Full Text of HB6023 99th General Assembly
HB6023 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016 HB6023 Introduced , by Rep. Sam Yingling SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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220 ILCS 5/16-115A |
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220 ILCS 5/19-115 |
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Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that an alternative retail electric supplier or an alternative gas supplier may not use the name or logo of a public utility for marketing purposes.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning regulation.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing | 5 | | Sections 16-115A and 19-115 as follows:
| 6 | | (220 ILCS 5/16-115A)
| 7 | | Sec. 16-115A.
Obligations of alternative retail electric
| 8 | | suppliers.
| 9 | | (a) An alternative retail electric supplier shall:
| 10 | | (i) comply with the requirements imposed on public
| 11 | | utilities by Sections 8-201 through 8-207, 8-301, 8-505
and | 12 | | 8-507 of this Act, to the extent that these Sections
have | 13 | | application to the services being offered by the
| 14 | | alternative retail electric supplier; and
| 15 | | (ii) continue to comply with the requirements for
| 16 | | certification stated in subsection (d) of Section 16-115.
| 17 | | (b) An alternative retail electric supplier shall obtain | 18 | | verifiable
authorization from a customer, in a form or manner | 19 | | approved by the Commission
consistent with Section 2EE of the | 20 | | Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business
Practices Act, before the | 21 | | customer is switched from another supplier.
| 22 | | (c) No alternative retail electric supplier, or electric
| 23 | | utility other than the electric utility in whose service area
a |
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| 1 | | customer is located, shall (i) enter into or employ any
| 2 | | arrangements which have the effect of preventing a retail
| 3 | | customer with a maximum electrical demand of less than one
| 4 | | megawatt from having access to the services of the electric
| 5 | | utility in whose service area the customer is located or (ii)
| 6 | | charge retail customers for such access. This subsection shall | 7 | | not be
construed to prevent an arms-length agreement between a
| 8 | | supplier and a retail customer that sets a term of service, | 9 | | notice
period for terminating service and provisions governing | 10 | | early
termination through a tariff or contract as allowed by | 11 | | Section 16-119.
| 12 | | (d) An alternative retail electric supplier that is
| 13 | | certified to serve residential or small commercial retail
| 14 | | customers shall not:
| 15 | | (1) deny service to a customer or group of customers
| 16 | | nor establish any differences as to prices, terms,
| 17 | | conditions, services, products, facilities, or in any
| 18 | | other respect, whereby such denial or differences are based | 19 | | upon
race, gender or income.
| 20 | | (2) deny service to a customer or group of customers | 21 | | based on locality
nor establish any unreasonable | 22 | | difference as to prices,
terms, conditions, services, | 23 | | products, or facilities as
between localities.
| 24 | | (e) An alternative retail electric supplier shall comply
| 25 | | with the following requirements with respect to the marketing,
| 26 | | offering and provision of products or services to residential
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| 1 | | and small commercial retail customers:
| 2 | | (i) Any marketing materials which make
statements | 3 | | concerning prices, terms and conditions
of service shall | 4 | | contain information that adequately
discloses the prices, | 5 | | terms and conditions of the
products or services that the | 6 | | alternative retail
electric supplier is offering or | 7 | | selling to the
customer.
| 8 | | (ii) Before any customer is switched from
another | 9 | | supplier, the alternative retail electric
supplier shall | 10 | | give the customer written information
that adequately | 11 | | discloses, in plain language, the
prices, terms and | 12 | | conditions of the products and
services being offered and | 13 | | sold to the customer.
| 14 | | (iii) An alternative retail electric supplier
shall | 15 | | provide documentation to the Commission and to
customers | 16 | | that substantiates any claims made by the
alternative | 17 | | retail electric supplier regarding the
technologies and | 18 | | fuel types used to generate the
electricity offered or sold | 19 | | to customers.
| 20 | | (iv) The alternative retail electric supplier
shall | 21 | | provide to the customer (1) itemized billing
statements | 22 | | that describe the products and services
provided to the | 23 | | customer and their prices, and (2)
an additional statement, | 24 | | at least annually, that
adequately discloses the average | 25 | | monthly prices, and
the terms and conditions, of the | 26 | | products and
services sold to the customer.
