2007S0264-1 02/02/07

By: Fraser S.B. No. 482

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to competition and customer choice in the retail electric market; providing an administrative penalty.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 39.051, Utilities Code, is amended by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:

(h) On or before January 1, 2008, an electric utility that is affiliated with power generation companies that own 5,000 megawatts or more of generating capacity in this state or with retail electric providers that have annual sales of 10,000,000 megawatt hours or more of electricity in this state shall file with the commission an unbundling plan for discontinuing, within a reasonable time determined by the commission, the utility's affiliation with power generation companies or retail electric providers.

SECTION 2. Section 39.101, Utilities Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (i) to read as follows:

(a) Before customer choice begins on January 1, 2002, the commission shall ensure that retail customer protections are established that entitle a customer:

(1) to safe, reliable, and reasonably priced electricity, including protection against service disconnections in an extreme weather emergency as provided by Subsection (h) or in cases of medical emergency or nonpayment for unrelated services;

(2) to privacy of customer consumption and credit information; provided, however, that the release to competitive retail electric providers of information identifying residential customers that were served by the affiliated retail electric provider at the end of the price to beat period shall not be considered a violation of customer privacy;

(3) to bills presented in a clear format and in language readily understandable by customers;

(4) to the option to have all electric services on a single bill, except in those instances where multiple bills are allowed under Chapters 40 and 41;

(5) to protection from discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, nationality, religion, or marital status;

(6) to accuracy of metering and billing;

(7) to information in English and Spanish and any other language as necessary concerning rates, key terms and conditions, in a standard format that will permit comparisons between price and service offerings, and the environmental impact of certain production facilities;

(8) to information in English and Spanish and any other language as necessary concerning low-income assistance programs and deferred payment plans; and

(9) to other information or protections necessary to ensure high-quality service to customers.

(b) A customer is entitled:

(1) to be informed about rights and opportunities in the transition to a competitive electric industry;

(2) to choose the customer's retail electric provider consistent with this chapter, to have that choice honored, and to assume that the customer's chosen provider will not be changed without the customer's informed consent; provided, however, that a residential customer that is receiving service from an affiliated retail electric provider under a month-to-month service plan may be transferred to a competitive retail electric provider after the end of the price to beat period in any commission-authorized reallocation plan;

(3) to have access to providers of energy efficiency services, to on-site distributed generation, and to providers of energy generated by renewable energy resources;

(4) to be served by a provider of last resort that offers a commission-approved standard service package;

(5) to receive sufficient information to make an informed choice of service provider;

(6) to be protected from unfair, misleading, or deceptive practices, including protection from being billed for services that were not authorized or provided; and

(7) to have an impartial and prompt resolution of disputes with its chosen retail electric provider and transmission and distribution utility.

(i) A retail electric provider may not state or imply that it can provide a greater level of reliability of electric service or preferential treatment in the restoration of service following an outage. The commission may impose an administrative penalty for a violation of this subsection in accordance with Section 15.024. A violation of this subsection shall be included in the highest class of violations in the classification system established by the commission under Section 15.023.

SECTION 3. Subsection (b), Section 39.102, Utilities Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) The affiliated retail electric provider of the electric utility serving a retail customer on December 31, 2001, may continue to serve that customer until the customer chooses service from a different retail electric provider, an electric cooperative offering customer choice, or a municipally owned utility offering customer choice or until the customer is switched to another retail electric provider under Section 39.202(r).

SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is amended by adding Section 39.110 to read as follows:

Sec. 39.110. PROMOTION OF RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER CHOICE. (a) The purpose of this section is to promote customer choice for residential customers by imposing a charge on certain retail electric providers to provide an additional incentive for them to compete for residential customers.

(b) This section applies to a retail electric provider that on December 31, 2006, was required to offer service to residential customers at the price to beat in accordance with Section 39.202, and to any successor in interest of the retail electric provider, and any reference in this section to a retail service provider includes a successor in interest to such provider. This section no longer applies to a retail electric provider if the retail electric provider is not assessed a charge under Subsection (c) for two consecutive years.

