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Bill Requiring Maryland PSC Supplier Price Listing Likely to Become Law
April 27, 2011
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An enrolled Maryland bill requiring the Maryland PSC to develop a supplier pricing website and conduct customer education on choice is expected to become law, PSC Chairman Douglas Nazarian told the National Energy Marketers Association Restructuring Conference.
SB 244, sponsored by Sen. Catherine Pugh, will require the PSC to develop an electric price chart listing the rate per kilowatt-hour, term length, and cancellation fees associated with supplier offers. Each electric supplier with an "open offer" shall, at least once a month, submit via secure portal pricing information to the Commission website.
Nazarian stressed that suppliers will have an obligation to keep rates on the site current, and said that he had been hesitant to embrace a PSC-hosted price chart due to the potential for rates listed on the site to be outdated, which will prompt customer complaints.
The SOS rate will also be listed on the site.
The PSC site shall also contain new choice education materials, FAQs, and specific sections regarding the disclosures customers are entitled to receive from suppliers, and information encouraging customers to be cognizant of their contract's end date, so they are properly aware of renewal procedures.
The bill also directs the PSC to develop public service announcements regarding retail choice. Nazarian said that the PSC will convene a stakeholder working group to develop the public service announcements as well as other choice education materials.
Costs of the web site and customer education efforts shall be recovered in distribution rates.
Nazarian expects that the legislation, passed by both houses, will be signed and become law.
A bill addressing the provision of customer lists to suppliers was defeated.
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