D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 15, r. 15-327
This section sets forth billing, Deposit, Enrollment, Termination of Contract, supplier switching, advertising and minimum Contract standards that apply to Energy Suppliers, Marketers, Aggregators, and Consolidators licensed to provide competitive electric and gas services by the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia. If a Customer has a Complaint about an alleged violation of this section, the Complaint procedures in § 320 of these regulations shall apply.
An Energy Supplier may not engage in a marketing, advertising, Solicitation or trade practice that is unlawful, misleading, or deceptive as set forth in D.C. Code § 28-3904.
An Energy Supplier shall not engage in Cramming.
An Energy Supplier shall not engage in Slamming.
Any prohibition regarding the disclosure of Account status and Customer information should not preclude Energy Suppliers from obtaining or providing Account status and Customer information for acquisition or sale of a book of business as long as the review of such information during a proposed acquisition or sale is subject to confidentiality agreements.
Energy Suppliers must maintain documentation to substantiate any advertisement of energy supply that contains specific environmental claims. Such documentation shall be made available, upon request, through a hard copy or other technological means.
Any Solicitation of energy supply that contains any specific offering to a residential Customer must at a minimum include the following:
An electricity supply or natural gas supply Contract with a Customer shall, at a minimum, contain the following material terms and conditions:
If an Energy Supplier receives a request from a Customer not to receive any Solicitations from that solicitor, the Energy Supplier shall no longer contact the Customer. If an Energy Supplier receives a request from a Customer not to receive a particular type of Solicitation from that solicitor, which includes, but is not limited to, in-person Solicitatio n, telephone Solicitation, electronic Solicitation or any form of mail or post card by the solicitor, the Energy Supplier shall not use that type of Solicitation with that Customer in the future.
Nothing in these regulations shall affect the applicability of any Federal or District Telephone Solicitation and consumer protection laws and regulations including, but not limited to, the fines and penalties thereunder for violation of such laws and regulations. Any Energy Supplier soliciting customers by telephone shall comply with all applicable District and federal laws, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (15 USC §§ 6151et seq.) and the Telemarketing Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act of 1994 (15 USC §§ 6101et seq.).
There are three (3) principal ways in which a Customer may enter into a Contract with an Energy Supplier:
An Energy Supplier may not use "negative option contracts," in which Contracts are created if the Customer takes no action. Therefore, an Energy Supplier may not enter into a Contract with a Customer if the Customer simply refrains from action. However, Contract renewals are not negative option contracts.
If a Customer wishes to enter into a Contract with an Energy Supplier, the Energy Supplier may request from the Customer the following information, by telephone, in writing, or Internet or other technological means:
An Energy Supplier may ask for additional information beyond that specified in Subsection 327.13 only after first informing the Customer of his or her right not to provide such information.
An Energy Supplier shall advise a Customer that he/she has the right to rescind the Contract agreement within the three (3) business day Rescission Period that begins on one of the following dates, as applicable:
FOR A TELEPHONE SOLICITATION: Telephone Solicitations shall be made only between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. If a Customer is solicited to enter into a Contract by telephone, whether the Energy Supplier or its authorized agent first contacts the Customer, or the Customer calls the Energy Supplier or its authorized agent in response to a direct mail Solicitation, the Energy Supplier or its authorized representative shall:
All verifications performed pursuant to Subsection 327.16 shall be required to ask the Customer the following questions:
Once the Customer's choice of Energy Supplier is verified by an Independent Third-Party Verifier or an electronic recording is made, the Energy Supplier shall, within five (5) business days from the day the Customer agreed telephonically to Contract with the Energy Supplier, provide to the Customer via U.S. Mail or electronic mail a copy of the Completed Written Contract.
Once a positive verification has been obtained or an electronic recording has been made, and a written Contract has been sent to the Customer, and after the Rescission Period has expired, the Energy Supplier shall transmit the Enrollment transaction to the Natural Gas or the Electric Utility, whichever is appropriate.
FOR AN INTERNET SOLICITATION: The Energy Supplier may post on its website an electronic version of its Solicitation for the supply of natural gas or electricity. The electronic solicitation shall include:
After the Customer completes the electronic application form and electronically accepts the Contract terms and conditions, the Customer has a three (3) business day Rescission Period from the completed online Contract authorization date to rescind his or her Contract.
Upon receipt of the Customer's electronic application and electronic acceptance of the Contract terms and conditions and after the Rescission Period has expired, the Energy Supplier shall transmit the enrollment transaction to the Natural Gas Utility or the Electric Utility, whichever is appropriate.
FOR HOME SOLICITATIONS: Home Solicitations shall be limited to the hours between 9:00 a.m. and sunset. During a home Solicitation, the Energy Supplier or its authorized agent shall:
FOR DIRECT MAIL SOLICITATIONS: If a Customer is solicited at home through a direct mail Solicitation by an Energy Supplier, the Energy Supplier shall follow the Solicitation and contracting requirements in Subsections 327.7 and 327.8, respectively, and Subsections 327.13 and 327.14 with respect to telephone Solicitation where the customer calls the Energy Supplier or its authorized representative in response to the direct mail Solicitation.
In the event of a dispute over the existence of a Contract, the Energy Supplier shall bear the burden of proving the Contract's existence.
