Texas Staff: Customer "Billing Records Themselves" Not Proprietary Under Certain Section Of Subst. Rules

Staff of the Public Utility Commission of Texas said in support for a motion for summary decision in a complaint filed against AEP Texas regarding the public release of customer billing records that, "Under 16 TAC § 25.272(c)(5) it is not the billing records themselves that are proprietary."

L&F Distributors, Ltd. had filed a complaint against AEP Texas, alleging that, in another case before the PUCT, AEP filed billing records associated with L&F's account in response to a discovery request. Such case, Docket 46602, is an appeal by AEP Texas of a city's finding that an L&F account had been improperly classified for purposes of calculation of transition charges (being placed on an energy rate rather than demand rate).

L&F has alleged that on February 21, 2017, AEP released and disclosed L&F's proprietary customer information by filing such information at the Commission in response to discovery without protecting the confidentiality of the information by filing the information under a confidentiality agreement or protective order as required by the Commission's rule. AEP has since filed a redaction to those records, but L&F alleged that such action was undertaken, "only after it was called to AEP's attention by L&F."

L&F has argued that, "Billing records are expressly defined to be proprietary customer information under the Commission rules. Furthermore, the billing records also contain other customer proprietary information such as: account number, type or classification of service, historical electricity usage, price, and current charges."

L&F contends that AEP violated 16 TAC § 15.272(g)(1) when AEP filed billing records associated with L&F's account in response to a discovery request.

Staff noted that these records were the wires transaction information between AEP and L&F's retail electric provider (REP).

Staff said that L&F's argument, "can [sic] simplified into the following syllogism:"

• 16 TAC § 25.272(g)(1) prohibits utilities from disclosing proprietary information;

• billing records are per se proprietary under 16 TAC § 25.272(c)(5);

• therefore, 16 TAC § 25.272 prohibits utilities from disclosing billing records.

AEP takes issue with L&F's second premise, that billing records are per se proprietary.

Staff said that, "AEP correctly notes that a plain reading of 16 TAC § 25.272(c)(5) does not support this assertion."

The relevant portion of the rule reads: Proprietary customer information -- Any information compiled by an electric utility on a customer in the normal course of providing electric service that makes possible the identification of any individual customer by matching such information with the customer's . . . billing records, or any other information that the customer has expressly requested not be disclosed.

Staff therefore said that, "Under 16 TAC § 25.272(c)(5) it is not the billing records themselves that are proprietary, but rather any other information complied by the utility that when matched with the billing records, would enable the identification of an individual customer."

"Thus, Staff agrees with AEP that it did not violate 16 TAC § 25.272(g)(1) when AEP publicly filed the wires transaction information between AEP and L&F," Staff said

Staff therefore recommended that L&F's complaint regarding the release of the billing records be dismissed

Docket 48004