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| 1 | | (v) An alternative retail electric supplier may not | 2 | | utilize the name or logo of a public utility in connection | 3 | | with any form of marketing. An alternative retail electric | 4 | | supplier may not utilize in any of its materials the name | 5 | | or any other identifying insignia, graphics, or wording | 6 | | that has been used at any time to represent a public | 7 | | utility or its services to identify, label, or define its | 8 | | energy or power offers. | 9 | | (f) An alternative retail electric supplier may limit
the | 10 | | overall size or availability of a service offering by
| 11 | | specifying one or more of the following: a maximum number of
| 12 | | customers, maximum amount of electric load to be served, time
| 13 | | period during which the offering will be available, or other
| 14 | | comparable limitation, but not including the geographic
| 15 | | locations of customers within the area which the alternative
| 16 | | retail electric supplier is certificated to serve. The
| 17 | | alternative retail electric supplier shall file the terms and
| 18 | | conditions of such service offering including the applicable
| 19 | | limitations with the Commission prior to making the service
| 20 | | offering available to customers.
| 21 | | (g) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as
| 22 | | preventing an alternative retail electric supplier,
which is an | 23 | | affiliate of, or which contracts with, (i) an
industry or trade | 24 | | organization or association, (ii) a
membership organization or | 25 | | association that exists for a
purpose other than the purchase | 26 | | of electricity, or (iii)
another organization that meets |
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| 1 | | criteria established in a rule
adopted by the Commission, from | 2 | | offering through the
organization or association services at | 3 | | prices, terms and
conditions that are available solely to the | 4 | | members of the
organization or association.
| 5 | | (Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)
| 6 | | (220 ILCS 5/19-115)
| 7 | | Sec. 19-115. Obligations of alternative gas suppliers.
| 8 | | (a) The provisions of this Section shall apply only to | 9 | | alternative gas
suppliers
serving or seeking to serve | 10 | | residential or small commercial customers and
only to the | 11 | | extent such
alternative gas suppliers provide services to | 12 | | residential or small
commercial customers.
| 13 | | (b) An alternative gas supplier shall:
| 14 | | (1) comply with the requirements imposed on public | 15 | | utilities by Sections
8-201 through 8-207, 8-301, 8-505 and | 16 | | 8-507 of this Act, to the
extent that these Sections have | 17 | | application to the services being
offered by the | 18 | | alternative gas supplier;
| 19 | | (2) continue to comply with the requirements for | 20 | | certification stated
in
Section 19-110;
| 21 | | (3) comply with complaint procedures established by | 22 | | the Commission; | 23 | | (4) except as provided in subsection (h) of this | 24 | | Section, file with the Chief Clerk of the Commission, | 25 | | within 20 business days after the effective date of this |
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| 1 | | amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, a copy of bill | 2 | | formats, standard customer contract and customer complaint | 3 | | and resolution procedures, and the name and telephone | 4 | | number of the company representative whom Commission | 5 | | employees may contact to resolve customer complaints and | 6 | | other matters. In the case of a gas supplier that engages | 7 | | in door-to-door solicitation, the company shall file with | 8 | | the Commission the consumer information disclosure | 9 | | required by item (3) of subsection (c) of Section 2DDD of | 10 | | the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and | 11 | | shall file updated information within 10 business days | 12 | | after changes in any of the documents or information | 13 | | required to be filed by this item (4); and | 14 | | (5) maintain a customer call center where customers can | 15 | | reach a representative and receive current information. At | 16 | | least once every 6 months, each alternative gas supplier | 17 | | shall provide written information to customers explaining | 18 | | how to contact the call center. The average answer time for | 19 | | calls placed to the call center shall not exceed 60 seconds | 20 | | where a representative or automated system is ready to | 21 | | render assistance and/or accept information to process | 22 | | calls. The abandon rate for calls placed to the call center | 23 | | shall not exceed 10%. Each alternative gas supplier shall | 24 | | maintain records of the call center's telephone answer time | 25 | | performance and abandon call rate. These records shall be | 26 | | kept for a minimum of 2 years and shall be made available |
