In connection with the Commission's charge by the legislature to review current consumer protection for choice customers and to report recommendations, a Staff-led Retail Energy Supplier Consumer Protection Work Group has been formed. Staff has filed a proposed timeline and discussion topics for the work group. The work group will have its first meeting on June 17, 2014, at 10AM at the Commission's Baltimore office. The initial meeting will be focused on the development of a comprehensive list of discussion topics. After that time, meetings of subgroups of interested parties will be held, culminating in a work group report to be filed with the Commission by October 2014. The full text of Staff's Proposed Timeline and Discussion Topics is available on the NEM Website.

The Commission issued an Order adopting requirements intended to create a more suppler-oriented utility consolidated electric bill. The Commission adopted the changes because it, "will aid customers in not only developing a stronger recognition of, and relationship with,their EGS, but will also increase customer awareness when participating in the competitive retail electric market."

The Commission adopted the following requirements for electric utility consolidated bills:
1- The EGS logo should be included on the bill as a means to reinforce its relationship with its customer;
2- The logo should appear near the EGS's charges;
3- The utilities will have flexibility in displaying the EGS logo in color or black and white based on billing system capabilities;
4- Utilities must expand the messaging space available to the EGS from two to four lines;
5- The bill must have a Shopping Information Box that includes a customer’s account/customer supplier ID number, the customer’s Rate Schedule, an indication that this information is needed when shopping with an EGS, and a reminder that the customer be aware of its contract expiration date if it has shopped with an EGS.

The Commission declined to adopt the proposal that the bill include additional line items for EGS value-added services charges. It also declined to require EDCs to include EGS bill inserts. The utilities implementation costs for these changes are to be recovered through a nonbypassable charge. The utilities were "encouraged" to implement the bill changes before June 1, 2015, and must provide drafts to Commission Staff for review prior to dissemination.
The full text of the Order on Supplier-Oriented Utility Consolidated Bills is available on the NEM Website.