Due to feedback received, Staff announced that a stakeholder meeting previously set for April 17th has been rescheduled to April 29th and 30th in order to consider a broader range of issues surrounding the Commission's energy rules. The now two-day workshop will include discussion of the following: Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff; Resource Planning and Procurement; Energy Efficiency (Electric and Gas); Environmental Portfolio Standard; Net Metering; Baseload Security; Forest Biomass; the Statutory Biennial Transmission Assessment; and Technological Developments in Generation and Delivery of Energy. An agenda is forthcoming. The full text of the Notice of Stakeholder Meeting is available on the NEM Website.

The Joint Committee on Energy and Technology voted to approve a joint favorable substitute to HB7155 and it has been tabled for the House calendar. HB7155 would impose a number of restrictions on supplier marketing practices.

HB7155 would require:
• Suppliers must obtain affirmative and express consent to contract renewal through a written or electronic signature or the customer will revert to standard service at the end of the contract;
• Suppliers must provide a contract renewal notice between thirty and sixty days of the contract renewal date;
• Suppliers must record all telephone calls with residential customers that might relate in any way to sales activities;
• Suppliers must record all “face-to-face marketing interactions with a potential residential customer;”
• Suppliers must conduct background checks on all door-to-door marketers acting on a supplier’s behalf;
• Suppliers must begin every telesales or in-person sales call with a statement that includes the following: (A) The name of the electric supplier conducting the call; (B) that the electric supplier is not affiliated with any state program and no state program encourages Connecticut residents to obtain an electric supplier; (C) that the electric supplier is calling the residential customer or potential residential customer to market or sell electric supply service to the customer or potential customer and if the customer or potential customer assents, the telesales call or face-to-face marketing will result in the customer or potential customer immediately entering into a contract with the electric supplier; (D) that such electric supplier does not represent an electric distribution company and that electric distribution companies do not encourage Connecticut residents to obtain an electric supplier; and (E) what the standard service rate is on the date of the telesales call or face-to-face marketing and that the standard service rate is fixed, not variable.
• Sales representatives are prohibited from asking for a residential customer’s account number until after the customer has assented to contract with the supplier for a specified rate;
• Sales representatives are prohibited from staying on the line once a TPV call begins;
• Suppliers must process enrollments and re-enrollments and submit them to the utility within five days of the residential customer consenting to enroll or have the enrollment invalidated;
• Any customer assignment or transfer of customers by a supplier must be approved by PURA before the assignment or transfer can be completed.

The full text of HB7155 (Joint Favorable Substitute) is available on the NEM Website.

The Public Utilities Committee in the House of the Illinois legislature voted to pass an amended version of HB2861, and the bill has been placed on the calendar for a second reading. HB2861 would impose new restrictions on supplier certification and also restrict competitive supplier product offerings. These proposed restrictions are as follows:

1) The Commission shall grant alternative retail electric supplier (ARES) certification based on a verified application including "that the applicant is not the subject of any lawsuit filed in a court of law or formal complaint filed with a regulatory agency alleging fraud, deception, or unfair marketing practices or other similar allegations identifying the name, case number, and jurisdiction of each such lawsuit or complaint."
2) ARES applicants shall maintain a license bond of $30,000 to serve only nonresidential customers with maximum electric demands of one megawatt or more; $150,000 to serve only nonresidential customers with annual electrical consumption greater than 15,000 kWh; or $500,000 to serve all eligible customers.
3) Alternative gas supplier (AGS) applicants shall maintain a license bond of $150,000 to serve only nonresidential customers or $500,000 to serve all eligible customers.
4) ARES and AGS applicants must submit an additional $500,000 bond if the supplier intends to market in a residential area using in-person solicitations.
5) All ARES and AGS marketing materials that include an enrollment price or claim price savings, shall disclose the prices, terms and conditions of the products or services being offered, the offer expiration date, and the utility's generally applicable electric/gas utility supply rate.
6) All ARES marketing materials must include the following statement:
"(Name of alternative retail electric supplier) is not the same entity as your electric utility delivery company. You are not required to enroll with (name of alternative retail electric supplier). The electric utility supply rate disclosed herein does not include the current Purchase Electricity Adjustment (PEA) that may increase or decrease your actual electric utility supply rate. For information on the PEA, as well as historical comparison rates for electric utility supply rate and understanding your electric supply choices, go to the Illinois Commerce Commission's free website at www.pluginillinois.org."
7) Starting July 1, 2019, ARES rates charged to retail customers must be either a) unchanged for no less than a term of four months; or b) if a month-to-month variable or time-of-use rate, the rate must be tied to a specific formula to allow the customer to determine the rate and be based on the real time LMP for the zone in which the account is located or similar index. AGS rates must be either a) fixed for no less than a four month term; or b) if a month-to-month variable or time-of-use rate, such rate must be tied to a publicly available index. An adder may be included with month-to-month variable and time-of-use rates that does not increase more than ten percent during the term of the contract and is explicitly disclosed to the customer.
8) The Commission may require an ARES or AGS to enter into a compliance plan for rules violations. Failure to follow the compliance plan may result in revocation or suspension of the ARES license.
9) Agents, brokers and consultants (ABC) must disclose to a customer the amount of compensation being charged by the ABC prior to the contract being signed.
10) Starting January 1, 2020, ARES and AGS shall not serve LIHEAP or PIPP customers other than as part of a government aggregation program or under a Commission-approved savings guarantee plan.
11) Electric supplier consolidated bills and utility consolidated bills to residential customers shall include the current generally applicable electric utility supply rate that would apply to the customer for the billing period.
12) The Commission must open a rulemaking by July 1, 2019, on sales and marketing practices of residential solar providers.
13) The Commission may establish a program to promote expanded use of energy savings programs for residential and small customers. A collaborative stakeholder workshop shall be convened to develop energy savings devices and other application or program requirements.

The full text of HB2861 (Amendment 1) is available on the NEM Website.