Code of Maine Rules › 65 - DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION › 407 - PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION › Chapter 312 - Distributed Generation Procurement › Section 407-312-9 - CONSUMER PROTECTION

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A.
Applicability.
This section applies to shared distribution
				generation projects. A project sponsor shall comply with the consumer
				protection provisions of this Chapter and all applicable provisions of Maine
				law. For purposes of this Chapter, the obligations and requirements of a
				project sponsor in this regard shall also apply to representatives or agents
				that act on behalf of a project sponsor. Project sponsors are responsible for
				violations of the provisions of this section by representatives or agents
				acting on their behalf.
B.
Trade Practices.
Individuals or entities subject to this section
				must comply with the provisions of the
Maine Unfair Trade Practices
				Act
, Title 5, chapter 10 and related consumer protection statutes. Any
				finding by an entity of competent jurisdiction that any such individual or
				entity violated either the Maine or
Federal Unfair Trade Practices
				Act
is deemed to be a violation of this subsection.
C.
Registration.
Individuals or
				entities subject to this section shall register with the Commission. The
				Commission shall adopt standard registration forms and specific filing
				requirements and delegates this task to the Director of Electric and Gas
				Industries.
D.
Financial
				Security.
The Commission may establish a financial security requirement
				for individuals or entities subject to this section. Any such financial
				security shall be held by the transmission and distribution utility in whose
				service territory the project is located. Upon a finding that an individual or
				entity has violated provisions of this section, the Commission may direct that
				amounts from the financial security be distributed to (1) subscribers for a
				refund of security deposits or advanced payments; (2) to subscribers for
				restitution of amounts paid in error or charges assessed in violation of this
				Chapter; and (3) to the Commission for payment of administrative penalties or
				any other sanction pursuant to this Chapter or applicable statutes. Prior to
				establishing financial security requirements pursuant to this provision, the
				Commission will provide an opportunity for interested persons to comment on
				whether a financial security requirement should be established, the amount of
				any such financial security requirement, and the type of security that should
				be allowed.
E.
Standard
				Disclosures.
Prior to the sale or resale of a subscription in a shared
				distributed generation resource, a project sponsor must provide a disclosure
				that, at a minimum, contains the following:
1.
				A good faith estimate of the annual kilowatt-hours to be received from the
				shared distributed generation resource based on the size of and expected output
				from the resource and a subscriber's subscription;
2. A plain language explanation of how a
				subscriber's bill credit will be calculated and applied;
3. A plain language explanation of
				requirements relating to the disposition or transfer of a subscription; and
4. A plain language explanation of
				the costs and benefits to a potential subscriber, based on the subscriber's
				current electricity usage, for the term of the proposed subscription agreement.
The Commission shall adopt by order standard disclosure forms
				  to be used by a project sponsor when marketing subscriptions to customers. The
				  Commission may approve modifications to the standard disclosure forms. The
				  Commission delegates to the Director of Electric and Gas Industries the
				  authority to adopt standard disclosure forms and modifications to the standard
				  disclosure forms.