| (i) In the case of unexpended funds provided by an
energy assistance agency, the REP must refund the funds to the energy
assistance agency and identify the applicable customer and the customer's
address associated with each refund.
(ii) In the case of unexpended funds provided by the
customer that are less than five dollars, the REP must communicate
the unexpended balance to the customer and state that the customer
may contact the REP to request a refund of the balance. Once the REP
has received the request for refund from the customer, the REP must
refund the balance within ten business days.
(8) Nothing in this subsection limits a customer from
obtaining a SUP.
(9) The communications provided under paragraph (7)(A)-(D)
of this subsection and any confirmation of payment as described in
paragraph (7)(E) of this subsection, except a receipt provided when
the payment is made in person at a third-party payment location, must
be provided in English or Spanish, at the customer's election.
(10) A REP must cooperate with energy assistance agencies
to facilitate the provision of energy assistance payments to requesting
customers.
(11) A REP must not:
(A) tie the duration of an electric service contract
to the duration of a tenant's lease;
(B) require, or enter into an agreement with a landlord
requiring, that a tenant select the REP as a condition of a lease;
(C) require a connection balance in excess of $75 for
a residential customer;
(D) require security deposits for electric service;
or
(E) base charges on estimated usage, other than usage
estimated by the TDU or estimated by the REP in a reasonable manner
for a time period in which the TDU has not provided actual or estimated
usage data on a web portal within the time prescribed by §25.130(g)
of this title (relating to Advanced Metering) and in which the TDU-provided
portal does not provide the REP the ability to obtain on-demand usage
data.
(12) A REP providing service must not charge a customer
any fee for:
(A) transitioning from a prepaid service to a postpaid
service, but notwithstanding §25.478(c)(3) of this title (relating
to Credit Requirements and Deposits), a REP may require the customer
to pay a deposit for postpaid service consistent with §25.478(b)
or (c)(1) and (2) of this title and may:
(i) require the deposit to be paid within ten days
after issuance of a written disconnection notice that requests a deposit;
or
(ii) bill the deposit to the customer.
(B) the removal of equipment; or
(C) the switching of a customer to another REP, or
otherwise cancelling or discontinuing taking prepaid service for reasons
other than nonpayment, but may charge and collect early termination
fees pursuant to §25.475 of this title.
(13) If a customer owes a debt to the REP for electric
service, the REP may reduce the customer's account balance by the
amount of the debt. Before reducing the account balance, the REP must
notify the customer of the amount of the debt and that the customer's
account balance will be reduced by the amount of the debt no sooner
than 10 days after the notice required by this paragraph is issued.
(14) In addition to the connection balance, a REP may
require payment of applicable TDU fees, if any, prior to establishing
electric service or reconnecting electric service.
(15) A REP that provides prepaid service to a residential
customer must not charge an amount for electric service that is higher
than the price charged by the POLR in the applicable TDU service territory.
The price for prepaid service to a residential customer calculated
as required by §25.475(g)(2)(A)-(E) of this title must be equal
to or lower than the maximum POLR rate for the residential customer
class at the 500 kilowatt-hour (kWh), 1,000 kWh, and 2,000 kWh usage
levels as shown on the POLR EFL posted on the commission's website
for the applicable TDU service territory. When an updated POLR EFL
is posted on the commission's website, the REP, at the REP's option,
may continue to reference the prior POLR EFL to ensure compliance
with this paragraph for prepaid service prices charged during the
first 30 days, beginning the date that the updated POLR EFL is posted.
For a fixed rate product, the REP must show that the prepaid service
prices calculated under §25.475(g)(2)(A), (D)-(E) of this title
are equal to or lower than the test described in this paragraph at
the time the REP makes the offer and provided that the customer accepts
the offer within 30 days.
(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
Cont'd... |
