Amended in Assembly June 13, 2013

Amended in Senate April 22, 2013

Senate Bill No. 656

Introduced by Senator Wright

February 22, 2013

An act to amend begin insert Sections 394.3 and 394.5 of, and to repeal end insert Section 392.1 begin delete of end delete begin insert of, end insert the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 656, as amended, Wright. Electrical restructuring: information practices.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has broad regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. Existing law restructuring the electrical industry requires the commission to authorize and facilitate direct transactions between electricity suppliers and end-use customers subject to the implementation of a nonbypassable charge, as specified. Electrical restructuring requires electric service providers, which are entities that offer electrical service to customers within the service territory of an electrical corporation but which are not electrical corporations, to register with the commission and to disclose specified information, among other things and authorizes the commission to enforce specific statutes with respect to electric service providers, but does not grant the commission jurisdiction to regulate electric service providers other than as specified.

Existing law restructuring the electrical industry requires the commission to compile and regularly update information regarding registered electric service providers, including the names and contact numbers of providers, information to assist consumers in making service choices, the number of customer complaints against specific providers in relation to the number of customers served by those providers, and the disposition of those complaints. In this regard, existing law requires the commission to direct the Office, now Division, of Ratepayer Advocates to collect and analyze this information for purposes of preparing easily understandable informational guides or other tools to help residential and small commercial customers understand how to evaluate competing electric service options.

This bill would begin delete require the commission to compile and to update, every 6 months, the above-described information regarding registered electric service providers. The bill would delete the requirement that the commission direct the Office of Ratepayer Advocates to collect and analyze the information for purposes of making available informational guides or other tools. end delete begin insert repeal the above provisions relating to informational guides for consumers and would make conforming changes in related provisions. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 392.1 of the end insert begin insert Public Utilities Code end insert begin insert is
repealed. end insert

begin delete

392.1.  

(a) The commission shall compile and regularly update
the following information: names and contact numbers of registered
providers, information to assist consumers in making service
choices, and the number of customer complaints against specific
providers in relation to the number of customers served by those
providers and the disposition of those complaints. To facilitate this
function, registered entities shall file with the commission
information describing the terms and conditions of any standard
service plan made available to residential and small commercial
customers. The commission shall adopt a standard format for this
filing. The commission shall maintain and make generally available
a list of entities offering electrical services operating in California.
This list shall include all registered providers and those providers
not required to be registered who request the commission to be
included in the list. The commission shall, upon request, make this
information available at no charge. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, public agencies which are registered entities shall
be required to disclose their terms and conditions of service
contracts only to the same extent that other registered entities
would be required to disclose the same or similar service contracts.

(b) The commission shall issue public alerts about companies
attempting to provide electric service in the state in an unauthorized
or fraudulent manner as defined in subdivision (b) of Section
394.25.

(c) The commission shall direct the Office of Ratepayer
Advocates to collect and analyze information provided pursuant
to subdivision (a) for purposes of preparing easily understandable
informational guides or other tools to help residential and small
commercial customers understand how to evaluate competing
electric service options. In implementing these provisions, the
commission shall direct the Office of Ratepayer Advocates to pay
special attention to ensuring that customers, especially those with
limited-English-speaking ability or other disadvantages when
dealing with marketers, receive correct, reliable, and easily
understood information to help them make informed choices. The
Office of Ratepayer Advocates shall not make specific
recommendations or rank the relative attractiveness of specific
service offerings of registered providers of electric services.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 394.3 of the end insert begin insert Public Utilities Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

394.3.  

begin delete In order to end delete begin insert To end insert carry out essential elements of a
sustainable and effective consumer protection program in
connection with electric service providers offering electrical service
to residential and small commercial customers as intended by the
Legislature in this article, the following shall apply:

(a)  begin delete A end delete begin insert The commission shall collect a end insert registration fee of one
hundred dollars ($100) begin delete shall be collected end delete from electric service
providers required to register under this article, and begin insert deposit end insert the
fee proceeds begin delete shall be deposited end delete in the Public Utilities
Reimbursement Account established under Section 402.

