An Act to Require Electricity Providers to Inform Customers of Alternative Electric Rates and Gather Consent Prior to Contract Renewal
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 2163
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: GROHOSKI
Amends: 35-A MRSA §3202, 35-A MRSA §3203, 35-A MRSA §3212

Legislative Document
No. 2163
S.P. 918
In Senate, January 11, 2024
An Act to Require Electricity Providers to Inform Customers of 
Alternative Electric Rates and Gather Consent Prior to Contract 
Renewal
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203.
Reference to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology suggested and ordered 
printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator GROHOSKI of Hancock.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  35-A MRSA §3202, sub-§9 is enacted to read:
9.  Customer enrollment or unenrollment.  An entity that provides electric billing 
and metering services shall process an electronic transaction of enrollment or unenrollment 
of a customer from a standard-offer service provider or competitive electricity provider, 
and the electronic transaction must be effective within 3 business days after receipt of an 
electronic transaction notice from a standard-offer service provider or competitive 
electricity provider.  An entity that provides electric billing and metering services shall 
assign a customer who has been unenrolled by a competitive electricity provider and not 
been enrolled by another competitive electricity provider to the appropriate standard-offer 
service. An entity that provides electric billing and metering services is not required to 
process more than 2 enrollments and 2 unenrollments per customer per bill cycle.
Sec. 2.  35-A MRSA §3203, sub-§4-B, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 74, §1, is 
amended to read:
A.  Shall disclose, before entering into an agreement to provide service to a residential 
consumer, to the residential consumer where the publicly accessible website addresses 
and the telephone numbers of the commission and the Office of the Public Advocate 
from which the residential consumer can obtain information with which to compare the 
rates for service provided by the standard-offer service provider and other competitive 
electricity provider and the standard-offer service providers;
Sec. 3.  35-A MRSA §3203, sub-§4-B, ¶C, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 74, §1, is 
amended to read:
C.  May not renew a contract for generation service at a fixed rate that is 20% or more 
above the contract rate in the expiring contract without the express consent of the 
residential consumer. Prior to securing the express consent of the residential consumer, 
the competitive electricity provider shall provide the residential consumer in writing 
with the proposed renewal rate and terms, the standard-offer service rate in effect at 
the time consent is requested and the time period for which it is effective, any additional 
standard-offer service rate approved by the commission that will be in effect during the 
contract and the time period for which it is effective and the publicly accessible website 
addresses and the telephone numbers of the commission and the Office of the Public 
Advocate from which the residential consumer can obtain information with which to 
compare the rates for service provided by a standard-offer service provider, the 
residential consumer's current competitive electricity provider and other competitive 
electricity providers; and
Sec. 4.  35-A MRSA §3203, sub-§4-B, ¶D, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 74, §1, is 
repealed.
Sec. 5.  35-A MRSA §3203, sub-§4-B, as amended by PL 2023, c. 375, §1, is 
further amended by amending the first blocked paragraph to read:
If a residential consumer does not provide the express consent required by paragraphs 
paragraph C and D, the residential consumer must be transferred to standard-offer service.
Sec. 6.  35-A MRSA §3203, sub-§15, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 316, §3, is amended 
by enacting at the end a new first blocked paragraph to read:
An entity providing electric billing and metering services for a competitive electricity 
provider shall indicate on each bill the publicly accessible website addresses and the 
telephone numbers of the commission and the Office of the Public Advocate from which 
the residential consumer can obtain information with which to compare the rates for service 
provided by the standard-offer service provider and other competitive electricity providers.
Sec. 7.  35-A MRSA §3203, sub-§18, as amended by PL 2021, c. 108, §5, is further 
amended to read:
18.  Confidentiality of consumer customer information.  Information concerning 
customers of a competitive electricity provider or customers contacted or enrolled by any 
of its 3rd-party sales agents is subject to the same confidentiality protections afforded utility 
customer information under section 704, subsection 5.  Upon the request of the Office of 
the Public Advocate, an entity providing electric billing and metering services or a 
competitive electricity provider shall provide the Office of the Public Advocate with 
confidential information regarding competitive electricity provider sales, the 
confidentiality of which the Office of the Public Advocate shall protect in the same manner 
as records placed under a protective order by the commission.
Sec. 8.  35-A MRSA §3203, sub-§19 is enacted to read:
19.  Low-income customers.  Whenever a competitive electricity provider enters into 
an agreement to provide service to a residential customer, either initially or for renewal of 
an existing agreement, the residential customer shall consent to the competitive electricity 
provider having access to confidential information held by the transmission and distribution 
utility of the residential customer about whether the residential customer is receiving 
financial assistance pursuant to a low-income assistance program authorized by section 
3214. On a monthly basis, a transmission and distribution utility shall send competitive 
electricity providers a list of all residential customers served by that transmission and 
distribution utility that are receiving financial assistance pursuant to a low-income 
assistance program authorized by section 3214. If a competitive electricity provider is 
informed that a residential customer is receiving financial assistance pursuant to a low-
income assistance program authorized by section 3214, the competitive electricity provider 
may not enter into a renewal contract with that residential customer that would result in a 
rate being charged during the contract period that is higher than the standard-offer service 
rate in effect at the time the contract is entered into.
Sec. 9.  35-A MRSA §3212, sub-§7 is enacted to read:
7.  Billing services.  An entity providing electric billing and metering services for a 
standard-offer service provider shall indicate on each bill the publicly accessible website 
addresses and the telephone numbers of the commission and the Office of the Public 
Advocate from which the residential consumer can obtain information with which to 
compare the rates for service provided by the standard-offer service provider and 
competitive electricity providers.
Sec. 10.  35-A MRSA §3212, sub-§8 is enacted to read:
8.  Confidentiality of customer information.  Information concerning customers of a 
standard-offer service provider or any of its 3rd-party sales agents is subject to the same 
confidentiality protections afforded utility customer information under section 704, 
subsection 5.  Upon the request of the Office of the Public Advocate, an entity providing 
electric billing and metering services or a competitive electricity provider shall provide the 
Office of the Public Advocate with confidential information regarding standard-offer 
service provider sales, the confidentiality of which the Office of the Public Advocate shall 
protect in the same manner as records placed under a protective order by the commission.
SUMMARY
This bill accomplishes the following.
1.  It requires competitive electricity providers to provide customers with information 
at the time of contract renewal regarding how the customers can compare the standard-
offer service rate and the rates of other competitive electricity providers. 
2.  It requires entities providing billing services to competitive electricity providers and 
standard-offer service providers to provide customers with information on customers' bills 
regarding how the customers can compare the standard-offer service rate and the rates of 
competitive electricity providers.
3.  It requires competitive electricity providers to gather consent for all contract 
renewals and requires electric utilities to process electronic enrollments or unenrollments 
of customers within 3 business days.
4.  It allows the Office of the Public Advocate to request and review confidential 
information from a competitive electricity provider or a standard-offer service provider 
pertinent to a proceeding and upon issuance of a Public Utilities Commission order 
providing for protection of such confidential information.
5.  It requires transmission and distribution utilities to provide a list of residential 
customers who receive financial assistance from a low-income assistance program to 
competitive electricity providers and prohibits competitive electricity providers from 
entering into a renewal contract with a residential customer receiving assistance that would 
result in a rate being charged that is higher than the standard-offer service rate.