The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has officially issued rules electricity suppliers must follow going forward.
The regulations, which pertain to the dozens of retail electricity suppliers doing business in the state, come after regulators received complaints from residents and businesses about hikes in their electricity rates, which many said came without prior notice. Officials said thousands of customers experienced the increases, which were as high as 200 and 300 percent above the current standard service rate offered by utility companies at the time.
The state legislature passed a bill earlier this year in response to the complaints. That law requires PURA to enact a set of regulations. The regulations finalize a draft that was issued in April.
The new rules require suppliers to disclose rates and terms up front in writing, and notify customers before their rate changes. However, PURA said that state law only gives it the authority to require those notices for residential customers, not business customers.
Written notice of rates has been required since 1998, when the market was deregulated, but PURA said some suppliers may not have been complying with those rules.
PURA also admonished suppliers for reportedly demanding that prospective customers reveal their electric bill account number or other details before they would reveal pricing terms, calling the practice unacceptable.
The agency will require suppliers to submit various paperwork proving that they provided the required notices and disclosures and are following other provisions of the new rules.
