| (ii) If the notice is provided in or with a small commercial
customer's bill, the REP must include a statement in a manner readily
visible on the outside of the billing envelope or in the subject line
of an electronic bill that states, "Contract Expiration Notice" or
"Contract Expiration Notice. See Enclosed."; or
(iii) For residential and small commercial customers,
if notice is provided in a separate document, a statement must be
included in a manner readily visible on the outside of the envelope
and in the subject line of the e-mail (if customer has agreed to receive
official documents by e-mail) that states, "Contract Expiration Notice.
See Enclosed."
(C) A written notice of contract expiration (whether
with the bill or in a separate envelope) must set out the following:
(i) The date, in boldfaced and underlined text, as
provided for in subsection (c)(3)(B) of this section that the existing
contract will expire.
(ii) If the REP provided a calendar date as the end
date for the contract, a statement in bold lettering no smaller than
12 point font that no termination penalty must apply to residential
and small commercial customers 14 days prior to the date stated as
the expiration date in the notice. In addition, a description of any
fees or charges associated with the early termination of a residential
customer's fixed rate product that would apply before 14 days prior
to the date stated as the expiration date in the notice must be provided.
No such statements are required if the original contract did not contain
a termination fee.
(iii) If the REP defined the contract end date by reference
to the first meter read on or after a specific calendar date, a statement
in bold lettering no smaller than 12 point font that no termination
penalty applies to residential customers for 14 days prior to the
date provided as the "on or after" date included in connection with
the first meter read language referenced in the notice, or that no
termination penalty applies to small commercial customers for 14 days
prior to the contract end date. No such statement is required if the
original contract did not contain a termination fee.
(iv) A description of any renewal offers the REP chooses
to make available to the customer and the location of the terms of
service and EFL for each of those products and a description of actions
the customer needs to take to continue to receive service from the
REP under the terms of any of the described renewal offers and the
deadline by which actions must be taken.
(v) The final notice provided pursuant to subsection
(e)(2) must include a copy of the EFL for the default renewal product
if the customer takes no action or if the EFL is not included with
the contract expiration notice, the REP must provide the EFL to the
customer at least 14 days before the expiration of the contract using
the same delivery method as was used for the notice. The contract
expiration notice must specify how and when the EFL will be made available
to the customer.
(vi) The final notice provided pursuant to subsection
(e)(2) must include a statement that if the customer takes no action,
service to the customer will continue pursuant to the EFL for the
default renewal product that must be included as part of the notice
of contract expiration. The terms of service for the default renewal
product must be included as part of the notice, unless the terms of
service applicable to the customer's existing service also applies
to the default renewal product.
(vii) The final notice provided pursuant to subsection
(e)(2) must include a statement that the default service is month-to
month and may be cancelled at any time with no fee.
(3) Affirmative consent. A customer that is currently
receiving service from a REP may be re-enrolled with the REP for service
with the same product under which the customer is currently receiving
service, or a different product, by conducting an enrollment pursuant
to §25.474 of this title or by obtaining the customer's consent
in a recording, electronic document, or written letter of authorization
consistent with the requirements of this subsection. Affirmative consent
is not required when a REP serves the customer under a default renewal
product pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection. Each recording,
electronic document, or written consent form must:
(A) Indicate the customer's name, billing address,
service address (for small commercial customers, the ESI ID may be
used rather than the service address);
(B) Indicate the identification number of the terms
of service and EFL under which the customer will be served;
(C) Indicate if the customer has received, or when
the customer will receive copies of the terms of service, EFL, YRAC,
and, if applicable, PDS;
(D) Indicate the price(s) which the customer is agreeing
to pay;
(E) Indicate the date or estimated date of the re-enrollment,
the contract term, and the estimated start and end dates of contract
term;
(F) Affirmatively inquire whether the customer has
decided to enroll for service with the product, and contain the customer's
affirmative response; and
(G) Be entirely in plain, easily understood language,
in the language that the customer has chosen for communications.
(f) Terms of service document. The following information
must be conspicuously contained in the terms of service:
(1) Identity and contact information. The REP's certified
name and business name (dba) (if applicable), mailing address, e-mail
and Internet address (if applicable), certification number, and a
toll-free telephone number (with hours of operation and time-zone
reference).
(2) Pricing and payment arrangements.
(A) Description of the amount of any routine non-recurring
charges resulting from a move-in or switch that may be charged to
the customer, including but not limited to an out-of-cycle meter read,
and connection or reconnection fees;
(B) For small commercial customers, a description of
the demand charge and how it will be applied, if applicable;
(C) An itemization, including name and cost, of any
non-recurring charges for services that may be imposed on the customer
for the retail electric product, including an application fee, charges
for default in payment or late payment, and returned checks charges;
(D) A description of any collection fees or costs that
may be assessed to the customer by the REP and that cannot be quantified
in the terms of service; and
(E) A description of payment arrangements and bill
payment assistance programs offered by the REP.
(3) Deposits. If the REP requires deposits from its
customers:
(A) a description of the conditions that will trigger
a request for a deposit;
(B) the maximum amount of the deposit or the manner
in which the deposit amount will be determined;
(C) a statement that interest will be paid on the deposit
at the rate approved by the commission, and the conditions under which
the customer may obtain a refund of a deposit;
(D) an explanation of the conditions under which a
customer may establish satisfactory credit pursuant to §25.478
of this title (relating to Credit Requirements and Deposits); and
(E) if applicable, the customer's right to post a letter
of guarantee in lieu of a deposit pursuant to §25.478(i) of this
title.
(4) Rescission, Termination and Disconnection.
(A) In a conspicuous and separate paragraph or box:
(i) A description of the right of a customer, for switch
requests, to rescind service without fee or penalty of any kind within
three federal business days after receiving the terms of service,
pursuant to §25.474 of this title; and
(ii) Detailed instructions for rescinding service,
including the telephone number and, if available, facsimile number
or e-mail address that the customer may use to rescind service.
(B) A statement as to how service can be terminated
and any penalties that may apply;
(C) A statement of the customer's ability to terminate
service without penalty if the customer moves to another premises
and provides evidence that it is moving, if required, and a forwarding
address; and
(D) If the REP has disconnection authority, pursuant
to §25.483 of this title (relating to Disconnection of Service),
a statement that the REP may order disconnection of the customer for
non-payment.
(5) Antidiscrimination. A statement informing the customer
that the REP cannot deny service or require a prepayment or deposit
for service based on a customer's race, creed, color, national origin,
ancestry, sex, marital status, lawful source of income, level of income,
disability, familial status, location of a customer in a economically
distressed geographic area, or qualification for low income or energy
efficiency services. For residential customers, a statement informing
the customer that the REP cannot use a credit score, a Cont'd... |