(b) The commission shall annually determine the costs of
administering the registration program and other facets of consumer
protection directly related to the direct access transactions of
electric service begin delete providers, including the cost for the duties imposed
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 392.1 end delete begin insert providers end insert . The
commission shall begin delete only end delete collect begin insert only end insert those costs not already being
collected elsewhere. begin delete Registrants end delete begin insert A registrant end insert who begin delete fail end delete begin insert fails end insert to
submit to the commission begin insert a end insert required begin delete fees end delete begin insert fee end insert or begin insert a piece of end insert
information upon which fees are calculated within 30 days of
billing shall be subject to a 15-percent penalty.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 394.5 of the end insert begin insert Public Utilities Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

394.5.  

(a) Except for an electrical corporation as defined in
Section 218, or a local publicly owned electric utility offering
electrical service to residential and small commercial customers
within its service territory, each electric service provider offering
electrical service to residential and small commercial customers
shall, prior to the commencement of service, provide the potential
customer with a written notice of the service describing the price,
terms, and conditions of the service. begin delete The notices end delete begin insert A notice end insert shall
include all of the following:

(1) A clear description of the price, terms, and conditions of
service, including:

(A) The price of electricity expressed in a format begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert
makes it possible for residential and small commercial customers
to compare and select among similar products and services on a
standard basis. The commission shall adopt rules to implement
this subdivision. The commission shall require disclosure of the
total price of electricity on a cents-per-kilowatthour basis, including
the costs of all electric services and charges regulated by the
commission. The commission shall also require estimates of the
total monthly bill for the electric service at varying consumption
levels, including the costs of all electric services and charges
regulated by the commission. In determining these rules, the
commission may consider alternatives to the cents-per-kilowatthour
disclosure if other information would provide the customer with
sufficient information to compare among alternatives on a standard
basis.

(B) Separate disclosure of all recurring and nonrecurring charges
associated with the sale of electricity.

(C) If services other than electricity are offered, an itemization
of the services and the charge or charges associated with each.

(2) An explanation of the applicability and amount of the
competition transition charge, as determined pursuant to Sections
367 to 376, inclusive.

(3) A description of the potential customer’s right to rescind
the contract without fee or penalty as described in Section 395.

(4) An explanation of the customer’s financial obligations, as
well as the procedures regarding past due payments, discontinuance
of service, billing disputes, and service complaints.

(5) The electric service provider’s registration number, if
applicable.

(6) The right to change service providers upon written notice,
including disclosure of any fees or penalties assessed by the
supplier for early termination of a contract.

(7) A description of the availability of low-income assistance
programs for qualified customers and how customers can apply
for these programs.

(b) The commission may assist electric service providers in
developing the notice. The commission may suggest inclusion of
additional information it deems necessary for the consumer
protection purposes of this section. On at least a semiannual basis,
electric service providers shall provide the commission with a copy
of the form of notice included in standard service plans made
available to residential and small commercial customers begin delete as
described in subdivision (a) of Section 392.1 end delete .

(c)  begin delete Any end delete begin insert An end insert electric service provider offering electric services
who declines to provide those services to a consumer shall, upon
request of the consumer, disclose to that consumer the reason for
the denial in writing within 30 days. At the time service is denied,
the electric service provider shall disclose to the consumer begin delete his or
her end delete begin insert the end insert right to make this request. begin delete Consumers end delete begin insert A consumer end insert shall
have at least 30 days from the date service is denied to make the
request.

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 392.1 of the Public Utilities Code is
amended to read:

392.1.  

(a) The commission shall compile and update every six
months all of the following information: names and contact
numbers of registered providers, information to assist consumers
in making service choices, and the number of customer complaints
against specific providers in relation to the number of customers
served by those providers and the disposition of those complaints.
To facilitate this function, registered entities shall file with the
commission information describing the terms and conditions of
any standard service plan made available to residential and small
commercial customers. The commission shall adopt a standard
format for this filing. The commission shall maintain and make
generally available a list of entities offering electrical services
operating in California. This list shall include all registered
providers and those providers not required to be registered that
request the commission to be included in the list. The commission,
upon request, shall make this information available at no charge.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, public agencies that
are registered entities shall be required to disclose their terms and
conditions of service contracts only to the same extent that other
registered entities would be required to disclose the same or similar
service contracts.

(b) The commission shall issue public alerts about companies
attempting to provide electric service in the state in an unauthorized
or fraudulent manner as defined in subdivision (b) of Section
394.25.

end delete