states

Docket 14-140