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Regulator Denies Retail Supplier License Application, Says Supplier Unable To Meet Consumer Protection Standards
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The Massachusetts DPU denied the electric supplier application of New England Power and Light LLC (NEPL) as the DPU said that NEPL, "cannot meet the
Department's consumer protection standards."
Daniel Adigwe, described by the DPU as the chief executive officer and 100 percent owner of NEPL, provided the following statement to EnergyChoiceMatters.com:
"The decision made by the MA DPU is totally inaccurate. Our legal team is currently working with the MA DPU to fix all outstanding issues raised."
--- Statement from Daniel Adigwe, NEPL
The DPU stated that four of six individuals listed in NEPL's application as officers and key personnel at NEPL were previously employed by SunSea
Energy, LLC
According to the DPU's order, NEPL identified Daniel Adigwe as chief executive officer and 100 percent owner of NEPL
The DPU in its order stated that Daniel Adigwe served as executive vice president at Sunsea from 2017 to 2023
The DPU stated that, in 2023, the Maryland PSC suspended SunSea's retail supplier license and ordered the return of SunSea's customers to default service
The DPU stated in its order, "The Department takes note of the fact that four of NEPL's key personnel, who will be
responsible for sales, marketing, customer enrollment, and customer care, were employed in
high-level management positions with SunSea before and during the period for which the MPSC [Maryland]
investigated and sanctioned SunSea for serious consumer protection violations."
The DPU, "also takes note of the fact that NEPL intended to hire the same
door-to-door sales vendors that the MPSC identified as those responsible 'for the serious
violations of Maryland law and [MPSC] regulations.'"
The DPU stated that, when contacted about its representation in its application that it would use such specific vendors, NEPL stated that "With these issues being brought to
light, NEPL will not be using these vendors ..."
The DPU stated, "We struggle to comprehend
how the Department’s information request brought these issues to light for NEPL," given that various NEPL leadership held senior positions at Sunsea in operations, customer service, and compliance, as noted above
The DPU stated, "With this combination of responsibilities at SunSea, we would expect that at least one,
if not all, of these individuals was aware, or should have been aware, that these three vendors
were identified as the cause for SunSea being sanctioned by the MPSC."
The DPU stated, "Absent a compelling
explanation, the Department concludes that NEPL’s lack of judgment in such an important
component of customer service and protection demonstrates an inability to meet our consumer
protection standards."
The DPU further cited data responses from NEPL which the DPU said contradicted the company's original application, which, "was signed under the pains and penalties of perjury".
Among other things, the DPU said that, in response to a data request, NEPL said that Daniel Adigwe only consulted for SunSea in
August 2021, May 2022, and December 2022. The DPU said, "These responses and Daniel
Adigwe's revised resume contradict Daniel Adigwe’s initial resume and associated
responsibilities as SunSea's executive vice president from 2017 to 2023, as described above."
The DPU said that resumes for other key personnel at NEPL, who were initially stated as previously serving in a capacity at Sunsea, were similarly revised in updated submissions, with the updates indicating that these individuals did not hold a role at Sunsea, but at another supplier
The DPU said that, even taking such revised information about NEPL personnel's relationship with SunSea as correct, "we continue to
question why Daniel Adigwe made serious and material misrepresentations in NEPL’s Initial
Application [due to submitting the initial, later allegedly corrected, resumes."
"[W]e cannot conclude that Daniel Adigwe, as NEPL’s chief
executive officer and 100 percent owner ... could lead a company that would meet
Massachusetts’ consumer protection standards," the DPU said
The DPU stated, "We conclude that NEPL has made a false statement in violation of Application § VII and
G.L. c. 268, § 6."
In sum, the DPU said, "We have reviewed NEPL’s initial and revised Applications and its responses to the
Department’s information requests. One version of the information provided by NEPL
demonstrates that key personnel of NEPL, who would be responsible for ensuring consumer
protection in the competitive supply market, were employed by SunSea in various roles as
executive vice president and heads of customer service, compliance, and sales operations during
the period that SunSea was under investigation and sanctioned by the MPSC for serious
consumer protection violations. The other version of the
information provided by NEPL would have the Department accept that one of its key personnel
was merely a consultant for SunSea, who was not involved in the events for which SunSea was
twice sanctioned by the MPSC, and that two others were never employed by SunSea. Under the first scenario, the Department would not be
able to make a determination that NEPL and its key personnel would be able to meet the
Department's consumer protection standards. Were the second scenario correct, that would lead
us to conclude that NEPL provided incorrect and misleading information to the Department."
The DPU's supplier application requires only the disclosure of, "felony convictions."
However, as the application was under review, the DPU learned of a consumer lawsuit (civil) against SunSea Energy, LLC, concerning the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (Taylor v. SunSea Energy, LLC, et al.,
Civil Action No. 2:24-cv-00348)
The DPU then issued an interrogatory to NEPL requesting that NEPL identify all legal actions taken against
Daniel Adigwe and to provide a summary of the allegations made against Daniel
Adigwe in the Taylor action
The DPU stated, "Again, NEPL provided contradictory responses
stating that 'there are no legal actions against Daniel Adigwe' but also acknowledging that
Daniel Adigwe is a named defendant in the Taylor action".
The DPU said, "To fulfill our statutory obligation to ensure customers in Massachusetts are provided with
the utmost consumer protections, the Department must be able to review documentation from
competitive suppliers and verify to the best of our ability that we have received accurate and
correct information. Clearly, an applicant that provides incorrect and misleading information to
the Department, in violation of our Application and the General Laws, cannot meet the
Department’s consumer protection standards."
"[T]he Department is obligated to provide retail consumers with the utmost consumer
protections contained in law by fostering a robust competitive supply market and implementing
safeguards to protect retail consumers. G.L. c. 164, § 1F; D.P.U. 19-07-A at 1. Based on our
review, the Department finds that the Applicant lacks the ability to meet the Commonwealth’s
consumer protection standards to serve residential and C&I customers and for the Department to
fulfill our statutory and regulatory obligations to ensure the utmost consumer protection.
Accordingly, the Department denies the NEPL's Application," the DPU said
Docket D.P.U. 23-CS-02
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DPU Concludes Supplier Made "False Statement"
February
3, 2025
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Copyright 2025 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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