The Department issued a stay of certain provisions of its recently issued Order on electric marketing standards. Specifically, the Order prohibited aggregators from entering into power of attorney agreements with customers or enrolling with suppliers on a customer's behalf. Additionally, the Order provided that suppliers must contract with consumers directly and shall not recognize power of attorney agreements between aggregators and customers. In view of current ongoing discussions in the legislature that may effect this relationship, the Department issued a stay of the Order provisions in order to, "avoid causing unnecessary disruptions and disturbance in the Aggregators’ and Suppliers’ conduct of business, which disruptions may negatively impact the market by causing customers’ confusion and possibly causing interruptions in customers’ services." The full texts of the Order Imposing Stay and Marketing Standards Order are available on the NEM Website.

A petition was filed with the Commission pertaining to the electric utilities' presentation of Price to Compare information on the Commission's Power to Choose website. The petition argues that the current electric utility monthly price reporting is "confusing, inaccurate and misleading." It was suggested that the Power to Choose website only display electric residential pricing available from marketers, without any utility pricing. It was further suggested that, "at a minimum, it would behoove the Commission that those electric utilities who do not forecast a price for the beginning of the month but calculate the charges after the billing cycle is completed, should not post any prices on the web site." The full text of the Petition is available from NEM headquarters.

Electric generation suppliers and natural gas suppliers were sent a data request pertaining to their use of independent third party contractors for marketing and sales activities. The Commission's Office of Competitive Market Oversight has been charged with providing the Commission with a report and recommendations on whether independent third party contractors utilized by marketers should be separately licensed. The data request was issued incidental to this task. Data requested pertains to type of third party services used, compensation arrangements, number of customers enrolled due to third party efforts, and related customer complaints received. Staff's report is due to the Commission in April 2011. Responses are requested by April 11, 2011. The full text of the Data Request is available on the NEM Website.

A Secretarial Letter was issued to clarify whether an electric generation supplier (EGS) must be licensed to serve residential or small commercial customers in mixed meter situations. "Mixed meter" is defined as, "a situation where an EGS, which is licensed to serve large commercial, industrial or governmental customers, also provides service through multiple meters to one or more residential or small commercial customers. The EGS has contracted with the large commercial, industrial or governmental customer, and the service provided to residential or small commercial customers through separate meters is part of or incidental to that contract or account." The Secretarial Letter clarifies that, "regardless of who the contracting party is or whether the service to residential or small commercial customers is incidental to service provided to a large commercial, industrial or governmental customer, EGSs are required to obtain amendments to their licensing authority to serve all classes of customers who will receive supply from them." This decision does not, however, apply to affinity group marketing situations. The full text of the Secretarial Letter is available on the NEM Website.