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Texas Retail Provider Seeks Waiver From TPV Requirement

March 10, 2015

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Copyright 2010-15 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Karen Abbott • kabbott@energychoicematters.com

Accent Energy Texas, LP d/b/a IGS Energy petitioned the Public Utility Commission of Texas for a good cause exception to the requirement in P.U.C. SUBST. R. 25.474(f)(2) and (3) to allow customers the option of choosing a retail electric product via a hand-held electronic device without requiring the customer to participate in a recorded third-party verification voice telephone call.

The request is similar to requests made by IGS Energy in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

IGS Energy said that the current Texas rules governing door-to-door sales can be read to require that even where an enrolling customer has electronically interfaced with IGS through its new iPad technology, the customer cannot have that choice effectuated without participating in a recorded third-party verification phone call.

"IGS observes that it is common for customers who prefer a more technologically advanced communication protocol such as an iPad interface to find verbal communications with a stranger over the telephone to be inconsistent with the technology-based approach. These same customers find an additional procedural step involving a recorded voice telephone call with a person unknown to them to be unnecessarily duplicative," IGS said.

"IGS Energy has recently opened a local office in North Texas which is staffed by fulltime IGS employees who will act as local Home Energy Consultants ('HEC') to residents in the communities served by that local office. These employees are paid a full-time salary with benefits. These IGS employees undergo extensive training and are available to offer local residents personalized and detailed information regarding their home energy needs. IGS deployed extensive resources to develop applications for the hand-held electronic device as one of the key tools to interact with these customers. IGS has plans to open additional offices throughout the competitive areas of ERCOT which will also be staffed with such employees who will be trained to serve as a trusted resource to local residents," IGS said.

IGS said that under its sale process the HEC conducts an electronic enrollment with the customer via an internet protocol on the mobile hand-held electronic device. Specifically, with an HEC electronic enrollment:

1) The customer selects a product and enrolls with IGS Energy through the HEC's handheld device;

2) When a customer chooses to enroll in this manner, the electronic hand-held device utilized with the HEC Enrollment verifies the customer's consent to the terms and conditions via an electronic signature of the customer that is captured as a digital image.

3) The customer inputs their personal information, including e-mail address, directly into the hand-held electronic device which acts as a portal into the IGS Customer Information System without separate disclosure of sensitive information to the HEC employee.

4) The hand-held electronic device also verifies via an electronic signature that the customer consents and acknowledges the specific statements set forth in the requirements of P.U.C. Subst. R. 25.474;

5) After verifying the customer's consent and desire to choose the selected product, the terms of service, EFL, and Your Rights as a Customer document are e-mailed to the customer; and

6) As stated in the information sent to the customer in compliance with the Commission rules, the customer has the right of rescission to withdraw their enrollment for a period of 3 federal business days.

To the extent the P.U.C. Subst. R. 25.474(0(2) and (3) require a customer to participate in a recorded third-party verification call after the customer has chosen to participate in an electronic enrollment via the electronic hand-held device through the detailed process described above, IGS Energy requested that the Commission find good cause to waive that third-party verification requirement.

"Good cause exists for this waiver because the technology in question did not exist at the time the rules were adopted. Further, the technology which IGS Energy seeks to utilize affords additional consumer protections that are not available with the door-to-door options that were available at the time the current rules were written," IGS said.

"IGS is seeking this waiver to allow customers to enroll via the electronic interface without third-party verification only when the customer chooses to participate in the electronic interface that follows the procedures and contains the enhanced consumer protections set forth in this Application. IGS is not seeking waiver of the TPV rules for traditional door-to-door enrollments," IGS said.

Docket 44518

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