Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 515 - RULES OF GEORGIA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION › Chapter 515-7 - GAS UTILITIES › Subject 515-7-9 - NATURAL GAS MARKETERS' TERMS OF SERVICE › Rule 515-7-9-.02 - Terms of Service: Minimum Standards

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(1) A marketer's advertised prices shall
				reflect the prices or the pricing methodology in disclosure statements and
				billed prices and shall be presented in a standard pricing unit. In any
				advertisement, offer or agreement, a marketer shall specify a time limit by
				which any sales promotion item will be honored.
(2) A marketer shall not charge a consumer a
				service charge relating to a change from a previous marketer if such consumer
				has not changed marketers within the previous 12 months. However, in no event,
				shall a marketer charge a consumer a service charge in excess of the EDC's
				Commission-approved switch charge. Except as otherwise provided in a legally
				binding contract between the marketer and the consumer, no marketer shall
				require a notice period from a consumer if a consumer elects to change service
				to an alternative marketer.
(3) A
				marketer's terms and conditions of service shall be written in clear and
				understandable language and shall include the disclosure statement prescribed
				under Commission Rule
				515-7-9-.04.
(4)
(a)
				Whenever a marketer offers a fixed term agreement and the expiration date of
				such agreement is approaching, or whenever a marketer proposes to change its
				terms of service under any type of agreement, the marketer shall provide
				advance written notification by mail or using the consumer preferred method of
				communication to the natural gas consumer at least two (2) billing cycles, or
				sixty (60) days, prior to the date of the agreement's expiration. This
				notification shall set forth all of the consumer's options at that point
				including, but not limited to, the option to seek another marketer.
				Additionally, a marketer shall provide a second written notification by mail or
				using the consumer preferred method of communication, mailed separately from
				the bill, no less than twenty-five (25) days prior to the expiration date of a
				fixed-term agreement. This second notification shall include, but not be
				limited to, the expiration date of the current fixed-term agreement, the rate
				and terms of a fixed-term agreement being offered, and the type of rate plan,
				including the terms and conditions, that the consumer will be placed on if the
				consumer does not make a known preference. The twenty-five (25) day notice
				shall conspicuously disclose the ninety (90) day grace period described in (b)
				below.
(b) In cases where a
				consumer does not make a preference known, the marketer shall not place the
				consumer on a new fixed-term agreement unless the terms and conditions of the
				consumer current fixed-term agreement so provides. If the consumer is placed on
				a new fixed-term agreement, the marketer shall be prohibited from charging the
				consumer an exit fee or early termination fee for a period of ninety (90) days
				from the beginning of the new fixed-term agreement. In addition, the duration
				of the new fixed-term agreement shall not exceed the duration of the current
				fixed-term agreement.