| (F) Provision of corporate support services. The provision
of corporate support services by a Bundled MOU/COOP to provide competitive
energy-related activities shall be carried out in such a way as to comply
with the provisions of paragraph (2)(A)-(D) of this subsection, thereby preventing
the opportunity for preferential treatment or unfair competitive advantage,
customer confusion, or significant opportunities for cross-subsidization.
(G) No preferential access to transmission and distribution
information. A Bundled MOU/COOP shall not allow preferential access by any
person providing competitive energy-related activities on behalf of the Bundled
MOU/COOP to information about its transmission and distribution systems. Such
information shall be provided as required in paragraph (2)(D) of this subsection.
(H) Sharing of personnel, facilities, and resources. A Bundled
MOU/COOP shall implement procedures and safeguards governing the sharing of
personnel, facilities, officers and directors, equipment, and corporate support
services with persons providing competitive energy-related activities on behalf
of the Bundled MOU/COOP to ensure that confidential information is protected,
that there are no opportunities for preferential treatment or unfair competitive
advantage, that undue customer confusion will be prevented, and that no significant
opportunities for cross-subsidization are created. A Bundled MOU/COOP shall
document the assignment of shared employees engaged in both transmission or
distribution system operations and the provision of competitive energy-related
activities. For shared employees, the tracking documentation shall include
the employees' name, job title, scope of activities, and allocation of time
to the transmission and distributions functions and competitive energy-related
activities. The tracking documentation for shared employees shall be filed
annually with the annual report of code-related activities required by paragraph
(3)(B) of this subsection.
(I) Marketing and advertising. A Bundled MOU/COOP shall implement
procedures and safeguards relating to the marketing and advertising of the
Bundled MOU/COOP's competitive energy-related activities to prevent favoritism
being shown to the competitive energy-related activities provided by the Bundled
MOU/COOP, to prevent customer confusion, to prevent the inappropriate sharing
of customer information, and to prevent significant opportunities for cross-subsidization.
(2) Informational safeguards. The following provisions apply
to Bundled MOU/COOPs.
(A) Sharing of customer information. A Bundled MOU/COOP shall
implement adequate safeguards to preclude any persons providing competitive
energy-related activities on behalf of the Bundled MOU/COOP, or any other
entities, from gaining access to information in a manner that would allow
or provide a means to transfer confidential information, create an opportunity
for preferential treatment or unfair competitive advantage, lead to customer
confusion, or create significant opportunities for cross-subsidization. Non-proprietary
information possessed by the Bundled MOU/COOP that is made available to any
persons providing competitive energy-related activities provided by the Bundled
MOU/COOP shall likewise be made available to third parties providing competitive
energy-related activities at the Bundled MOU/COOP's cost to produce such information
for the third party.
(B) Proprietary customer information. Upon request by the customer,
a Bundled MOU/COOP shall provide a customer with the customer's proprietary
customer information. Unless a Bundled MOU/COOP obtains prior affirmative
written consent or other verifiable authorization from the customer as determined
by the commission, or unless otherwise permitted under this subparagraph,
it shall not release any proprietary customer information to a person providing
competitive energy-related activities on behalf of the Bundled MOU/COOP or
to 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. The Bundled
MOU/COOP shall be permitted to release proprietary customer information under
the same terms and conditions as a TDBU as set forth in subsections (l)(1)(A)-(E)
of this section.
(C) Nondiscriminatory availability of aggregate customer information.
A Bundled MOU/COOP may aggregate non-proprietary customer information, including,
but not limited to, information about a Bundled MOU/COOP's energy-related
goods or services. However, except in circumstances solely involving the provision
of corporate support services, a Bundled MOU/COOP shall aggregate non-proprietary
customer information for a third party or any person providing competitive
energy-related activities only if the Bundled MOU/COOP makes such aggregation
service available to all non-affiliates and third parties under the same terms
and conditions and at the same price or fully allocated cost as it is made
available to any person providing competitive energy-related activities on
behalf of the Bundled MOU/COOP.
(D) Requests for information. If a customer or potential customer
of a Bundled MOU/COOP makes an unsolicited request for distribution service,
competitive energy-related activities, products or services provided by an
Bundled MOU/COOP, or for information relating to such products or services,
the Bundled MOU/COOP shall inform the customer that competitive energy-related
activities are available not only from the Bundled MOU/COOP, but also from
other providers. If the Bundled MOU/COOP provides the customer or potential
customer with information about competitive energy-related activities offered
by the Bundled MOU/COOP, the Bundled MOU/COOP must record and allocate the
costs associated with the provision of such information in the same manner
as transactions involving the provision of competitive energy related activities,
in accordance with paragraph (1)(C) of this subsection. The Bundled MOU/COOP
shall not offer the customer or potential customer any opinion regarding the
service of any other competitive energy service provider. Upon request, the
Bundled MOU/COOP shall make available to a customer a copy of the most recent
list of competitive energy service providers as developed and maintained by
the commission and may make available telephone numbers and other commonly
available information. Such information shall also be made available by the
Bundled MOU/COOP to its transmission and distribution customers at the time
the Bundled MOU/COOP undertakes marketing to those customers of its competitive
energy-related activities.
(3) Reporting and auditing requirements. A Bundled MOU/COOP
shall maintain and file the following information so the commission can ensure
that the Bundled MOU/COOP is not engaging in any anticompetitive activities
as a result of its competitive energy-related activities being bundled with
the transmission and distribution operation.
(A) Code implementation filing.
(i) Not later than 120 days prior to the implementation of
customer choice by a Bundled MOU/COOP, the Bundled MOU/COOP shall file with
the commission a written declaration that it will operate as a Bundled MOU/COOP
and its plan for implementing the provisions of this section. The plan shall
address all applicable requirements of this section in the context of operations
as they will be conducted in the competitive retail market. The Bundled MOU/COOP
shall post notice of its filing on its Internet site or a public electronic
bulletin board for 30 consecutive days and shall provide copies of the plan
to requesting parties. The code implementation plan proposed by the Bundled
MOU/COOP shall be subject to a contested hearing process. Interested parties
may file comments on the filing with the commission. The commission shall
issue an order either approving the code implementation plan, approving the
plan with modifications, or rejecting the plan within 120 days.
(ii) In lieu of the implementation filing provided for in clause
(i) of this subparagraph, a Bundled MOU/COOP may file with the commission
a statement that it does not at this time intend to provide electric energy
at retail to customers in Texas outside its certificated retail service area
as provided for in subsection (b)(1)(B) of this section. Subsequently, if
a Bundled MOU/COOP intends to provide electric energy at retail to consumers
in Texas outside its certificated retail service area as provided for in subsection
(b)(1)(B) of this section, it shall file the implementation filing provided
for in clause (i) of this subparagraph with the commission not later than
120 days prior to the time it intends to provide retail electric energy in
Texas outside its certificated retail service area.
(B) Annual report of code-related activities. A report of activities
related to this subsection shall be filed annually with the commission under
a control number designated by the commission. The report shall be filed by
June 1 and shall encompass the period from January 1 through December 31 of
the preceding year. The report shall contain detailed information on how the
Bundled MOU/COOP met each of the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
subsection and any deviations from the actions set forth in the initial code
compliance filing. Commission staff shall review the annual report of code-related
activities. The filing Cont'd... |
