| (a) Records of complaints. Any affected person may
complain to the commission, either in writing or by telephone, setting
forth any act or thing done or omitted to be done by any person under
the jurisdiction of the commission in violation or claimed violation
of any law which the commission has jurisdiction to administer or
of any order, ordinance, rule, or regulation of the commission. The
commission staff may request a complaint made by telephone be put
in writing if necessary to complete investigation of the complaint.
The commission shall keep information about each complaint filed with
the commission. The commission shall retain the information in conformance
with the agency’s records retention schedule as approved by
the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. The information shall
include:
(1) the date the complaint is received;
(2) the name of the complainant;
(3) the subject matter of the complaint;
(4) a record of all persons contacted in relation to
the complaint;
(5) a summary of the results of the review or investigation
of the complaint; and
(6) for complaints for which the commission took no
action, an explanation of the reason the complaint was closed without
action.
(b) Access to complaint records. The commission shall
keep a file about each written complaint filed with the commission
that the commission has the authority to resolve. The commission shall
provide to the person filing the complaint and to the persons or entities
complained about the commission’s policies and procedures pertaining
to complaint investigation and resolution. The commission, at least
quarterly and until final disposition of the complaint, shall notify
the person filing the complaint and each person or entity complained
of about the status of the complaint unless the notice would jeopardize
an undercover investigation.
(c) Informal resolution required in certain cases.
A person must present a complaint to the commission for informal resolution
before presenting the complaint to the commission.
(1) Exceptions. A complainant may present a formal
complaint to the commission, without first referring the complaint
for informal resolution, if:
(A) the complainant is commission staff, the Office
of Public Utility Counsel, or any city;
(B) the complaint is filed by a qualifying facility
and concerns rates paid by an electric utility for power provided
by the qualifying facility, the terms and conditions for the purchase
of such power, or any other matter that affects the relations between
an electric utility and a qualifying facility;
(C) the complaint is filed by a person alleging that
an electric utility or a telecommunications utility has engaged in
anti-competitive practices;
(D) the complaint has been the subject of a complaint
proceeding conducted by a city;
(E) the complaint is filed by a person alleging that
a water or sewer utility has abandoned the service of the utility;
or
(F) the complaint is filed by a person alleging that
a wholesale water or sewer provider has discontinued, reduced, or
impaired its wholesale water or sewer service to its customers for
reasons other than those specified in §24.88 of this title (relating
to Discontinuance of Service).
(2) For any complaint that is not listed in paragraph
(1) of this subsection, the complainant may submit to the commission
a written request for waiver of the requirement for attempted informal
resolution. The complainant shall clearly state the reasons informal
resolution is not appropriate. The commission staff may grant the
request for good cause.
(d) Termination of informal resolution. The commission
staff shall attempt to informally resolve all complaints within 35
days of the date of receipt of the complaint. The commission staff
shall notify, in writing, the complainant and the person against whom
the complainant is seeking relief of the status of the dispute at
the end of the 35-day period. If the dispute has not been resolved
to the complainant’s satisfaction within 35 days, the complainant
may present the complaint to the commission. The commission staff
shall notify the complainant of the procedures for formally presenting
a complaint to the commission.
(e) Formal Complaint. If an attempt at informal resolution
fails, or is not required under subsection (c) of this section, the
complainant may present a formal complaint to the commission.
(1) Requirement to present complaint concerning electric,
water, or sewer utility to a city. If a person receives electric,
water, or sewer utility service or has applied to receive electric,
water, or sewer utility service within the limits of a city that has
original jurisdiction over the electric, water, or sewer utility providing
service or requested to provide service, the person must present any
complaint concerning the electric, water, or sewer utility to the
city before presenting the complaint to the commission.
(A) The person may present the complaint to the commission
after:
(i) the city issues a decision on the complaint; or
(ii) the city issues a statement that it will not consider
the complaint or a class of complaints that includes the person’s
complaint.
(B) If the city does not act on the complaint within
30 days, the commission may send the city a letter requesting that
the city act on the complaint. If the city does not respond or act
within 30 days from the date of the letter, the complaint shall be
deemed denied by the city and the commission shall consider the complaint.
(2) The commission staff may permit a complainant to
cure any deficiencies under this subsection and may waive any of the
requirements of this subsection for good cause, if the waiver will
not materially affect the rights of any other party. A formal complaint
shall include the following information:
(A) the name of the complainant or complainants;
(B) the name of the complainant’s representative,
if any;
(C) the address, telephone number, and facsimile transmission
number, if available, and, unless the person has filed a statement
under §22.106 of this title (relating to Statement of No Access),
the email address of the complainant or the complainant’s representative;
(D) the name of the person against whom the complainant
is seeking relief;
(E) if the complainant is seeking relief against an
electric, water, or sewer utility, a statement of whether the complaint
relates to service that the complainant is receiving within the limits
of a city;
(F) if the complainant is seeking relief against an
electric, water, or sewer utility within the limits of a city, a description
of any complaint proceedings conducted by the city, including the
outcome of those proceedings;
(G) a statement of whether the complainant has attempted
informal resolution through the commission staff and the date on which
the informal resolution was completed or the time for attempting the
informal resolution elapsed;
(H) a description of the facts that gave rise to the
complaint; and
(I) a statement of the relief that the complainant
is seeking.
(f) Copies to be provided. A complainant shall file
the required number of copies of the formal complaint as required
by §22.71 of this title (relating to Filing of Pleadings, Documents,
and Other Materials). A complainant shall provide a copy of the formal
complaint to the person from whom relief is sought.
(g) Docketing of complaints. Any complaint that substantially
complies with the requirements of this section shall be docketed.
(h) Continuation of service during processing of complaint.
In any case in which a formal complaint has been filed and an allegation
is made that a person is threatening to discontinue a customer’s
service, the presiding officer may, after notice and opportunity for
hearing, issue an order requiring the person to continue to provide
service during the processing of the complaint. The presiding officer
may issue such an order for good cause, on such terms as may be reasonable
to preserve the rights of the parties during the processing of the
complaint.
(i) List of cities without regulatory authority. The
commission shall maintain and make available to the public a list
of the municipalities that do not have exclusive original jurisdiction
over all electric rates, operations, and services provided by an electric
utility within its city or town limits and a list of the municipalities
that have surrendered to the commission original jurisdiction over
the rates charged by a utility for retail water or sewer service within
the corporate boundaries of the municipality.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §22.242 adopted to be effective November 1, 1993, 18 TexReg 6641; amended to be effective September 8, 1995, 20 TexReg 6627; amended to be effective May 11, 1999, 24 TexReg 3476; amended to be effective March 26, 2001, 26 TexReg 2351; amended to be effective December 4, 2016, 41 TexReg 9472 |
