(1) Transactions with all affiliates. A utility shall
not subsidize the business activities of any affiliate with revenues
from a regulated service. In accordance with PURA and the commission's
rules, a utility and its affiliates shall fully allocate costs for
any shared services, including corporate support services, offices,
employees, property, equipment, computer systems, information systems,
and any other shared assets, services, or products.
(A) Sale of products or services by a utility. Unless
otherwise approved by the commission and except for corporate support
services, any sale of a product or service by a utility shall be governed
by a tariff approved by the commission. Products and services shall
be made available to any third party entity on the same terms and
conditions as the utility makes those products and services available
to its affiliates.
(B) Purchase of products, services, or assets by a
utility from its affiliate. Products, services, and assets shall be
priced at levels that are fair and reasonable to the customers of
the utility and that reflect the market value of the product, service,
or asset.
(C) Transfers of assets. Except for asset transfers
implementing unbundling pursuant to PURA §39.051, asset valuation
in accordance with PURA §39.262, and transfers of property pursuant
to a financing order issued under PURA, Chapter 39, Subchapter G,
assets transferred from a utility to its affiliates shall be priced
at levels that are fair and reasonable to the customers of the utility
and that reflect the market value of the assets or the utility's fully
allocated cost to provide those assets.
(D) Transfer of assets implementing restructuring legislation.
The transfer from a utility to an affiliate of assets implementing
unbundling pursuant to PURA §39.051, asset valuation in accordance
with PURA §39.262, and transfers of property pursuant to a financing
order issued under PURA, Chapter 39, Subchapter G will be reviewed
by the commission pursuant to the applicable provisions of PURA, and
any rules implementing those provisions.
(2) Transactions with competitive affiliates. Unless
otherwise allowed in this subsection, transactions between a utility
and its competitive affiliates shall be at arm's length. A utility
shall maintain a contemporaneous written record of all transactions
with its competitive affiliates, except those involving corporate
support services and those transactions governed by tariffs. Such
records, which shall include the date of the transaction, name of
affiliate involved, name of a utility employee knowledgeable about
the transaction, and a description of the transaction, shall be maintained
by the utility for three years. In addition to the requirements specified
in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the following provisions apply
to transactions between utilities and their competitive affiliates.
(A) Provision of corporate support services. A utility
may engage in transactions directly related to the provision of corporate
support services with its competitive affiliates. Such provision of
corporate support services shall not allow or provide a means for
the transfer of confidential information from the utility to the competitive
affiliate, create the opportunity for preferential treatment or unfair
competitive advantage, lead to customer confusion, or create significant
opportunities for cross-subsidization of the competitive affiliate.
(B) Purchase of products or services by a utility from
its competitive affiliate. Except for corporate support services,
a utility may not enter into a transaction to purchase a product or
service from a competitive affiliate that has a per unit value of
$75,000 or more, or a total value of $1 million or more, unless the
transaction is the result of a fair, competitive bidding process formalized
in a contract subject to the provisions of §25.273 of this title
(relating to Contracts Between Electric Utilities and Their Competitive
Affiliates).
(C) Transfers of assets. Except for asset transfers
facilitating unbundling pursuant to PURA §39.051, asset valuation
in accordance with PURA §39.262, and transfers of property pursuant
to a financing order issued under PURA, Chapter 39, Subchapter G,
any transfer from a utility to its competitive affiliates of assets
with a per unit value of $75,000 or more, or a total value of $1 million
or more, must be the result of a fair, competitive bidding process
formalized in a contract subject to the provisions of §25.273
of this title.
(f) Safeguards relating to provision of products and
services.
(1) Products and services available on a non-discriminatory
basis. If a utility makes a product or service, other than corporate
support services, available to a competitive affiliate, it shall make
the same product or service available, contemporaneously and in the
same manner, to all similarly situated entities, and it shall apply
its tariffs, prices, terms, conditions, and discounts for those products
and services in the same manner to all similarly situated entities.
A utility shall process all requests for a product or service from
competitive affiliates or similarly situated non-affiliated entities
on a non-discriminatory basis. If a utility's tariff allows for discretion
in its application, the utility shall apply that provision in the
same manner to its competitive affiliates and similarly situated non-affiliates,
as well as to their respective customers. If a utility's tariff allows
no discretion in its application, the utility shall strictly apply
the tariff. A utility shall not use customer-specific contracts to
circumvent these requirements, nor create a product or service arrangement
with its competitive affiliate that is so unique that no competitor
could be similarly situated to utilize the product or service.
(2) Discounts, rebates, fee waivers, or alternative
tariff terms and conditions. If a utility offers its competitive affiliate
or grants a request from its competitive affiliate for a discount,
rebate, fee waiver, or alternative tariff terms and conditions for
any product or service, it must make the same benefit contemporaneously
available, on a non-discriminatory basis, to all similarly situated
non-affiliates. The utility shall post a conspicuous notice on its
Internet site or public electronic bulletin board for at least 30
consecutive calendar days providing the following information: the
name of the competitive affiliate involved in the transaction; the
rate charged; the normal rate or tariff condition; the period for
which the benefit applies; the quantities and the delivery points
involved in the transaction (if any); any conditions or requirements
applicable to the benefit; documentation of any cost differential
underlying the benefit; and the procedures by which non-affiliates
may obtain the same benefit. The utility shall maintain records of
such information for a minimum of three years, and shall make such
records available for third party review within 72 hours of a written
request, or at a time mutually agreeable to the utility and the third
party. A utility shall not create any arrangement with its competitive
affiliate that is so unique that no competitor could be similarly
situated to benefit from the discount, rebate, fee waiver, or alternative
tariff terms and conditions.
(3) Tying arrangements prohibited. Unless otherwise
allowed by the commission through a rule or tariff prior to a utility's
unbundling pursuant to PURA §39.051, a utility shall not condition
the provision of any product, service, pricing benefit, or alternative
terms or conditions upon the purchase of any other good or service
from the utility or its competitive affiliate.
(g) Information safeguards.
(1) Proprietary customer information. A utility shall
provide a customer with the customer's proprietary customer information,
upon request by the customer. Unless a utility obtains prior affirmative
written consent or other verifiable authorization from the customer
as determined by the commission, or unless otherwise permitted under
this subsection, it shall not release any proprietary customer information
to a competitive affiliate or any other entity, other than the customer,
an independent organization as defined by PURA §39.151, or a
provider of corporate support services for the sole purpose of providing
corporate support services in accordance with subsection (e)(2)(A)
of this section. The utility shall maintain records that include the
date, time, and nature of information released when it releases customer
proprietary information to another entity in accordance with this
paragraph. The utility shall maintain records of such information
for a minimum of three years, and shall make the records available
for third party review within 72 hours of a written request, or at
a time mutually agreeable to the utility and the third party. When
the third party requesting review of the records is not the customer,
commission, or Office of Public Utility Counsel, the records may be
redacted in such a way as to protect the customer's identity. If proprietary
customer information is released to an independent organization or
a provider of corporate support services, the independent organization
or entity providing corporate support services is subject to the rules
in this subsection with respect to releasing the information to other
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