Section 20. General provisions

A. A request for a waiver of any of the provisions in this chapter shall be considered by the State Corporation Commission on a case-by-case basis, and may be granted upon such terms and conditions as the State Corporation Commission may impose.

B. The provisions of this chapter may be enforced by the State Corporation Commission by any means authorized under applicable law or regulation. Enforcement actions may include, without limitation, the refusal to issue any license for which application has been made, and the revocation or suspension of any license previously granted. The provisions of this chapter shall not be deemed to preclude a person aggrieved by a violation of these regulations from pursuing any civil relief that may be available under state or federal law, including, without limitation, private actions for damages or other equitable relief.

C. The provisions of this chapter shall not be deemed to prohibit the local distribution company, in emergency situations, from taking actions it is otherwise authorized to take that are necessary to ensure public safety and reliability of the distribution system. The State Corporation Commission, upon a claim of inappropriate action or its own motion, may investigate and take such corrective actions as may be appropriate.

D. The State Corporation Commission maintains the right to inspect the books, papers, records and documents, and to require reports and statements, of a competitive service provider as required to verify qualifications to conduct business within the Commonwealth, to support affiliate transactions, to investigate allegations of violations of this chapter, or to resolve a complaint filed against a competitive service provider. Every competitive service provider licensed pursuant to this chapter shall establish and maintain records identifying persons or entities performing promotional or marketing activities on behalf of or in conjunction with such competitive service provider.

E. The local distribution company shall provide, pursuant to the prices, terms, and conditions of its tariffs approved by the State Corporation Commission, service to all customers that do not select a competitive service provider and to customers that chose a competitive service provider but whose service is terminated for any reason.

F. A competitive service provider selling electricity supply service or natural gas supply service, or both, at retail shall:

1. Procure sufficient electric generation and transmission service or sufficient natural gas supply and delivery capability, or both, to serve the requirements of its firm customers.

2. Abide by any applicable regulation or procedure of any institution charged with ensuring the reliability of the electric or natural gas systems, including the State Corporation Commission, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or any successor agencies thereto.

3. Comply with any obligations that the State Corporation Commission may impose to ensure access to sufficient availability of capacity.

G. The local distribution company and a competitive service provider shall not:

1. Suggest that the services provided by the local distribution company are of any different quality when competitive energy services are purchased from a particular competitive service provider; or

2. Suggest that the competitive energy services provided by a competitive service provider are being provided by the local distribution company rather than the competitive service provider.

H. The local distribution company shall conduct its forecasting, scheduling, balancing, and settlement activities in a nondiscriminatory and reasonably transparent manner.

I. The local distribution company shall bear the responsibility for metering as provided by legislation and implemented by the State Corporation Commission.

J. The local distribution company and a competitive service provider shall adhere to standard practices for exchanging data and information in an electronic medium as specified by the VAEDT and filed with the State Corporation Commission or as otherwise provided by the local distribution company's tariff approved by the State Corporation Commission. In the event the parties agree to initially use a means other than those specified by VAEDT or the local distribution company's tariff, then the competitive service provider shall file a plan with the State Corporation Commission's Division of Energy Regulation to implement VAEDT or tariff approved standards within 180 days of the initial retail offering.

K. The local distribution company and a competitive service provider that is responsible for exchanging customer information electronically with such local distribution company shall, except as otherwise provided by the local distribution company's tariff approved by the State Corporation Commission, successfully complete EDI testing and receive certification for all EDI transactions, as outlined in the VAEDT EDI Test Plan, prior to actively enrolling customers, except as permitted by subsection J of this section.

L. A competitive service provider offering billing service that requires the direct delivery of a bill to a customer and that requires the electronic exchange of data with the local distribution company shall furnish, prior to enrolling the customer, a sample bill produced from the data exchanged in the EDI certification process, or comparable electronic data exchange process, as described in subsection L of this section, or a sample bill produced similarly elsewhere, to the State Corporation Commission's Division of Energy Regulation.

M. Upon enrollment of a customer to receive competitive supply service, the local distribution company shall file with the State Corporation Commission's Division of Energy Regulation a monthly report which shall, at a minimum, include all cancellation requests alleging a customer was enrolled without authorization. Such reports shall include: (i) the approximate date of the enrollment; (ii) the identity of the competitive service provider involved; (iii) the name and address of the customer that cancelled such enrollment; and (iv) if readily available, a brief statement regarding the customer's explanation for the cancellation. Such reports shall be reviewed by commission staff and regarded as confidential unless and until the State Corporation Commission orders otherwise.

N. Upon enrollment of a customer to receive competitive supply service, the local distribution company shall file with the State Corporation Commission's Division of Energy Regulation a quarterly report providing a detailed breakdown of residential and nonresidential customer switching activity. Such reports shall include, for the local distribution company, the total number of customers and corresponding amount of load eligible to switch; and, for each competitive service provider, the total number of customers and corresponding amount of load served. The amount of load shall be measured in MW, Mcf, or dekatherm capacity of peak load contribution and in kWh, Mcf, or therms of associated energy. Such reports shall be reviewed by commission staff and information specific to individual competitive service providers shall be regarded as confidential unless and until the State Corporation Commission orders otherwise.

O. By March 31 of each year, the provider of electricity supply service shall report to its customers and file a report with the State Corporation Commission stating to the extent feasible, fuel mix and emissions data for the prior calendar year. If such data is unavailable, the provider of electricity supply service shall file a report with the State Corporation Commission stating why it is not feasible to submit any portion of such data.

P. A competitive service provider shall file a report with the State Corporation Commission by March 31 of each year to update all information required in the original application for licensure. A $100 administrative fee payable to the State Corporation Commission shall accompany this report.

Q. A competitive service provider shall inform the State Corporation Commission within 30 days of the following: (i) any change in its name, address and telephone numbers; (ii) any change in information regarding its affiliate status with the local distribution company; (iii) any changes to information provided pursuant to 20VAC5-312-40 A 13; and (iv) any changes to information provided pursuant to 20VAC5-312-40 A 15.

R. If a filing with the State Corporation Commission, made pursuant to this chapter, contains information that the local distribution company or a competitive service provider claims to be confidential, the filing may be made under seal provided it is accompanied by both a motion for protective order or other confidential treatment and an additional five copies of a redacted version of the filing to be available for public disclosure. Unredacted filings containing the confidential information shall be maintained under seal unless the State Corporation Commission orders otherwise, except that such filings shall be immediately available to the commission staff for internal use at the commission. Filings containing confidential or redacted information shall be so stated on the cover of the filing, and the precise portions of the filing containing such confidential or redacted information, including supporting material, shall be clearly marked within the filing.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 17, Issue 22, eff. August 1, 2001; amended, Virginia Register Volume 19, Issue 17, eff. April 10, 2003; Volume 25, Issue 08, eff. January 1, 2009; Volume 29, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2013.

Statutory Authority

§ 12.1-13 of the Code of Virginia.