| (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... |