(c) The commission shall impose an annual charge on a retail electric provider that is subject to this section if at the end of a calendar year the retail electric provider's share of the residential market in the transmission and distribution utility service territory in which it was required to offer service at the price to beat, expressed as a percentage of the number of customers, minus the retail electric provider's share of the residential market in areas where customer choice is available outside the transmission and distribution utility service territory in which it was required to offer the price to beat, expressed as a percentage of the number of customers, is greater than 50 percent.

(d) The annual charge under this section shall equal $300 multiplied by the difference between the number of residential customers that the retail electric provider served during that year in the transmission and distribution utility service territory in which it was required to offer the price to beat and the number of residential customers that the retail electric provider served outside the transmission and distribution utility service territory in which it was required to offer the price to beat. The charge assessed under this section shall be paid to residential customers served by the retail electric provider in the transmission and distribution utility service territory in which the retail electric provider was required to offer the price to beat.

(e) The annual charge no longer applies to any retail electric provider if each of the retail electric providers that provided service in accordance with Section 39.202 in the two transmission and distribution utility service territories with the greatest number of residential customers are not assessed a charge under this section for two consecutive years.

(f) The commission may adopt and enforce rules as necessary or appropriate to carry out this section.

SECTION 5. Section 39.202, Utilities Code, is amended by adding Subsections (q) and (r) to read as follows:

(q) On a schedule to be determined by the commission, affiliated retail electric providers shall release information to competitive retail electric providers that identifies the residential customers receiving retail electric service from the affiliated retail electric providers.

(r) The commission may conduct a program to require residential customers receiving service from an affiliated retail electric provider under a month-to-month service plan to select a retail electric provider. Customers who do not affirmatively select a retail electric provider may be switched to a competitive retail electric provider or to a different product with their existing provider.

SECTION 6. Subchapter E, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is amended by adding Section 39.2025 to read as follows:

Sec. 39.2025. MARKET REVIEW BASED ON PRICE OF ELECTRICITY. (a) The commission, on its own motion, may conduct a review of a transmission and distribution service area in which customer choice has been introduced to determine whether the retail price of electricity sold to residential customers in all or part of that area is unreasonably high or is a threat to public safety. The commission shall conduct a review if it receives a request for the review from:

(1) the office;

(2) a municipality in the service area; or

(3) a standing committee of the senate or house of representatives that has primary jurisdiction over the commission.

(b) While conducting a review under this section, the commission may impose a cap on the retail price of electricity sold to residential customers in all or part of a transmission and distribution service area at a price the commission determines appropriate. Any cap the commission imposes shall apply to all retail electric providers in the capped area that sell electricity to residential customers.

(c) If, after the completion of a review, the commission determines that the retail price of electricity sold to residential customers in all or part of the transmission and distribution service area is unreasonably high or is a threat to public safety, the commission may take any action consistent with the public interest, including extending a cap imposed under Subsection (b).

SECTION 7. Section 39.902, Utilities Code, is amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:

(c) After the opening of the retail electric market, the commission shall conduct ongoing customer education designed to help customers make informed choices of electric services and retail electric providers. As part of ongoing education, the commission may provide customers information concerning prices available in the marketplace, savings available to customers by switching retail electric providers, and information concerning specific retail electric providers, including instances of complaints against them and records relating to quality of customer service.

(d) The commission may require an affiliated retail electric provider to provide information to customers regarding savings available to the customer from switching to another retail electric provider or product in a manner specified by the commission, including through bill inserts or statements on customer bills.

(e) The commission may require a transmission and distribution utility to issue public service announcements that inform customers that service reliability and the restoration of electric service following an outage is not contingent upon the customer's receiving service from a particular retail electric provider.

SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2007.