When using any of the permitted forms of Solicitation, the Energy Supplier shall provide the Customer with a notification of his or her right to rescind the Contract pursuant to Subsection 327.15.
Upon completion of the Customer's electronic enrollment request and after the Recession Period has expired, the Energy Supplier shall transmit the enrollment transaction to the Natural Gas Utility or Electric Utility, whichever is appropriate.
For purposes of these rules, th e electronic submission by the Customer of the application to Contract with the Energy Supplier constitutes an "electronic signature" and an executed Contract.
If the Customer submits an electronic application and electronic Contract, the Energy Supplier shall acknowledge the Customer's submission with a Confirmation of receipt of the electronic enrollment within twenty-four (24) hours of receipt.
It is the responsibility of the Energy Supplier to provide its website address to the Commission. The Natural Gas Utility, Electric Utility, and Energy Suppliers shall prominently display on their websites' homepages links to the Commission's website pages for Customer Retail Choice and Consumer Suppliers' Offers.
For electronic contracting, the Energy Supplier's website shall allow a Customer to print or save a copy of the Contract.
During the electronic enrollment procedure, each web screen shall clearly display a "Cancel" icon enabling the Customer to terminate the Enrollment transaction at any time. In addition, the cancellation feature shall be clearly explained to the Customer at the beginning of the electronic enrollment process.
At the completion of the electronic enrollment process, and at the end of the three (3) business day Rescission Period, the Energy Supplier, at the Customer's request, shall provide a secure website location or a telephone number where the Customer can verify that he or she has been enrolled in the Energy Supplier's program.
All online transactions between Energy Suppliers and Customers shall be encrypted using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or similar encryption standards to ensure the privacy of Customer's information consistent with Subsection 309.1.
The Electric Utility shall transfer a Customer to a competitive electricity supplier in no later than three (3) business days after receiving the notice of an enrollment transaction from the competitive electricity supplier. Th e Electric Utility shall transfer a Customer to Standard Offer Service in no later than 3 business days after receiving the Customer's request. The Electric Utility shall accept the last enrollment received from the Energy Supplier at the relevant days' end.
Energy Suppliers must process all Customer cancellation requests within three (3) business days after receipt of the cancellation request.
The transmittal of an EDI Transaction by the Electric Supplier to the Electric Utility shall not occur until after the three (3) business day Rescission Period.
The transmittal of an enrollment transaction by the Gas Supplier to the Gas Utility shall not occur until after the three (3) business day Rescission Period.
Upon an Energy Supplier's Enrollment of a Customer, the Energy Supplier shall provide to the Customer, within a reasonable period of time the following:
The Customer shall notify the Energy Supplier, not the Utility, of his or her intent to rescind the Contract within the Rescission Period. If the Customer does request to rescind their Contract within the three (3) business day Rescission Period, the Enrollment shall be considered effective. If th e Customer notifies the Energy Supplier of his or her intent to rescind the Contract within the three (3) business day Rescission Period, the Contract is deemed invalid and non-binding.
After the three (3) business da y Rescission Period expires and the enrollment is processed by the Utility, the relationship between the Customer and the Energy Supplier shall be governed by the terms and conditions contained in the Contract.
An Energy Supplier shall provide the Customer with written notice of Contract expiration or termination at least thirty- five (35) days before the expiration or termination of the current Contract. The Energy Supplier's written expiration or termination notice shall include the following:
If an Energy Supplier's Contract provides for voluntary renewal of the Contract or for automatic renewal of the Contract (also known as an "Evergreen Contract"):
ASSIGNMENT OF CONTRACT
An Energy Supplier shall post on its website current and understandable information about its rates, charges and services.
An Energy Supplier shall not conduct Meter test.
If an Energy Supplier's charges are based on usage, an Energy Supplier shall rely on the Meter reading (actual, estimated, or customer meter readings) provided to it by the respective Utility, unless the Energy Supplier has installed, owns, and reads metering equipment, consistent with the applicable Utility's tariff.
An Energy Supplier may, at the election of a Customer, Bill a Customer in accordance with a level payment billing plan. If an Energy Supplier utilizes the billing services of a Utility, an Energy Supplier may use the level payment plan as part of the Utility's billing service. The Energy Supplier shall inform the Customer of this option and explain how the monthly payments are calculated. Prior to implementation of the level payment billing plan, the Energy Supplier shall provide the Customer with the following information in writing:
The Energy Supplier may perform a periodic analysis of a Customer's level payment billing plan and notify the Customer, within twenty-one (21) days thereafter, if actual usage varies significantly from that upon which the level payment billing plan was based and give the Customer an opportunity for revision of the level payment billing plan. If an Energy Supplier utilizes the billing services of a Utility, the Customer may have an opportunity for revision of the level payment billing plan at the same time as the Utility allows under the Utility's level payment billing plan procedures or at a time designated by the Energy Supplier.
If the Customer enters into a Deferred Payment Agreement (DPA) with the Utility pursuant to § 306, and the Energy Supplier utilizes the billing services of the Utility, the Utility may include the Energy Supplier's balance as part of its DPA.
Pursuant to D.C. Official Code § 34-1671.11(d)(1) and § 34-1508(b)(1), any Energy Supplier that violates this section, either directly or through its authorized agent, may be subject to Sanctions and Penalties including license revocation, upon notice given by the Commission.
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 15, r. 15-327