| (ii) suspending, revoking, or amending a certificate
or registration as authorized by PURA §39.356; or
(iii) pursuing administrative penalties under PURA,
Chapter 15, Subchapter B.
(B) The imposition of one penalty under this section
does not preclude the imposition of other penalties as appropriate
for the violation or series or set of violations.
(C) In assessing penalties, the commission shall consider
the following factors:
(i) the utility's prior history of violations;
(ii) the utility's efforts to comply with the commission's
rules, including the extent to which the utility has adequately and
physically separated its office, communications, accounting systems,
information systems, lines of authority, and operations from its affiliates,
and efforts to enforce these rules;
(iii) the nature and degree of economic benefit gained
by the utility's competitive affiliate;
(iv) the damages or potential damages resulting from
the violation or series or set of violations;
(v) the size of the business of the competitive affiliate
involved;
(vi) the penalty's likely deterrence of future violations;
and
(vii) such other factors deemed appropriate and material
to the particular circumstances of the violation or series or set
of violations.
(6) No immunity from antitrust enforcement. Nothing
in these affiliate rules shall confer immunity from state or federal
antitrust laws. Sanctions imposed by the commission for violations
of this rule do not affect or preempt antitrust liability, but rather
are in addition to any antitrust liability that may apply to the anti-competitive
activity. Therefore, antitrust remedies also may be sought in federal
or state court to cure anti-competitive activities.
(7) No immunity from civil relief. Nothing in these
affiliate rules shall preclude any form of civil relief that may be
available under federal or state law, including, but not limited to,
filing a complaint with the commission consistent with this subsection.
(8) Preemption. This rule supersedes any procedures
or protocols adopted by an independent organization as defined by
PURA §39.151, or similar entity, that conflict with the provisions
of this rule.
|
| Source Note: The provisions of this §25.272 adopted to be effective December 20, 1999, 24 TexReg 11274; amended to be effective January 9, 2011, 35 TexReg 11858; amended to be effective June 26, 2014, 39 TexReg 4753 |