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| 1 | | to Commission personnel upon request. In the event that | 2 | | answer times and/or abandon rates exceed the limits | 3 | | established above, the reporting alternative gas supplier | 4 | | may provide the Commission or its personnel with | 5 | | explanatory details. At a minimum, these records shall | 6 | | contain the following information in monthly increments: | 7 | | (A) total number of calls received; | 8 | | (B) number of calls answered; | 9 | | (C) average answer time; | 10 | | (D) number of abandoned calls; and | 11 | | (E) abandon call rate. | 12 | | Alternative gas suppliers that do not have electronic | 13 | | answering capability that meets these requirements shall | 14 | | notify the Manager of the Commission's Consumer Services | 15 | | Division or its successor within 30 days following the | 16 | | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General | 17 | | Assembly and work with Staff to develop individualized | 18 | | reporting requirements as to the call volume and responsiveness | 19 | | of the call center. | 20 | | On or before March 1 of every year, each entity shall file | 21 | | a report with the Chief Clerk of the Commission for the | 22 | | preceding calendar year on its answer time and abandon call | 23 | | rate for its call center. A copy of the report shall be sent to | 24 | | the Manager of the Consumer Services Division or its successor. | 25 | | (c) An alternative gas supplier shall not submit or execute | 26 | | a change in a customer's selection of a natural gas provider |
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| 1 | | unless and until (i) the alternative gas supplier first | 2 | | discloses all material terms and conditions of the offer to the | 3 | | customer; (ii) the alternative gas supplier has obtained the | 4 | | customer's express agreement to accept the offer after the | 5 | | disclosure of all material terms and conditions of the offer; | 6 | | and (iii) the alternative gas supplier has confirmed the | 7 | | request for a change in accordance with one of the following | 8 | | procedures: | 9 | | (1) The alternative gas supplier has obtained the | 10 | | customer's written or electronically signed authorization | 11 | | in a form that meets the following requirements: | 12 | | (A) An alternative gas supplier shall obtain any | 13 | | necessary written or electronically signed | 14 | | authorization from a customer for a change in natural | 15 | | gas service by using a letter of agency as specified in | 16 | | this Section. Any letter of agency that does not | 17 | | conform with this Section is invalid. | 18 | | (B) The letter of agency shall be a separate | 19 | | document (or an easily separable document containing | 20 | | only the authorization language described in item (E) | 21 | | of this paragraph (1)) whose sole purpose is to | 22 | | authorize a natural gas provider change. The letter of | 23 | | agency must be signed and dated by the customer | 24 | | requesting the natural gas provider change. | 25 | | (C) The letter of agency shall not be combined with | 26 | | inducements of any kind on the same document. |
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| 1 | | (D) Notwithstanding items (A) and (B) of this | 2 | | paragraph (1), the letter of agency may be combined | 3 | | with checks that contain only the required letter of | 4 | | agency language prescribed in item (E) of this | 5 | | paragraph (1) and the necessary information to make the | 6 | | check a negotiable instrument. The letter of agency | 7 | | check shall not contain any promotional language or | 8 | | material. The letter of agency check shall contain in | 9 | | easily readable, bold face type on the face of the | 10 | | check a notice that the consumer is authorizing a | 11 | | natural gas provider change by signing the check. The | 12 | | letter of agency language also shall be placed near the | 13 | | signature line on the back of the check. | 14 | | (E) At a minimum, the letter of agency must be | 15 | | printed with a print of sufficient size to be clearly | 16 | | legible and must contain clear and unambiguous | 17 | | language that confirms: | 18 | | (i) the customer's billing name and address; | 19 | | (ii) the decision to change the natural gas | 20 | | provider from the current provider to the | 21 | | prospective alternative gas supplier; | 22 | | (iii) the terms, conditions, and nature of the | 23 | | service to be provided to the customer, including, | 24 | | but not limited to, the rates for the service | 25 | | contracted for by the customer; and | 26 | | (iv) that the customer understands that any |
