| (a) Applicability. The requirements of this section
apply to retail electric providers (REPs) in connection with the provision
of service and marketing to residential and small commercial customers.
When specifically stated, the requirements of this section apply to
brokers, aggregators, and transmission and distribution utilities
(TDUs). The requirements for an additional notice to residential customers
of contract expiration is effective for contracts entered into on
or after September 1, 2021. REPs must comply with the requirements
set forth in §25.475(e)(2)(B)(ii), (e)(2)(C)(iii), (v), (vi),
(vii), (h)(4), (h)(6)(C), and the requirements set forth under §25.475(e)(1)
for contracts entered into with small commercial customers by April
1, 2022. Contracts entered into prior to the effective date of these
provisions must comply with the provisions of this section in effect
at the time the contracts were executed.
(b) Definitions. The definitions set forth in §25.5
(relating to Definitions) and §25.471(d) (relating to General
Provisions of Customer Protection Rules) of this title apply to this
section. In addition, the following words and terms, when used in
this section have the following meanings, unless the context indicates
otherwise.
(1) Contract--The terms of service document, the Electricity
Facts Label (EFL), Your Rights as a Customer document (YRAC), and
the documentation of enrollment pursuant to §25.474 of this title
(relating to Selection of Retail Electric Provider), and, if applicable,
Prepaid Disclosure Statement (PDS).
(2) Contract documents--The terms of service, EFL,
YRAC, and, if applicable, PDS.
(3) Contract expiration--The time when the initial
term contract is completed. A new contract is initiated when the customer
begins receiving service pursuant to the new EFL.
(4) Contract term--The time period the contract is
in effect.
(5) Fixed rate product--A retail electric product with
a term of at least three months for which the price (including all
recurring charges and ancillary service charges) for each billing
period of the contract term is the same throughout the contract term,
except that the price may vary from the disclosed amount solely to
reflect actual changes in TDU charges, changes to the Electric Reliability
Council of Texas (ERCOT) or Texas Regional Entity, Inc. administrative
fees charged to loads or changes resulting from federal, state or
local laws that impose new or modified fees or costs on a REP that
are beyond the REP's control. The price may not vary from the disclosed
amount to reflect changes in ancillary service charges unless the
commission expressly designates a specific type of ancillary service
product as incurring charges beyond the REP's control for a customer's
existing contract.
(6) Indexed product--A retail electric product for
which the price, including recurring charges, can vary according to
a pre-defined pricing formula that is based on publicly available
indices or information and is disclosed to the customer, and to reflect
actual changes in TDU charges, changes to the ERCOT or Texas Regional
Entity administrative fees charged to loads or changes resulting from
federal, state or local laws or regulatory actions that impose new
or modified fees or costs on a REP that are beyond the REPs control.
An indexed product may be for a term of three months or more, or may
be a month-to-month contract.
(7) Month-to-month contract--A contract with a term
of 31 days or less. A month-to-month contract may not contain a termination
fee or penalty.
(8) Price--The cost for a retail electric product that
includes all recurring charges, including the cost of ancillary services,
excluding state and local sales taxes, and reimbursement for the state
miscellaneous gross receipts tax.
(9) Recurring charge--A charge for a retail electric
product that is expected to appear on a customer's bill in every billing
period or appear in three or more billing periods in a twelve month
period. A charge is not considered recurring if it will be billed
by the TDU and passed on to the customer and will either not be applied
to all customers of that class within the TDU territory, or cannot
be known until the customer enrolls or requests a specific service.
(10) Term contract--A contract with a term in excess
of 31 days.
(11) Variable price product--A retail product for which
price may vary according to a method determined by the REP, including
a product for which the price, can increase no more than a defined
percentage as indexed to the customer's previous billing month's price.
For residential customers, a variable price product can be only a
month-to-month contract.
(12) Wholesale Indexed Product--A retail electric product
in which the price a customer pays for electricity includes a direct
pass-through of real-time settlement point prices determined by the
independent organization certified under the Public Utility Regulatory
Act (PURA) §39.151 for the ERCOT power region.
(c) General Retail Electric Provider requirements.
(1) General Disclosure Requirements.
(A) All written, electronic, and oral communications,
including advertising, websites, direct marketing materials, billing
statements, terms of service, EFLs, YRACs, and, if applicable, PDSs
distributed by a REP or aggregator must be clear and not misleading,
fraudulent, unfair, deceptive, or anti-competitive. Prohibited communications
include, but are not limited to:
(i) Using the term or terms "fixed" to market a product
that does not meet the definition of a fixed rate product.
(ii) Suggesting, implying, or otherwise leading someone
to believe that a REP or aggregator has been providing retail electric
service prior to the time the REP or aggregator was certified or registered
by the commission.
(iii) Suggesting, implying or otherwise leading someone
to believe that receiving retail electric service from a REP will
provide a customer with better quality of service from the TDU.
(iv) Falsely suggesting, implying or otherwise leading
someone to believe that a person is a representative of a TDU or any
REP or aggregator.
(v) Falsely suggesting, implying or otherwise leading
someone to believe that a contract has benefits for a period of time
longer than the initial contract term.
(B) Written and electronic communications must not
refer to laws, including commission rules without providing a link
or website address where the text of those rules are available. All
printed advertisements, electronic advertising over the Internet,
and websites, must include the REP's certified name or commission
authorized business name, or the aggregator's registered name, and
the number of the certification or registration.
(C) The terms of service, EFL, YRAC , and, if applicable,
PDS must be provided to each customer upon enrollment. Each document
must be provided to the customer whenever a change is made to the
specific document and upon a customer's request, at any time free
of charge.
(D) A REP must retain a copy of each version of the
terms of service, EFL, YRAC, and, if applicable, PDS during the time
the plan is in effect for a customer and for four years after the
contract ceases to be in effect for any customer. REPs must provide
such documents at the request of the commission or its staff.
(2) General contracting requirements.
(A) Each terms of service, EFL, and YRAC must be complete,
be written in language that is clear, plain and easily understood,
and be printed in paragraphs of no more than 250 words in a font no
smaller than 10 point. References to laws including commission rules
in these documents must include a link or website address to the full
text of the applicable law or rule.
(B) Each contract document must be available to the
commission to post on its customer education website if the REP chooses
to post offers to the website.
(C) A contract is limited to service to a customer
at a location specified in the contract. If the customer moves from
the location, the customer is under no obligation to continue the
contract at another location. The REP may require a customer to provide
evidence that it is moving to another location. There must be no early
termination fee assessed to the customer as a result of the customer's
relocation if the customer provides a forwarding address and, if required,
reasonable evidence that the customer no longer occupies the location
specified in the contract.
(D) A terms of service document and EFL must disclose
the type of product being described, using one of the following terms:
fixed rate product or a variable price product.
(E) A REP must not use a credit score, a credit history,
or utility payment data as the basis for determining the price for
electric service for a product with a contract term of 12 months or
less for an existing residential customer or in response to an applicant's
request to become a residential customer.
Cont'd... |
