| Your Rights as a Customer: |
This document summarizes Your Rights as a Customer, and is based on customer protection rules
adopted by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC). These rules apply to retail electric providers
(REPs), including those affiliated with the Local Distribution Company (these REPs are referred to as
"Affiliated REPs" and the provider of last resort (POLR). You may view the PUC's rules at
www.puc.state.tx.us/rules/subrules/electric. Contact information is located at the end of
this document.
Obtaining and Canceling Service
Discounts for Low-Income Customers: A customer who receives food stamps,Medicaid,AFDC or SSI
from the Texas Department of Human Services (TDHS) automatically qualifies for a 17% discount on
electric service through the LITE-UP Texas program. Customers who do not receive these benefits,but
whose household income is not more than 125% of the federal poverty guidelines may apply for the
discount. Contact LITE UP Texas toll-free at (866) 4-LITE-UP or (866) 454-8387.
Customers qualified for the LITE-UP Texas program may be eligible to pay a required deposit in two
installments. Please call your REP if you believe you are eligible. If qualified, the first installment shall
be due no earlier than ten days after the issuance of written notification. For the second installment, a
written notice regarding the remaining deposit amount will be issued during the 20 days before the due
date,but no less than 10 days prior to the due date.
A REP may waive the deposit if the customer is medically indigent.Eligibility for medically indigent
status must be established annually. In order to be considered medically indigent, the customer must
meet the following guidelines:
1. the customer's household income must be at or below 150% of the poverty guidelines, as certified
by a governmental entity or government-funded energy assistance program provider;AND
2. the customer or customer's spouse must be certified by the person's attending physician
(medical doctor,doctor of osteopathy,nurse practitioner, registered nurse, state-licensed social worker,
state-licensed physical or occupational therapist, or employee of an agency certified to provide
home health services pursuant to 42 U.S.C.1395 et seq.) as being unable to perform three or more
activities of daily living, as defined in 22 T.A.C.218.2,OR the customer's monthly out-of-pocket
medical expenses exceed 20% of the household's gross income.
Unauthorized Change of Service Provider or 'Slamming': A REP must obtain your verifiable
authorization before switching your electric service. If you believe your service was switched without
your authorization, request that the REP provide a copy of your authorization and verification. The REP
must submit this to you within 5 business days of your request. You may also file a complaint with the
PUC. Upon receipt of a complaint filed with the PUC and determination that service was switched without
proper authorization, the REP must attempt to return you to your original REP within 3 days and
cease any collections activities related to the switch until the complaint has been resolved by the PUC.
If the PUC determines your service was switched without authorization, the REP must cancel all unpaid
charges. Within 5 business days of your request, the REP must pay all charges associated with returning
you to your original REP. Within 30 days of your request, the REP must refund to you any amounts paid in
excess of the charges that would have been imposed by your original REP.
Cancellation of Service Without Penalty: You may cancel your contract with your REP without
penalty within 3 federal business days (includes Saturday) after you receive your Terms of Service. For
details on how to cancel your service, see your Terms of Service.Customer's right of cancellation does not
apply when a customer is transferred to the Affiliated REP for non-payment.You may also terminate your
agreement with your REP without penalty if you move or your REP notifies you of a material change in
the terms and conditions of service as stipulated in the Terms of Service. Notice will not be issued for
changes that benefit a customer (i.e.price decreases) or changes that are mandated by a regulatory
agency.
Billing Issues
Unauthorized Charges or 'Cramming': Before any new charges are included on your electric bill,
your REP must inform you of the product or service, all associated charges, and how these charges will be
billed before they appear on your electric bill and obtain your consent for the product or service. If you
believe your bill includes unauthorized charges, you may contact your REP to dispute such charges and
may file a complaint with the PUC. Your REP will not seek to terminate or disconnect your electric service
for non-payment of an unauthorized charge or file an unfavorable credit report against you for disputed
unpaid charges that are alleged to be unauthorized,unless the dispute is ultimately resolved against
you. If the charges are determined to be unauthorized, your REP will cease charging you for the unauthorized
service or product, remove the unauthorized charge from your bill, and refund or credit all
money you paid for any unauthorized charge within 45 days. If charges are not refunded or credited
within three billing cycles, interest shall be paid to you at an annual rate established by the PUC on the
amount of any unauthorized charge until it is refunded or credited. You may request all billing records
under the REP's control related to any unauthorized charge within 15 business days after the date the
unauthorized charge is removed from your bill. Your REP will not re-bill you for any charges determined
to be unauthorized.
