Amendment #14 to H4738

Competitive Electric Suppliers

Mr. Chan of Quincy moves to amend the bill by adding the following section:

SECTION XX. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of public utilities shall investigate the following matters concerning the competitive energy supply market for individual residential customers, and shall submit a report on its activities and findings, including any recommendations to protect residential consumers, to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on telecommunications, utilities and energy, the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on consumer protection and professional licensure, and the chairs of the senate and house committees on ways and means not later than April 30, 2019.

(a) The impact of the competitive energy market on residential customers, including an examination of any benefits that have accrued to customers and any financial or other harm to customers.

(b)  The marketing practices of competitive supply companies, including door-to-door marketing, telemarketing including robocalls, direct mail, and other marketing.

(c)  The targeting of these marketing practices towards particular communities, including communities of color, low-income persons, elders, people with limited English proficiency, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable populations.

(d)  Misleading, deceptive, aggressive or unfair statements made to consumers in the course of marketing.

(e)  The effects of the competitive energy supply market on low-income residential customers in particular, including:

(1)  The rates charged to low-income customers who purchase competitive energy supply, compared with non-low-income customers who purchase competitive supply;

(2)  The financial impact on low-income customers, including amounts paid in excess of basic service rates;

(3)  Any financial impact on energy assistance programs for low-income customers resulting from any higher prices charged to low-income customers who switch, including the impact on the low-income home energy assistance program operated by the department of housing and community development and low-income discount rates offered by regulated electric and gas companies, arrearage management programs and other sources of assistance;

(4)  The extent to which marketers communicate with low-income customers with limited English proficiency in a language other than the customers’ preferred languages.

(f) The impact of competitive supply  differentiated by geography and demographics, including percentages of low-income, people of color and non-English speakers who switch, by community; and additional costs incurred, by community.

(g) The adequacy of current publicly available information about prices for competitive energy supply and contract terms, including disclosures of information, whether by the department or by companies on their own, to allow consumers to more easily compare historic, current and potential future prices of each licensed competitive supplier, and the frequency at which such consumer information should be updated to allow comparison shopping.

(h) The need for regular reporting and analysis of competitive energy supply prices as compared with basic service prices and the impact of the difference on consumers, and the steps that would be needed to implement the improved transparency as recommended by the office of the attorney general in her 2018 analysis of the competitive electric supply market, and the possible benefits to consumers from the transparency.

(i)  The use of variable rates by competitive energy supply companies, whether such rates provide any benefit to residential customers, whether contracts for electricity supply should contain only rates that are established and known by the customer at the time of signing, and recommendations for adequate consumer protections.

(j) The use of automatic reenrollment into contracts for competitive energy supply, whether automatic reenrollment harms consumers, and the need for additional consumer protections to prohibit automatic reenrollment.

(k) The use of cancellation fees in contracts for competitive energy supply, the amounts of cancellation fees charged, whether these cancellation fees reflect actual costs incurred by the competitive electric supply companies, and recommendations for additional consumer protections to limit cancellation fees to a reasonable amount.

(l)  The difference, if any, between rates paid by individual residential customers for competitive energy supply compared with individual residential customers who receive service through a municipal aggregation.

(m) An examination of actions taken by other states to protect consumers, and whether similar protections could be implemented in Massachusetts.

(n)  An examination of all actions to date by the department to revoke or suspend licenses or take other action against any licensed suppliers.

(o)  An examination of residential customer complaints filed with the department against competitive energy suppliers to date, identified by zip code, licensed supplier, and resolution of complaint.

(p) The adequacy and transparency of published information regarding customer complaints about competitive energy supply companies, and the feasibility of creating a public database of consumer complaints made to the department, the office of the attorney general and the distribution utility companies.

(q)  Methods available to consumers to block solicitations or to prevent switching of their accounts, the adequacy of these methods, and recommendations for any proposed changes such as implementing “do not switch” as a default with an option for customers to affirmatively opt out to allow switching.

(r)  Whether changes to chapter 164 of the general laws, or other statutes related to consumer protections for residential electricity customers, are needed to enable the department to better protect consumers, and recommendations for any proposed changes.

(s)  Other relevant consumer protection topics.

As part of its investigation, the department shall hold public hearings at times and locations accessible to members of the public.

To the extent the investigation mandated by this section requires the department to seek confidential business information, the department shall take appropriate steps to guard the confidentiality of any such information.

The department may consider the 2018 report from the office of the attorney general, entitled "Are Consumers Benefiting from Competition? An Analysis of the Individual Residential Electric Supply Market in Massachusetts," as evidence in these proceedings."