Take Note: The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Clarifies Fee Disclosure Requirement

May 25, 2016

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio recently issued an Order clarifying its fee disclosure requirement.  Through a series of rulings in Case No. 12-1924-EL-ORD, the Commission modified its competitive retail electric service (“CRES”) rules to require disclosure of “all fees” associated with CRES.  Rule 4901:1-21-12(B)(7) establishes that:

(B)  All CRES provider contracts with residential and small commercial customers shall include, but not be limited to, the following information (to be stated in clear and understandable language):

                                                 * * *

                        (7)  An itemized list and explanation of all prices and all fees

                                associated with the service such that: * * *.

 

 The Commission’s Order clarified the requirement in response to a request by the Energy Professionals of Ohio (“EPO”) filed earlier this year.  The EPO suggested that Rule 4901:1-21-12(B)(7) apply to “all third parties entities that serve to connect retail customers with CRES suppliers….”  The EPO sought clarification of whether the existence of a fee or the fee amount is to be disclosed and whether the fee disclosure is required only for residential and small commercial contracts.

In response to the request for clarity that fee disclosure be required for all third-party entities that connect retail customers with CRES suppliers, the Commission’s Order clarified that it intended the requirement to apply only to entities within its statutory jurisdiction – broker, aggregators and governmental aggregators only.  The Commission’s Order explained that “if a broker fee is embedded within the contract price (an all-inclusive price), then a disclosure statement advising that the price includes a broker fee shall be set forth in the contract…the amount of the broker fee itself need not be disclosed in those situations where the broker fee is embedded within the contract price.”  It further provided that Rule 4901:1-21-12(B)(7) applies only to residential and small commercial CRES customers.

The Commission’s Order is accessible here.  

This Eckert Seamans Energy and Utilities Blog is intended to keep readers current on matters affecting businesses and is not intended to be legal advice.  If you have any questions about the fee disclosure requirement, please contact Dan Clearfield at (717) 237-7173 or dclearfield@eckertseamans.com or Sarah Stoner at (717) 237-6026 or sstoner@eckertseamans.com.

Share This Post

Author