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| 1 | | natural gas provider selection the customer | 2 | | chooses may involve a charge to the customer for | 3 | | changing the customer's natural gas provider. | 4 | | (F) Letters of agency shall not suggest or require | 5 | | that a customer take some action in order to retain the | 6 | | customer's current natural gas provider. | 7 | | (G) If any portion of a letter of agency is | 8 | | translated into another language, then all portions of | 9 | | the letter of agency must be translated into that | 10 | | language. | 11 | | (2) An appropriately qualified independent third party | 12 | | has obtained, in accordance with the procedures set forth | 13 | | in this paragraph (2), the customer's oral authorization to | 14 | | change natural gas providers that confirms and includes | 15 | | appropriate verification data. The independent third party | 16 | | must (i) not be owned, managed, controlled, or directed by | 17 | | the alternative gas supplier or the alternative gas | 18 | | supplier's marketing agent; (ii) not have any financial | 19 | | incentive to confirm provider change requests for the | 20 | | alternative gas supplier or the alternative gas supplier's | 21 | | marketing agent; and (iii) operate in a location physically | 22 | | separate from the alternative gas supplier or the | 23 | | alternative gas supplier's marketing agent. Automated | 24 | | third-party verification systems and 3-way conference | 25 | | calls may be used for verification purposes so long as the | 26 | | other requirements of this paragraph (2) are satisfied. An |
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| 1 | | alternative gas supplier or alternative gas supplier's | 2 | | sales representative initiating a 3-way conference call or | 3 | | a call through an automated verification system must drop | 4 | | off the call once the 3-way connection has been | 5 | | established. All third-party verification methods shall | 6 | | elicit, at a minimum, the following information: | 7 | | (A) the identity of the customer; | 8 | | (B) confirmation that the person on the call is | 9 | | authorized to make the provider change; | 10 | | (C) confirmation that the person on the call wants | 11 | | to make the provider change; | 12 | | (D) the names of the providers affected by the | 13 | | change; | 14 | | (E) the service address of the service to be | 15 | | switched; and | 16 | | (F) the price of the service to be provided and the | 17 | | material terms and conditions of the service being | 18 | | offered, including whether any early termination fees | 19 | | apply. | 20 | | Third-party verifiers may not market the alternative | 21 | | gas supplier's services by providing additional | 22 | | information. All third-party verifications shall be | 23 | | conducted in the same language that was used in the | 24 | | underlying sales transaction and shall be recorded in their | 25 | | entirety. Submitting alternative gas suppliers shall | 26 | | maintain and preserve audio records of verification of |
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| 1 | | customer authorization for a minimum period of 2 years | 2 | | after obtaining the verification. Automated systems must | 3 | | provide customers with an option to speak with a live | 4 | | person at any time during the call. | 5 | | (3) The alternative gas supplier has obtained the | 6 | | customer's authorization via an automated verification | 7 | | system to change natural gas service via telephone. An | 8 | | automated verification system is an electronic system | 9 | | that, through pre-recorded prompts, elicits voice | 10 | | responses, touchtone responses, or both, from the customer | 11 | | and records both the prompts and the customer's responses. | 12 | | Such authorization must elicit the information in | 13 | | paragraph (2)(A) through (F) of this subsection (c). | 14 | | Alternative gas suppliers electing to confirm sales | 15 | | electronically through an automated verification system | 16 | | shall establish one or more toll-free telephone numbers | 17 | | exclusively for that purpose. Calls to the number or | 18 | | numbers shall connect a customer to a voice response unit, | 19 | | or similar mechanism, that makes a date-stamped, | 20 | | time-stamped recording of the required information | 21 | | regarding the alternative gas supplier change. | 22 | | The alternative gas supplier shall not use such | 23 | | electronic authorization systems to market its services. | 24 | | (4) When a consumer initiates the call to the | 25 | | prospective alternative gas supplier, in order to enroll | 26 | | the consumer as a customer, the prospective alternative gas |
