1. (a) Application. This subchapter applies to aggregators and retail electric providers (REPs). These rules specify when certain provisions are applicable only to some, but not all, of these providers.

   1. (1) Affiliate REP customer protection rules, to the extent the rules differ from those applicable to all REPs or those that apply to the provider of last resort (POLR), shall not apply to the affiliate REP when serving customers outside the geographic area served by its affiliated transmission and distribution utility. The affiliate REP customer protection rules shall apply until January 1, 2007.
   2. (2) Requirements applicable to a POLR apply to a REP only in its provision of service as a POLR.
   3. (3) The rules in this subchapter shall take effect on January 15, 2001.
   4. (4) The rules in this subchapter are minimum, mandatory requirements that shall be offered to or complied with for all customers unless otherwise specified. A customer other than a residential or small commercial class customer may agree to terms of service that reflect either a higher or lower level of customer protections than would otherwise apply under these rules. Any agreements containing materially different protections from those specified in these rules shall be reduced to writing and provided to the customer. Additionally, copies of such agreements shall be provided to the commission upon request.
   5. (5) The rules of this subchapter control over any inconsistent provisions, terms, or conditions of a REP's contracts or other documents describing service offerings for residential and small commercial customers or customers in Texas.

2. (b) Purpose. The purpose of this subchapter is to:

   1. (1) provide minimum standards for customer protection. An aggregator or REP may adopt higher standards for customer protection, provided that the prohibition on discrimination set forth in subsection (c) of this section is not violated;
   2. (2) provide customer protections and disclosures established by other state and federal laws and rules including but not limited to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. §1681, et seq.) and the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. §1601, et seq.) Such protections are applicable where appropriate, whether or not it is explicitly stated in these rules;
   3. (3) provide customers with sufficient information to make informed decisions about electric service in a competitive market; and
   4. (4) prohibit fraudulent, unfair, misleading, deceptive, or anticompetitive acts and practices by aggregators and REPs in the marketing, solicitation and sale of electric service and in the administration of any terms of service for electric service.
3. (c) Prohibition against discrimination. This subchapter prohibits REPs from unduly refusing to provide electric service or otherwise unduly discriminating in the marketing and provision of electric service to any customer because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, lawful source of income, level of income, disability, familial status, location of customer in an economically distressed geographic area, or qualification for low-income or energy efficiency services.

4. (d) Definitions. For the purposes of this subchapter the following words and terms have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

   1. (1) Affiliate retail electric provider--A retail electric provider that is affiliated with or the successor in interest of an electric utility certificated to serve an area and who provides retail electric service to customers inside the geographic area served by its affiliated transmission and distribution utility.
   2. (2) Competitive energy services--As defined in §25.341 of this title (relating to Definitions).
   3. (3) Competitive retailer--A REP, municipally owned utility, or electric cooperative that offers customer choice in the restructured competitive electric power market or any other entity authorized to provide electric power and energy in Texas. For purposes of this rule, a municipally owned utility or electric cooperative is only considered a competitive retailer where it sells retail electric power and energy outside its certificated service territory. Similarly, an affiliate REP is only considered a competitive retailer where it sells retail electric power and energy outside the geographic area served by its affiliated transmission and distribution utility. In no event does this term apply to a REP providing service as the provider of last resort.
   4. (4) Customer--A person who is currently receiving retail electric service from a REP in the person's own name or the name of the person's spouse, or the name of an authorized representative of a partnership, corporation, or other legal entity; or a person who applies for such service for the first time or reapplies after discontinuance or termination of service.
   5. (5) Disconnection of service--Interruption of a customer's supply of electric service at the customer's point of delivery by a transmission and distribution utility, a municipally owned utility or an electric cooperative.
   6. (6) Economically distressed geographic area--Zip code area in which the average household income is less than or equal to 60% of the statewide median income, as reported in the most recently available United States Census data.
   7. (7) Electric service--Combination of the transmission and distribution service provided by a transmission and distribution utility, municipally owned utility, or electric cooperative, and the generation service provided to an end-use customer by a REP. This term does not include optional competitive energy services that are not required for the customer to obtain service from a REP.
   8. (8) Energy service--As defined in §25.223 of this title (relating to Unbundling of Energy Service).
   9. (9) In writing--Written words memorialized on paper or sent electronically.
   10. (10) Provider of last resort (POLR)--As defined in §25.43 of this title (relating to Provider of Last Resort).
   11. (11) Registration agent--Entity designated by the commission to administer premise information and related processes concerning a customer's choice of a REP in the competitive electric market in Texas.
   12. (12) Retail electric provider (REP)--Any entity as defined in §25.5 of this title (relating to Definitions). For purposes of this rule, a municipally owned utility or an electric cooperative is only considered a REP where it sells retail electric power and energy outside its certified service territory.
   13. (13) Small commercial customer--A nonresidential customer that has a peak demand of less than 50 kilowatts during any 12-month period.
   14. (14) Standard meter--As defined in §25.341 of this title.
   15. (15) Termination of service--The cancellation or expiration of a sales agreement or contract by a REP by notification to the customer and the registration agent.

Source Note:The provisions of this §25.471 adopted to be effective January 15, 2001, 26 TexReg 125.