Connecticut General Statutes 16-245s – Switching electric suppliers; procedures; penalties; regulations
(a) No electric distribution company shall submit or execute a change in a customer’s selection of an electric supplier unless the change has been confirmed by one of the following: (1) An independent third-party telephone verification; (2) receipt of a written confirmation received in the mail from the customer after the customer has received an information package confirming any telephone agreement; (3) the customer signs a document fully explaining the nature and effect of the change in service; or (4) the customer’s consent is obtained through electronic means, including, but not limited to, a computer transaction.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 16-245s
- Authority: means the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and "department" means the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- distribution company: means any person providing electric transmission or distribution services within the state, but does not include: (A) A private power producer, as defined in section 16-243b. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
- Electric supplier: means any person, including an electric aggregator or participating municipal electric utility that is licensed by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority in accordance with section 16-245, that provides electric generation services to end use customers in the state using the transmission or distribution facilities of an electric distribution company, regardless of whether or not such person takes title to such generation services, but does not include: (A) A municipal electric utility established under chapter 101, other than a participating municipal electric utility. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
- Person: means an individual, business, firm, corporation, association, joint stock association, trust, partnership or limited liability company. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
(b) Third-party telephone verification shall be in accordance with the following procedures: (1) The electric supplier seeking to verify the change shall do so by connecting the customer by telephone to the third-party verification company or by arranging for the third-party verification company to call the resident to confirm the sale; and (2) the third-party verification company shall obtain the customer’s oral confirmation regarding the change, and shall record that confirmation by obtaining appropriate verification data. The record shall be available to the customer upon request. Information obtained from the customer through confirmation shall not be used for marketing purposes. The verification procedure in this subsection shall not apply when a residential customer directly calls an electric distribution company to make changes in electric supplier service, provided an electric supplier shall not avoid the verification procedure by asking a residential customer to contact an electric distribution company directly to make changes in electric supplier service. For purposes of this section, “third-party verification company” means a company that: (A) Is independent from the electric supplier that seeks to provide the new service; (B) is not directly or indirectly managed, controlled or directed or owned wholly or in part by (i) an electric supplier that seeks to provide the new service, or (ii) any corporation, firm or person who directly or indirectly manages, controls or directs or owns more than five per cent of such supplier; (C) operates from facilities physically separate from those of the electric supplier that seeks to provide the new service; and (D) does not derive commissions or compensation based upon the number of sales confirmed.
(c) Any violation of this section shall be deemed an unfair or deceptive trade practice under subsection (a) of section 42-110b.
(d) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to address abusive switching practices by suppliers.