Section 16-244h-3 - Nondiscrimination(a)No Preferential Treatment Regarding Services Provided by the Electric Distribution Company: Unless otherwise authorized by the department or the FERC, or permitted by sections 16-244h-1 to 16-244h-7, inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, an electric distribution company shall not:(1) Provide its generation entities or affiliates, or customers of its generation entities or affiliates, any preference (including but not limited to terms and conditions, pricing, or timing) over unaffiliated electric suppliers or their customers in the provision of services provided by the electric distribution company, or allow an employee, officer, director or agent of a generating entity or affiliate preferential access to information concerning the electric distribution company's customers or distribution system that is not available on an equivalent basis to unaffiliated electric suppliers; or(2) Allow an employee, officer, director or agent of a generating entity or affiliate to conduct distribution system operations or have access to system control centers or similar facilities used by distribution operations in any way that differs from the access available to employees of unaffiliated electric suppliers.(b)Affiliate Transactions:(1) Pricing, terms and conditions: Except joint purchases and corporate support services permitted in sections 16-244h-5(e) and 16-244h-5(f), transactions between an electric distribution company and its generation entities or affiliates shall be limited to: (A) Products and services offered by tariff; and(B) Goods, property, products or services sold by the electric distribution company to its generation entities or affiliates and made available to all electric suppliers under the same terms and conditions. Such goods, property, products or services shall be priced pursuant to the provisions of section 16-244h-5(i) of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. An electric distribution company shall post information concerning non-tariffed transactions with its generation entities or affiliates on its affiliate discount internet web page in accordance with subsection (f) of this section.(2) Provision of Transmission Services, Distribution Services or Information: An electric distribution company shall provide all electric suppliers access to its transmission and distribution facilities in a nondiscriminatory manner. If an electric distribution company offers supply, capacity, services or information to its generation entities or affiliates, it shall contemporaneously make the offering available to all electric suppliers, except that communications referenced in section 16-244h-2(b) of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies need not be made contemporaneously available. All information concerning an electric distribution company's customers, the distribution system or other market information that is provided to a generation entity or affiliate through nonpublic communications, including communications referenced in section 16-244h-2(b) of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, shall be provided to all electric suppliers in a nondiscriminatory manner and on the same terms and conditions.(3) Offering of Discounts: If an electric distribution company offers a discount or waives all or any part of any other charge or fee to its generation entities or affiliates, or offers a discount or waiver for a transaction in which its generation entities or affiliates are involved, the electric distribution company shall contemporaneously make such discount or waiver available to all electric suppliers serving the same market. An electric distribution company shall not create a unique discount arrangement with its generation entities or affiliates such that no competitor could be considered as serving the same market. All electric suppliers serving the same market as the generation entities or affiliates shall be offered the same discount as the discount received by the generation entities or affiliates. An electric distribution company shall document the cost differential underlying the discount to its generation entities or affiliates in the affiliate discount report described in subsection (f) of this section.(4) Tariff Discretion: If a tariff provision allows for discretion in its application, an electric distribution company and its employees shall apply that tariff provision in the same manner to its generation entities or affiliates and all other electric suppliers and their respective customers.(5) No Tariff Discretion: If an electric distribution company has no discretion in the application of a tariff provision, the electric distribution company and its employees shall strictly enforce that tariff provision.(6) Processing Requests for Services Provided by the Electric Distribution Company: An electric distribution company shall process requests for similar services provided by the electric distribution company in the same manner and within the same time for its generation entities or affiliates and for all other electric suppliers and their respective customers, and shall not give preference of any kind to its generation entities or affiliates or their customers.(c)Tying of Services Provided by an Electric Distribution Company Prohibited: An electric distribution company shall not condition or otherwise tie the provision of any services provided by the electric distribution company, nor the availability of discounts of rates or other charges or fees, rebates, or waivers of terms and conditions of any services provided by the electric distribution company, to the purchasing of any goods or services from its generation entities or affiliates.(d)No Assignment of Customers: An electric distribution company shall not assign customers to which it provides services to any of its generation entities or affiliates, whether by default, direct assignment, option or by any other means, unless that means is equally available to all competitors and approved by the department.(e)Business Development and Customer Relations: Except as otherwise provided by sections 16-244h-1 to 16-244h-7, inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, an electric distribution company shall not: (1) Solicit business on behalf of its generation entities or affiliates;(2) Acquire information on behalf of, or to provide to, its generation entities or affiliates;(3) Request authorization from its customers to pass on customer information exclusively to its generation entities or affiliates;(4) Give the appearance that the electric distribution company speaks on behalf of or represents its generation entities or affiliates or that the customer will receive preferential treatment as a consequence of conducting business with the generation entities or affiliates;(5) Give any appearance that the generation entities or affiliates speak on behalf of or represent the electric distribution company; or(6) Provide referrals to its generation entities or affiliates.(f)Affiliate Discount Reports:(1) Each electric distribution company shall maintain a list of any discount, rebate or other waiver of any charge, fee, term or condition associated with services provided by the electric distribution company to its generation entities or affiliates on an internet web page directly and conspicuously linked to its home page. If an electric distribution company provides its generation entities or affiliates a discount, rebate, or other waiver of any charge or fee associated with services provided by the electric distribution company, the electric distribution company shall, within 24 hours of the time at which the service provided by the electric distribution company is so provided, post either directly on the discount page or on a page directly linked to the discount page a notice providing the following information:(A) The name of the generation entities or affiliate involved in the transaction;(B) The generation entity or affiliate's role in the transaction (i.e., aggregator, electric supplier, marketer);(E) The time period for which the discount or waiver applies;(F) The quantities involved in the transaction;(G) The delivery points involved in the transaction;(H) Any conditions or requirements applicable to the discount or waiver, and a documentation of the cost differential underlying the discount as required in subdivision (3) of subsection (b) of this section; and(I) Procedures by which an unaffiliated entity may request a comparable offer.(2) The affiliate discount page and associated pages shall provide the following disclaimer: "This page is intended to provide notice to all electric suppliers of any discount provided by an electric distribution company to its own electric supplier affiliate so that all electric suppliers may avail themselves of any such discount. It is not intended to indicate that an electric distribution company's electric supplier affiliate has preferential access to services."(3) An electric distribution company shall maintain all records associated with transactions to which subdivision (1) of this subsection applies in accordance with the provisions of section 16-244h-4(f) of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.Conn. Agencies Regs. § 16-244h-3
Adopted effective July 1, 1999