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| 1 | | supplier must, with the consent of the customer, make a | 2 | | date-stamped, time-stamped audio recording that elicits, | 3 | | at a minimum, the following information: | 4 | | (A) the identity of the customer; | 5 | | (B) confirmation that the person on the call is | 6 | | authorized to make the provider change; | 7 | | (C) confirmation that the person on the call wants | 8 | | to make the provider change; | 9 | | (D) the names of the providers affected by the | 10 | | change; | 11 | | (E) the service address of the service to be | 12 | | switched; and | 13 | | (F) the price of the service to be supplied and the | 14 | | material terms and conditions of the service being | 15 | | offered, including whether any early termination fees | 16 | | apply. | 17 | | Submitting alternative gas suppliers shall maintain | 18 | | and preserve the audio records containing the information | 19 | | set forth above for a minimum period of 2 years. | 20 | | (5) In the event that a customer enrolls for service | 21 | | from an alternative gas supplier via an Internet website, | 22 | | the alternative gas supplier shall obtain an | 23 | | electronically signed letter of agency in accordance with | 24 | | paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) and any customer | 25 | | information shall be protected in accordance with all | 26 | | applicable statutes and regulations. In addition, an |
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| 1 | | alternative gas supplier shall provide the following when | 2 | | marketing via an Internet website: | 3 | | (A) The Internet enrollment website shall, at a | 4 | | minimum, include: | 5 | | (i) a copy of the alternative gas supplier's | 6 | | customer contract that clearly and conspicuously | 7 | | discloses all terms and conditions; and | 8 | | (ii) a conspicuous prompt for the customer to | 9 | | print or save a copy of the contract. | 10 | | (B) Any electronic version of the contract shall be | 11 | | identified by version number, in order to ensure the | 12 | | ability to verify the particular contract to which the | 13 | | customer assents. | 14 | | (C) Throughout the duration of the alternative gas | 15 | | supplier's contract with a customer, the alternative | 16 | | gas supplier shall retain and, within 3 business days | 17 | | of the customer's request, provide to the customer an | 18 | | e-mail, paper, or facsimile of the terms and conditions | 19 | | of the numbered contract version to which the customer | 20 | | assents. | 21 | | (D) The alternative gas supplier shall provide a | 22 | | mechanism by which both the submission and receipt of | 23 | | the electronic letter of agency are recorded by time | 24 | | and date. | 25 | | (E) After the customer completes the electronic | 26 | | letter of agency, the alternative gas supplier shall |
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| 1 | | disclose conspicuously through its website that the | 2 | | customer has been enrolled, and the alternative gas | 3 | | supplier shall provide the customer an enrollment | 4 | | confirmation number. | 5 | | (6) When a customer is solicited in person by the | 6 | | alternative gas supplier's sales agent, the alternative | 7 | | gas supplier may only obtain the customer's authorization | 8 | | to change natural gas service through the method provided | 9 | | for in paragraph (2) of this subsection (c). | 10 | | Alternative gas suppliers must be in compliance with this | 11 | | subsection (c) within 90 days after the effective date of this | 12 | | amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. | 13 | | (d) Complaints may be filed with the Commission under this | 14 | | Section by a customer whose natural gas service has been | 15 | | provided by an alternative gas supplier in a manner not in | 16 | | compliance with subsection (c) of this Section. If, after | 17 | | notice and hearing, the Commission finds that an alternative | 18 | | gas supplier has violated subsection (c), then the Commission | 19 | | may in its discretion do any one or more of the following: | 20 | | (1) Require the violating alternative gas supplier to | 21 | | refund the customer charges collected in excess of those | 22 | | that would have been charged by the customer's authorized | 23 | | natural gas provider. | 24 | | (2) Require the violating alternative gas supplier to | 25 | | pay to the customer's authorized natural gas provider the | 26 | | amount the authorized natural gas provider would have |
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| 1 | | collected for natural gas service. The Commission is | 2 | | authorized to reduce this payment by any amount already | 3 | | paid by the violating alternative gas supplier to the | 4 | | customer's authorized natural gas provider. | 5 | | (3) Require the violating alternative gas supplier to | 6 | | pay a fine of up to $1,000 into the Public Utility Fund for | 7 | | each repeated and intentional violation of this Section. | 8 | | (4) Issue a cease and desist order. | 9 | | (5) For a pattern of violation of this Section or for | 10 | | intentionally violating a cease and desist order, revoke | 11 | | the violating alternative gas supplier's certificate of | 12 | | service authority.