Deferred Payment Plans and Other Payment Arrangements: If you cannot pay your bill, call your
REP immediately.Your REP may offer a short-term payment arrangement that allows you to pay after
your due date,but before your next bill is due. A deferred payment plan allows a customer to pay an
outstanding bill in installments beyond the due date of the next bill. If you receive service from an
Affiliated REP or POLR, it must offer you a deferred payment plan unless you have received more than 2
termination/disconnection notices during the past 12 months or you have been their customer for less
than 3 months and do not have sufficient credit or payment history with another REP. REPs must offer
deferred payment plans for bills that are due during an extreme weather emergency and to underbilled
customers. A deferred payment plan may include a 5% penalty for late payment but, the POLR may not
charge a late fee. If you do not fulfill the terms of the payment arrangement or deferred payment plan, a
REP may terminate service and an Affiliated REP or POLR may disconnect service. For details on these
programs, see your Terms of Service or contact your REP.
Financial and Energy Assistance: All REPs must advise customers about payment assistance programs
when customers express an inability to pay or need assistance with the bill payment. REPs must
also offer level or average payment plans. A customer who receives food stamps,Medicaid,AFDC or SSI
from the Texas Department of Human Services (TDHS) or whose household income is not more than
125% of the federal poverty guidelines may qualify for energy assistance.See the 'Discounts for Low
Income Customers' section in this booklet for more details.
Meter Testing: You may request from your REP 1 meter test every 4 years at no cost to you. If you
request more than 1 test every 4 years, and the meter is functioning properly, then you may be charged
for the additional meter test(s) at the rate approved for your Local Distribution Company (LDC). The LDC
or REP will advise you of the test results, including the test date, testing person and, if applicable, the
removal date of the meter.
Contract Termination
Termination of Service: Customers receiving service from REPs other than Affiliated REPs or POLR are
subject to having their contract terminated for non-payment. If your REP is an Affiliated REP or POLR,
please see the 'Disconnection of Electric Service' section of this booklet. Otherwise, your REP can terminate
your contract if your payment for electric service is not received by the due date on your bill.If you
do not obtain service from another REP, you will be transferred to the Affiliated REP in your area. Your
current REP will mail you a separate Termination Notice no earlier than the first day after the date your
bill is due. The termination date will be 10 days from the date the notice is issued and may not fall on a
holiday or weekend. If payment is received, or satisfactory payment arrangements are made,prior to the
date of termination on the Termination Notice, your current REP will continue to serve you under the
Terms and Conditions of service in effect prior to issuance of the Termination Notice.
Your REP cannot terminate your contract for any of the following reasons:
- failure to pay for electric service by a previous occupant of the premise if that occupant is not of the
same household;
- failure to pay any charge unrelated to electric service;
- failure to pay a different type or class of electric service not included on the account's bill when
service was initiated;
- failure to pay under-billed charges that occurred for more than six months (except theft of service);
- failure to pay any disputed charges until your REP or the PUC determines the accuracy of the charges
and you have been notified of this determination;
- failure to pay charges arising from an under-billing due to faulty metering (unless the meter was
tampered with); or
- failure to pay an estimated bill unless the estimated bill is part of a pre-approved meter-reading
program or in the event the local distribution company is unable to read the meter due to
circumstances beyond its control.
Additionally, your REP may not terminate your contract:
- if your REP receives notification by the termination date that an energy assistance provider will be
forwarding sufficient payment on your account; or
- for non-payment during an extreme weather emergency and must offer you a deferred payment
plan for bills due during the emergency.
Availability Of Provider of Last Resort (POLR): If your electric service is terminated, you may obtain
services from another REP or the POLR. If your service is terminated for non-payment of electric service
charges, and you do not obtain service from another REP, your electric service will be transferred to the
Affiliated REP in your service area.. If your REP terminates your service for any other reason, you may
request service from the POLR in your service area. The POLR offers a basic, standard retail service
package at a fixed,non-discountable rate. Information about the POLR and other REPs can be obtained
from the PUC or the POLR.
