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TITLE 16ECONOMIC REGULATION
PART 2PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS
CHAPTER 25SUBSTANTIVE RULES APPLICABLE TO ELECTRIC SERVICE PROVIDERS
SUBCHAPTER ECERTIFICATION, LICENSING AND REGISTRATION
RULE §25.107Certification and Obligations of Retail Electric Providers (REPs)

    (G) Comply with the registration and certification requirements of the applicable independent organization and its system rules and protocols, or each contract for services with a third-party provider that is required to be registered with or certified by the applicable independent organization.

    (H) Maintain adequate staffing and employee training to meet all service level commitments.

    (I) Respond within five working days to any commission or commission staff request for information, unless otherwise provided by the commission, commission staff, or other applicable law.

  (2) An applicant must provide the following information to the commission to certify as a REP under this section.

    (A) An application for certification or amendment to a certificate must be made on a form approved by the commission, specify whether the applicant seeks to obtain or amend a REP certificate, and be accompanied by a signed, notarized affidavit attesting that all material provided in the application is true, correct, and complete. The affidavit must be signed by an executive officer of the applicant.

    (B) Information related to the applicant's status as a legal entity, including information related to its tax status and authority to do business in Texas to verify the information required under paragraphs (1)(A)-(C) of this subsection. The following information must be provided:

      (i) A copy of the applicant's Texas Secretary of State registration and filing numbers associated with the registration. A business name must not be deceptive, misleading, vague, otherwise contrary to §25.272 of this title (relating to Code of Conduct for Electric Utilities and Their Affiliates), or duplicative of a name previously approved for use by a REP certificate holder.

      (ii) The applicant's Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts tax identification number, and all other relevant or other applicable certification or file numbers.

    (C) The applicant's current contact information required under paragraph (1)(D) of this subsection.

    (D) The applicant's current office information required under paragraph (1)(E) of this subsection.

    (E) Information on the applicant, including:

      (i) a list of the applicant's subsidiaries and parent companies up to the ultimate corporate parent, and any sister companies that are registered or certified with the commission. Each company must be identified by name and, if applicable, type of commission registration or certification.

      (ii) an ownership and corporate structure chart that includes ownership percentages. The chart must be as detailed as practicable, but must contain, at minimum, the entities listed under clause (i) of this subparagraph and any entities with more than ten percent ownership of the REP or any of the REP's parent companies with a controlling interest in the REP.

      (iii) a list of all principals, provided in Microsoft Excel format;

      (iv) a list of all executive officers, provided in Microsoft Excel format.

    (F) A statement affirming compliance with paragraphs (1)(F) - (I) of this subsection and a short summary describing how the applicant has complied, or for paragraph (1)(I) of this subsection how the applicant will comply, with each subparagraph.

    (G) The control number and item number where the applicant has filed its Emergency Operations Plan as required under §25.53 of this title (relating to Electric Service Emergency Operations Plans).

    (H) An applicant for an Option 1 REP certificate must designate one of the following categories as its geographic service area:

      (i) The geographic area of the entire state of Texas;

      (ii) A specific geographic area (indicating the zip codes applicable to that area);

      (iii) The service area of one or more specific TDUs, municipal utilities, or electric cooperatives in which competition is offered; or

      (iv) The geographic area of ERCOT or other independent organization to the extent it is within Texas.

    (I) An applicant for an Option 2 REP certificate must include a signed, notarized affidavit stating that it will only contract with customers to provide one megawatt or more of energy. Within 30 days of conditional commission approval of the application and before an Option 2 REP begins serving a customer, the Option 2 REP must file with the commission a signed, notarized affidavit from each customer with which it has contracted to provide one megawatt or more of energy. The affidavit may be submitted by the applicant while the application for an Option 2 REP certificate is pending. Each customer affidavit must state that the customer understands and accepts the REP's ability to provide continuous and reliable electric service based on the applicant's financial, managerial, and technical resources.

    (J) An applicant for an Option 3 REP certificate must:

      (i) identify the name of the PGC that owns the distributed generation facilities and affirm that the PGC is registered under §25.109 of this title; and

      (ii) provide a signed, notarized affidavit from an executive officer of the PGC confirming:

        (I) the PGC operating the distributed generation facility conforms to the requirements of §25.211 of this title (relating to Interconnection of On-Site Distributed Generation (DG)) and §25.212 of this title (relating to Technical Requirements for Interconnection and Parallel Operation of On-Site Distributed Generation);

        (II) the distributed generation facility is installed by a licensed electrician, consistent with the requirements of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation; and

        (III) the distributed generation facility is installed in accordance with the National Electric Safety Code as adopted by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and otherwise complies with all applicable local and regional building codes.

(e) Technical and managerial requirements. An Option 1 REP must have the technical and managerial resources and ability to provide continuous and reliable retail electric service to customers, in accordance with its customer contracts, PURA, commission rules, applicable independent organization protocols, and other applicable laws. This subsection does not apply to an Option 2 or Option 3 REP.

  (1) Technical and managerial resource requirements. The following are technical and managerial resource requirements a REP must maintain on an ongoing basis.

    (A) One or more principals or employees in managerial positions whose combined experience in the competitive electric industry or competitive gas industry equals or exceeds 15 years. A third-party provider's experience may not be used to meet this requirement.

    (B) One executive officer or employee in a managerial position who has five years of experience in energy commodity risk management of a substantial energy portfolio. Alternatively, the REP may enter into a contract for a term not less than two years with a third-party provider of commodity risk management services that has been providing such services for a substantial energy portfolio for at least five years. A substantial energy portfolio means managing electricity or gas market risks with a minimum value of at least $10,000,000.

    (C) If providing retail electric service in the ERCOT region, compliance with all applicable ERCOT requirements, including:

      (i) execution of a service agreement with a QSE;

      (ii) maintaining the capability and effective procedures to be the primary point of contact for retail electric customers for distribution system service in accordance with applicable commission rules, including procedures for relaying outage reports to the TDU on a 24-hour basis;

      (iii) providing outage notifications in accordance with § 25.53 of this title; and

      (iv) completing ERCOT flight test obligations.

    (D) A customer service plan that describes how the REP complies with the commission's customer protection and anti-discrimination rules.

  (2) Technical and managerial documentation requirements. The following information must be provided by an applicant to demonstrate compliance with the technical and managerial requirements under paragraph (1) of this subsection.

    (A) A list of all third-party providers accompanied by a description of each third-party provider's responsibilities and delegation of authority, provided in Microsoft Excel format.

    (B) Resumes showing prior experience of one or more of the applicant's principals or managerial employees in the competitive retail electric industry or competitive gas industry to demonstrate at least 15 years of experience and, if applicable, a resume showing one of the applicant's executive officers or managerial employees possess at least five years' experience in commodity risk management.

Cont'd...

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