(a) Registration required. A person must not provide
brokerage services, including brokerage services offered online, in
this state for compensation or other consideration unless the person
is registered with the commission as a broker. A broker is responsible
for all activities conducted on its behalf by any subcontractor or
agent. A retail electric provider (REP) is not permitted to register
as a broker and must not knowingly provide bids or offers to a person
who provides brokerage services in this state for compensation or
other consideration and is not registered as a broker. A REP may rely
on the publicly available list of registered brokers posted on the
commission's website to determine whether a broker is registered with
the commission.
(b) Definitions. The following terms, when used in
this section, have the following meanings unless the context indicates
otherwise:
(1) Broker--A person that provides brokerage services.
(2) Brokerage services--Providing advice or procurement
services to, or acting on behalf of, a retail electric customer regarding
the selection of a REP, or a product or service offered by a REP.
(c) Requirements for a person seeking to register as
a broker. A person seeking to register under this section must provide
the information listed in this subsection.
(1) All business names of the registrant limited to
five business names;
(2) The mailing address, telephone number, and email
address of the principal place of business of the registrant;
(3) The name, title, business mailing address, telephone
number, and email address for the registrant's commission contact
person;
(4) The name, title, business mailing address, telephone
number, and email address of the registrant's customer service contact
person;
(5) The name, title, business mailing address, telephone
number, and email address of the registrant's commission complaint
contact person;
(6) The form of business being registered (e.g., corporation,
partnership, or sole proprietor); and
(7) An affidavit from the owner, partner, or officer
of the registrant affirming that the registrant is authorized to do
business in Texas under all applicable laws and is in good standing
with the Texas Secretary of State; that all statements made in the
application are true, correct, and complete; that any material changes
in the information will be provided in a timely manner; and that the
registrant understands and will comply with all applicable law and
rules.
(d) Registration procedures. The following procedures
apply to a person seeking to register as a broker:
(1) A registration application must be made on the
form approved by the commission, verified by notarized oath or affirmation,
and signed by an owner, partner, or officer of the registrant. The
form may be obtained from the central records division of the commission
or from the commission's Internet site. Each registrant must file
its registration application form with the commission's filing clerk
in accordance with the commission's procedural rules.
(2) The registrant must promptly inform the commission
of any material change in the information provided in the registration
application while the application is being processed.
(3) An application will be processed as follows:
(A) Commission staff will review the submitted form
for completeness. Within 20 working days of receipt of an application,
the commission staff will notify the registrant by mail or e-mail
of any deficiencies in the application. The registrant will have ten
working days from the issuance of the notification to cure the deficiencies.
If the deficiencies are not cured within ten working days, commission
staff will notify the registrant that the registration application
is rejected without prejudice.
(B) Commission staff will determine whether to accept
or reject the application within 60 days of the receipt of a complete
application.
(C) An applicant may contest commission staff's rejection
of its application by filing a petition for formal review of the registration
application in accordance with the commission's procedural rules.
The registrant has the burden of proof to establish that its application
meets the requirements of PURA and commission rules.
(e) Registration Update. Unless updated, a broker registration
expires three years after the date of the assignment of a broker registration
number or the registration's most recent update. Each registrant must
submit the information required to update its registration with the
commission not less than 90 days prior to the expiration date of the
current registration. An expired registration is no longer valid,
and the broker will be removed from the broker list on the commission's
website.
(f) Registration Amendment. A broker must amend its
registration to reflect any changes in the information previously
submitted, including business name, mailing address, email address,
or telephone number within 30 calendar days from the date of the change.
This amendment is an update under (e) of this section.
(g) Suspension and Revocation of Registration and Administrative
Penalty. The commission may impose an administrative penalty for violations
of PURA or commission rules. The commission may also suspend or revoke
a broker's registration for significant violations of PURA or commission
rules. Significant violations include, but are not limited to, the
following:
(1) providing false or misleading information to the
commission;
(2) engaging in fraudulent, unfair, misleading, deceptive
or anti-competitive practices;
(3) a pattern of failure to meet the requirements of
PURA, commission rules, or commission orders;
(4) failure to respond to commission inquiries or customer
complaints in a timely fashion;
(5) switching or causing to be switched the REP of
a customer without first obtaining the customer's authorization; or
(6) billing an unauthorized charge or causing an unauthorized
charge to be billed to a customer's retail electric service bill.
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