Connecticut Administrative Code › Title 16 - Public Service Companies › 47a - Gas Code of Conduct › Section 16-47a-3 - Customer information

Current through July 10, 2024
(a) Except with the
			 informed consent of the customer and in compliance with all applicable consumer
			 protection statutes and regulations, a gas company shall not disclose or make
			 available to its affiliates any customer lists or other specific customer
			 information.
(b) Except as
			 otherwise allowed under this Gas Code of Conduct, no gas company or affiliate
			 shall not disclose customer information to any person or company, without the
			 customer's consent, and then only to the extent specified by the customer.
			 Consent to disclosure of customer information to affiliates may be obtained by
			 means of written authorization, electronic authorization or recorded verbal
			 authorization. Each gas company and affiliate shall retain such authorization
			 for verification purposes for as long as the authorization remains in effect.
			 Each customer information disclosure authorization form shall either be
			 pre-approved by the Department or contain the following language:
"CUSTOMER INFORMATION DISCLOSURE AUTHORIZATION
[The Gas Company]'s affiliates offer goods and services that
				are separate from the regulated services provided by the gas company. These
				goods and services are not regulated by the Department of Public Utility
				Control. These goods and services may be available from other competitive
				sources.
The customer authorizes [the Gas Company] to provide any data
				associated with the customer account(s) residing in any [the Gas Company]
				files, systems or databases [or specify specific types of data] to the
				following Affiliate(s)_______________. [The Gas Company] will provide this data
				on a non-discriminatory basis to any other person or entity upon the Customer's
				authorization."
(c) If the
			 customer allows or directs a gas company to provide customer information to an
			 affiliate, the gas company shall ask the customer if he, she or it would like
			 the customer information to be provided to one or more non-affiliates. If the
			 customer directs the gas company to provide customer information to one or more
			 non-affiliates, the customer information shall be disclosed to all entities
			 designated by the customer contemporaneously and in the same manner.
(d) Each gas company shall permanently post
			 Subsections (b) and (c) of this section on its website.
(e) No gas company employee who is
			 transferred to, or being shared with, an affiliate of the gas company shall
			 share any customer information for use by such affiliate except pursuant to
			 written permission from the customer, as reflected by a signed data disclosure
			 authorization consistent with subsection (b) of this section. A gas company
			 shall not transfer any personnel to, or share any personnel with, any affiliate
			 for the purpose of disclosing or providing customer information to such
			 affiliate.
(f) Notwithstanding the
			 prohibitions established in this section, a gas company may disclose customer
			 information to an affiliate (including a CSC) or non-affiliated third party
			 each without customer consent, but only to the extent necessary for the
			 affiliate or non-affiliated third party to provide goods or services (including
			 shared corporate support services such as customer service, billing and
			 collection services) to the gas company and upon their explicit agreement to
			 protect the confidentiality of such customer information.
(g) Each gas company shall take steps to
			 prevent inappropriate disclosure of customer information.
(h) Each gas company shall establish
			 guidelines for its employees to follow with regard to complying with this
			 section.
(i) Each gas company shall
			 make general or aggregated customer information available to affiliated or
			 unaffiliated entities upon similar terms and conditions. A gas company may set
			 reasonable charges for costs incurred in producing customer
			 information.