Disconnection of Electric Service
Disconnection of Service: The PUC has provided that,under certain dangerous circumstances (such
as unsafe electric line situations), any REP may authorize your LDC to disconnect your electric service
without prior notice to you. Additionally, the Affiliated REP in your service area or the POLR may seek
to have your electric service disconnected for any of the reasons listed below:
- failure to pay a bill owed to the Affiliated REP or the POLR, or to make a deferred payment
arrangement by the date of disconnection;
- failure to comply with the terms of a deferred payment agreement made with the Affiliated REP
or the POLR;
- using service in a manner that interferes with the service of others or the operations
of non-standard equipment;
- failure to pay a deposit required by the Affiliated REP or the POLR; or
- failure of the guarantor to pay the amount guaranteed when the Affiliated REP or the POLR
has a written agreement, signed by the guarantor,which allows for disconnection of the
guarantor's service.
Prior to disconnecting your service, the Affiliated REP or the POLR must provide you a Disconnection
Notice. This notice must be mailed to you separately no earlier than the first day after the date your bill
is due. The disconnection date must be 10 days from the date the notice is issued and may not fall on a
holiday or weekend or the day preceding unless their personnel are available to take payments and
service can be reconnected.
The Affiliated REP or the POLR may not seek to have your electric service disconnected by your LDC for
any of the reasons listed under the Termination of Service portion of this document.
Additionally, the Affiliated REP or the POLR may not disconnect your electric service:
- if it receives notification by the disconnection date that an energy assistance provider will be
forwarding sufficient payment on your account;
- for non-payment during an extreme weather emergency and must offer you a deferred payment
plan for bills due during the emergency; or
- for non-payment if you inform the Affiliated REP or the POLR, prior to the disconnection date stated
on the notice, that you or another resident on the premises has a critical need for electric service.
However, to obtain this exemption, you must enter into a deferred payment plan with the Affiliated
REP or the POLR and have the ill-person's attending physician contact the Affiliated REP or the POLR
and submit a written statement attesting to the necessity of electric service to support life.This
exemption from disconnection due to illness or disability shall be in effect for 63 days and may be
applied for again after the 63 days has expired and the deferred payment plan has been fulfilled.
Restoration of Service: If your service has been disconnected by the Affiliated REP or the POLR for
non-payment, the Affiliated REP or the POLR will, upon satisfactory correction of the reasons for the
disconnection,notify your LDC to reconnect your service. The Affiliated REP or the POLR will continue to
serve you under the Terms of Service in effect prior to issuance of the Disconnection Notice. If your
service was disconnected due to a dangerous situation, your service will be reconnected once you notify
your REP or the POLR that you have corrected and satisfactorily resolved the dangerous situation.
Disputes With Your Provider
Complaint Resolution: Contact your REP if you have comments,questions or complaints. Upon
receipt of a complaint, your REP must investigate and notify you of the results within 21 days. If you are
dissatisfied with the results of the investigation, you may request a supervisory review, if available. Your
REP must advise you of the results of the supervisory review within 10 business days of your request. If
you are dissatisfied with the results of the investigation or supervisory review, you may file a complaint
with the PUC and the Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division. For a complaint
involving a disputed bill, your REP may not initiate collection activities or termination/disconnection
activities or report the delinquency to a credit reporting agency with respect to the disputed portion of
the bill. However, after appropriate notice, your REP may send a termination/disconnection notice for
non-payment of any undisputed portion of the bill.
Reporting Outages: Your REP is responsible for providing you with the telephone number you may
use to report outages or other emergencies.For your reference, this contact information is also provided
at the end of this document.
Other Protections
Do Not Call List: Consumers may register their name, address, and telephone number to the statewide
'Do Not Call List,' which will help limit telemarketing calls to your home or business. You may register
for the 'Do Not Call List' in three ways: online at www.texasnocall.com, call toll-free 1-866-TXNOCAL(
L) (1-866-896-6225), or write Texas No Call, P.O.Box 313, E.Walpole,MA 02032.
Language Availability: You may request to receive information from your REP in Spanish, or any
language in which you were solicited. This includes the Terms of Service Agreement,Your Rights as a
Customer,bills and bill notices, termination and disconnection notices, information on new electric
services,discount programs,promotions, and access to customer assistance.
Privacy Rights: REPs may not disclose or sell any confidential customer information, including: your
name, address, account number, type or classification of service,historical electricity usage, expected
patterns of use, types of facilities used in providing service, individual contract terms and conditions,
price, current charges or billing records. This prohibition does not apply to the release of your information
under certain circumstances as required by law, including release to the PUC, an agent of your REP,
credit reporting agencies, law enforcement agencies or LDC. Your information will be shared with other
retail REPs or aggregators only with your consent.
Special Services: Your REP may offer special services for hearing-impaired customers and customers
with disabilities. If you have a disability or require special assistance regarding your electric account,
contact your REP about these special services.
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