| 13 | | (e) No alternative gas supplier shall:
| 14 | | (1) enter into or employ any
arrangements which have | 15 | | the effect of preventing any customer from having
access to
| 16 | | the services of the gas utility in whose service area the | 17 | | customer is located;
| 18 | | (2) charge customers for such access;
| 19 | | (3) bill for goods or services not authorized by the | 20 | | customer; or | 21 | | (4) bill for a disputed amount where the alternative | 22 | | gas supplier has been provided notice of such dispute. The | 23 | | supplier shall attempt to resolve a dispute with the | 24 | | customer. When the dispute is not resolved to the | 25 | | customer's satisfaction, the supplier shall inform the | 26 | | customer of the right to file an informal complaint with |
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| 1 | | the Commission and provide contact information. While the | 2 | | pending dispute is active at the Commission, an alternative | 3 | | gas supplier may bill only for the undisputed amount until | 4 | | the Commission has taken final action on the complaint. | 5 | | (f) An alternative gas supplier that is certified to serve | 6 | | residential
or small commercial customers shall not:
| 7 | | (1) deny service to a customer or group of customers | 8 | | nor
establish any differences as to prices, terms,
| 9 | | conditions, services, products, facilities, or in any | 10 | | other respect, whereby
such denial or differences are based | 11 | | upon race, gender, or income;
| 12 | | (2) deny service based on locality, nor establish any | 13 | | unreasonable
difference as to prices, terms, conditions, | 14 | | services, products, or facilities
as
between localities;
| 15 | | (3) include in any agreement a provision that obligates | 16 | | a customer to the terms of the agreement if the customer | 17 | | (i) moves outside the State of Illinois; (ii) moves to a | 18 | | location without a transportation service program; or | 19 | | (iii) moves to a location where the customer will not | 20 | | require natural gas service, provided that nothing in this | 21 | | subsection precludes an alternative gas supplier from | 22 | | taking any action otherwise available to it to collect a | 23 | | debt that arises out of service provided to the customer | 24 | | before the customer moved; or | 25 | | (4) assign the agreement to any alternative natural gas | 26 | | supplier, unless: |
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| 1 | | (A) the supplier is an alternative gas supplier | 2 | | certified by the Commission; | 3 | | (B) the rates, terms, and conditions of the | 4 | | agreement being assigned do not change during the | 5 | | remainder of the time covered by the agreement; | 6 | | (C) the customer is given no less than 30 days | 7 | | prior written notice of the assignment and contact | 8 | | information for the new supplier; and | 9 | | (D) the supplier assigning the contract provides | 10 | | contact information that a customer can use to resolve | 11 | | a dispute. | 12 | | (g) An alternative gas supplier shall comply with the | 13 | | following requirements
with respect to the marketing, | 14 | | offering, and provision of products or services:
| 15 | | (1) Any marketing materials which make statements | 16 | | concerning prices,
terms, and conditions of service shall | 17 | | contain information that
adequately discloses the prices, | 18 | | terms and conditions of the products
or services.
| 19 | | (2) Before any customer is switched from another | 20 | | supplier, the
alternative gas supplier shall give the | 21 | | customer written information
that clearly and | 22 | | conspicuously discloses, in plain language, the prices, | 23 | | terms, and
conditions of the products and services being | 24 | | offered and sold to the
customer. Nothing in this paragraph | 25 | | (2) may be read to relieve an alternative gas supplier from | 26 | | the duties imposed on it by item (3) of subsection (c) of |
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| 1 | | Section 2DDD of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business | 2 | | Practices Act.
| 3 | | (3) The alternative gas supplier shall provide to the | 4 | | customer:
| 5 | | (A) accurate, timely, and itemized billing | 6 | | statements that describe
the products and services
| 7 | | provided to the customer and their prices
and that | 8 | | specify the
gas consumption amount and any service
| 9 | | charges and taxes; provided that this item (g)(3)(A) | 10 | | does not apply to small
commercial customers;
| 11 | | (B) billing statements that clearly and | 12 | | conspicuously discloses the name and contact | 13 | | information for the alternative gas supplier; | 14 | | (C) an additional
statement, at least annually, | 15 | | that adequately discloses the average
monthly prices, | 16 | | and the terms and conditions, of the products and
| 17 | | services sold to the customer; provided that this item | 18 | | (g)(3)(C) does not
apply to small commercial | 19 | | customers;
| 20 | | (D) refunds of any deposits with interest within 30 | 21 | | days after the
date
that the customer changes gas | 22 | | suppliers or discontinues service if the customer
has | 23 | | satisfied all of his or her outstanding financial | 24 | | obligations to the
alternative gas supplier at an | 25 | | interest rate set by the Commission which shall
be the | 26 | | same as that required of gas utilities; and
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| 1 | | (E) refunds, in a timely fashion, of all undisputed | 2 | | overpayments upon
the oral or written request of the | 3 | | customer.
