(d) Customer acknowledgement. As part of the enrollment
process, a REP must obtain the applicant's or customer's acknowledgement
of the following statement: "The continuation of electric service
depends on your prepaying for service on a timely basis and if your
balance falls below {insert dollar amount of disconnection balance},
your service may be disconnected with little notice. Some electric
assistance agencies may not provide assistance to customers that use
prepaid service." The REP must obtain this acknowledgement using any
of the authorization methods specified in §25.474 of this title
(relating to Selection of Retail Electric Provider).
(e) Prepaid disclosure statement (PDS). A REP must
provide a PDS contemporaneously with the delivery of the contract
documents to a customer pursuant to §25.474 of this title and
as required by subsection (f) of this section. A REP must also provide
a PDS contemporaneously with any advertisement or other marketing
materials not addressed in subsection (f) of this section that include
a specific price or cost for prepaid service. The commission may adopt
a form for a PDS. The PDS must be a separate document and must be
at a minimum written in 12-point font, and must:
(1) provide the following statement: "The continuation
of electric service depends on you prepaying for service on a timely
basis and if your current balance falls below the disconnection balance,
your service may be disconnected with little notice.";
(2) inform the customer of the following:
(A) the connection balance that is required to initiate
or reconnect electric service;
(B) the acceptable forms of payment, the hours that
payment can be made, instructions on how to make payments, any requirement
to verify payment and any fees associated with making a payment;
(C) when service may be disconnected and the disconnection
balance;
(D) that prepaid service is not available to critical
care or chronic condition residential customers as these terms are
defined in §25.497 of this title (relating to Critical Load Industrial
Customers, Critical Load Public Safety Customers, Critical Care Residential
Customers and Chronic Condition Residential Customers);
(E) the means by which the REP will communicate required
information;
(F) the availability of deferred payment plans and,
if a REP reserves the right to apply a switch-hold while the customer
is subject to a deferred payment plan, that a switch-hold may apply
until the customer satisfies the terms of the deferred payment plan,
and that a switch-hold means the customer will not be able to buy
electricity from other companies while the switch-hold is in place;
(G) the availability of energy bill payment assistance,
including the disclosure that some electric assistance agencies may
not provide assistance to customers that use prepaid service and the
statement "If you qualify for low-income status or low-income assistance,
have received energy assistance in the past, or you think you will
be in need of energy assistance in the future, you should contact
the billing assistance program to confirm that you can qualify for
energy assistance if you need it."; and
(H) an itemization of any non-recurring REP fees and
charges that the customer may be charged.
(3) be prominently displayed in the property management
office of any multi-tenant commercial or residential building at which
the landlord is acting as an agent of the REP.
(f) Marketing of prepaid services.
(1) This paragraph applies to advertisements conveyed
through print, television, radio, outdoor advertising, prerecorded
telephonic messages, bill inserts, bill messages, and electronic media
other than Internet websites. If the advertisement includes a specific
price or cost, the advertisement must include in a manner that is
clear and conspicuous to the intended audience:
(A) any non-recurring fees, and the total amount of
those fees, that will be deducted from the connection balance to establish
service;
(B) the following statement, if applicable: "Utility
fees may also apply and may increase the total amount that you pay.";
(C) the maximum fee per payment transaction that may
be imposed by the REP; and
(D) the following statement: "You can obtain important
standardized information that will allow you to compare this product
with other offers. Contact (name, telephone number, and Internet address
(if available) of the REP)." If the REP's phone number or website
address is already included on the advertisement, the REP need not
repeat the phone number or website as part of this required statement.
The REP must provide the PDS and EFL to a person who requests standardized
information for the product.
(2) This paragraph applies to all advertisements and
marketing that include a specific price or cost conveyed through Internet
websites, direct mail, mass e-mails, and any other media not addressed
by paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of this subsection. In addition to
meeting the requirements of §25.474(d)(7) of this title, a REP
must include the PDS and EFL on Internet websites and in direct mail,
mass e-mails, and any other media not addressed by paragraphs (1),
(3), and (4) of this subsection. For electronic communications, the
PDS and EFL may be provided through a hyperlink.
(3) This paragraph applies to outbound telephonic solicitations
initiated by the REP. A REP must disclose the following:
(A) information required by paragraph (1)(A)-(C) of
this subsection;
(B) when service may be disconnected, the disconnection
balance, and any non-TDU disconnection fees;
(C) the means by which the REP will communicate required
information; and
(D) the following statement: "You have the right to
review standardized documents before you sign up for this product."
The REP must provide the PDS and EFL to a person who requests standardized
information for the product.
(4) This paragraph applies to solicitations in person.
In addition to meeting the requirements of §25.474(e)(8) of this
title, before obtaining a signature from an applicant or customer
who is being enrolled in prepaid service, a REP must provide the applicant
or customer a reasonable opportunity to read the PDS.
(g) Landlord as customer of record. A REP offering
prepaid service to multiple tenants at a location may designate the
landlord as the customer of record for the purpose of transactions
with ERCOT and the TDU.
(1) For each ESI ID for which the REP chooses to designate
the landlord as the customer of record, the REP must provide to the
TDU the name, service and mailing addresses, and ESI ID, and keep
that information updated as required in the TDU's Tariff for Retail
Delivery Service.
(2) The REP must treat each end-use consumer as a customer
for purposes of this subchapter, including §25.471 of this title
(relating to General Provisions of Customer Protection Rules). Nothing
in this subsection affects a REP's responsibility to provide customer
billing contact information to ERCOT in the format required by ERCOT.
(h) Summary of usage and payment (SUP).
(1) A REP must provide a SUP to each customer upon
the customer's request within three business days of receipt of the
request. The SUP must be delivered by an electronic means of communications
that provides a downloadable and printable record of the SUP or, if
the customer requests, by the United States Postal Service. If a customer
requests a paper copy of the SUP, a REP may charge a fee for the SUP,
which must be specified in the terms of service and PDS provided to
the customer. For purposes of the SUP, a billing cycle must conform
to a calendar month.
(2) A SUP must include the following information:
(A) the certified name and address of the REP and the
number of the license issued to the REP by the commission;
(B) a toll-free telephone number, in bold-face type,
that the customer can call during specified hours for questions and
complaints to the REP about the SUP;
(C) the name, meter number, account number, ESI ID
of the customer, and the service address of the customer;
(D) the dates and amounts of payments made during the
period covered by the summary;
(E) a statement of the customer's consumption and charges
by calendar month during the period covered by the summary;
(F) an itemization of non-recurring charges, including
returned check fees and reconnection fees; and
(G) the average price for electric service for each
calendar month included in the SUP. The average price for electric
service must reflect the total of all fixed and variable recurring
charges, but not including state and local sales taxes, reimbursement
for the state miscellaneous gross receipts tax, and any nonrecurring
charges or credits, divided by the kilowatt-hour consumption, and
must be expressed as a cents per kilowatt-hour amount rounded to the
nearest one-tenth of one cent.
Cont'd... |