| 4 | | (4) An alternative gas supplier and its sales agents | 5 | | shall refrain from any direct marketing or soliciting to | 6 | | consumers on the gas utility's "Do Not Contact List", which | 7 | | the alternative gas supplier shall obtain on the 15th | 8 | | calendar day of the month from the gas utility in whose | 9 | | service area the consumer is provided with gas service. If | 10 | | the 15th calendar day is a non-business day, then the | 11 | | alternative gas supplier shall obtain the list on the next | 12 | | business day following the 15th calendar day of that month. | 13 | | (5) Early Termination. | 14 | | (A) Any agreement that contains an early | 15 | | termination clause shall disclose the amount of the | 16 | | early termination fee, provided that any early | 17 | | termination fee or penalty shall not exceed $50 total, | 18 | | regardless of whether or not the agreement is a | 19 | | multiyear agreement. | 20 | | (B) In any agreement that contains an early | 21 | | termination clause, an alternative gas supplier shall | 22 | | provide the customer the opportunity to terminate the | 23 | | agreement without any termination fee or penalty | 24 | | within 10 business days after the date of the first | 25 | | bill issued to the customer for products or services | 26 | | provided by the alternative gas supplier. The |
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| 1 | | agreement shall disclose the opportunity and provide a | 2 | | toll-free phone number that the customer may call in | 3 | | order to terminate the agreement. | 4 | | (6) Within 2 business days after electronic receipt of | 5 | | a customer switch from the alternative gas supplier and | 6 | | confirmation of eligibility, the gas utility shall provide | 7 | | the customer written notice confirming the switch. The gas | 8 | | utility shall not switch the service until 10 business days | 9 | | after the date on the notice to the customer. | 10 | | (7) The alternative gas supplier shall provide each | 11 | | customer the opportunity to rescind its agreement without | 12 | | penalty within 10 business days after the date on the gas | 13 | | utility notice to the customer. The alternative gas | 14 | | supplier shall disclose all of the following: | 15 | | (A) that the gas utility shall send a notice | 16 | | confirming the switch; | 17 | | (B) that from the date the utility issues the | 18 | | notice confirming the switch, the customer shall have | 19 | | 10 business days to rescind the switch without penalty; | 20 | | (C) that the customer shall contact the gas utility | 21 | | or the alternative gas supplier to rescind the switch; | 22 | | and | 23 | | (D) the contact information for the gas utility. | 24 | | The alternative gas supplier disclosure shall be | 25 | | included in its sales solicitations, contracts, and all | 26 | | applicable sales verification scripts. |
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| 1 | | (8) An alternative gas supplier may not utilize the | 2 | | name or logo of a public utility in connection with any | 3 | | form of marketing. An alternative gas supplier may not | 4 | | utilize in any of its materials the name or any other | 5 | | identifying insignia, graphics, or wording that has been | 6 | | used at any time to represent a (1) public utility, (2) | 7 | | parent company, or (3) public utility's or parent company's | 8 | | energy offers. | 9 | | (h) An alternative gas supplier may limit the overall size | 10 | | or availability
of
a
service offering by specifying one or more | 11 | | of the following:
| 12 | | (1) a maximum number
of
customers and maximum amount of | 13 | | gas load to be served;
| 14 | | (2) time period during which
the
offering will be | 15 | | available; or
| 16 | | (3) other comparable limitation, but not including
the
| 17 | | geographic locations of customers within the area which the | 18 | | alternative gas
supplier is
certificated to serve.
| 19 | | The alternative gas supplier shall file the terms and
| 20 | | conditions of
such service offering including the applicable | 21 | | limitations with the Commission
prior to
making the service | 22 | | offering available to customers.
| 23 | | (i) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as | 24 | | preventing an alternative
gas
supplier that is an affiliate of, | 25 | | or which contracts with,
(i) an industry or
trade
organization | 26 | | or association,
(ii) a membership organization or association |
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| 1 | | that
exists for
a purpose other than the purchase of gas, or
| 2 | | (iii) another organization that
meets criteria
established in a | 3 | | rule adopted by the Commission from offering through the
| 4 | | organization
or association services at prices, terms and | 5 | | conditions that are available
solely to the
members of the | 6 | | organization or association.
| 7 | | (Source: P.A. 95-1051, eff. 4-10-09.)
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