Virginia Administrative Code › Title 20 - PUBLIC UTILITIES AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS › Agency 5 - STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION › Chapter 312 - RULES GOVERNING RETAIL ACCESS TO COMPETITIVE ENERGY SERVICES › Section 20VAC5-312-40 - Licensing

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. Each person
				applying for a license to conduct business as a competitive service provider,
				including entities described in § 56-589A 1 of the Code of Virginia, shall file
				an original and 15 copies of its application with the Clerk of the State
				Corporation Commission. If there are any material changes to the applicant's
				information while the application is pending, the applicant shall inform the
				State Corporation Commission within 10 calendar days. Each application shall
				include the following:
1. Legal name of the
				applicant as well as any trade name.
2. A description of the applicant's
				authorized business structure, identifying the state authorizing such structure
				and the date thereof; e.g., if incorporated, the state and date of
				incorporation; if a limited liability company, the state issuing the
				certificate of organization and the date thereof.
3. Name and business addresses of all
				principal corporate officers and directors, partners, and LLC members, as
				appropriate.
4. Physical business
				addresses and telephone numbers of the applicant's principal office and any
				Virginia office location or locations.
5. A list of states in which the applicant or
				an affiliate conducts business related to electricity supply service or natural
				gas supply service, the names under which such business is conducted, and a
				description of the businesses conducted.
6. Names of the applicant's affiliates and
				subsidiaries. If available, applicant shall satisfy this requirement by
				providing a copy of its most recent form 10K, Exhibit 21 filing with the
				Securities and Exchange Commission.
7. Disclosure of any affiliate relationships
				with local distribution companies or competitive service providers, or both,
				that conduct business in Virginia, and any agreements with the affiliated local
				distribution company that affect the provision of competitive energy services
				within the Commonwealth of Virginia.
8. If an affiliated competitive service
				provider, a description of internal controls the applicant has designed to
				ensure that it and its employees, contractors, and agents that are engaged in
				the (i) merchant, operations, transmission, or reliability functions of the
				electric generation or natural gas supply systems, or (ii) customer service,
				sales, marketing, metering, accounting or billing functions, do not receive
				information from an affiliated local distribution company or from entities that
				provide similar functions for or on behalf of its affiliated local distribution
				company or affiliated transmission provider as would give such affiliated
				competitive service provider an undue advantage over non-affiliated competitive
				service providers. For purposes of this subdivision, "undue advantage" means an
				advantage that is reasonably likely to adversely affect the development of
				effective competition in the Commonwealth.
9. Toll-free telephone number of the customer
				service department.
10. Name,
				title, address, telephone number, facsimile number, and e-mail address of the
				company liaison with the State Corporation Commission.
11. Name, title, and address of the
				applicant's registered agent in Virginia for service of process.
12. If a foreign corporation, a copy of the
				applicant's authorization to conduct business in Virginia from the State
				Corporation Commission or if a domestic corporation, a copy of the certificate
				of incorporation from the State Corporation Commission.
13. Sufficient information to demonstrate,
				for purposes of licensure with the State Corporation Commission, financial
				fitness commensurate with the service or services proposed to be provided.
				Applicant shall submit the following information related to general financial
				fitness:
a. If available, applicant's audited
				balance sheet and income statement for the most recent fiscal year and
				published financial information such as the most recent Securities and Exchange
				Commission forms 10K and 10Q. If not available, other financial information for
				the applicant or any other entity that provides financial resources to the
				applicant.
b. If available, proof
				of a minimum bond rating (or other senior debt) of "BBB-" or an equivalent
				rating by a major rating agency, or a guarantee with a guarantor possessing a
				credit rating of "BBB-" or higher from a major rating agency. If not available,
				other evidence that will demonstrate the applicant's financial
				responsibility.
14. The
				name of the local distribution company that is certificated to provide service
				in the area in which the applicant proposes to provide service, the type of
				service or services it proposes to provide, and the class of customers to which
				it proposes to provide such services.
15.
a.
				Disclosure of any (i) civil, criminal, or regulatory sanctions or penalties
				imposed or in place within the previous five years against the company, any of
				its affiliates, or any officer, director, partner, or member of an LLC or any
				of its affiliates, pursuant to any state or federal consumer protection law or
				regulation; and (ii) felony convictions within the previous five years, which
				relate to the business of the company or to an affiliate thereof, of any
				officer, director, partner, or member of an LLC.
b. Disclosure of whether any application for
				license or authority to conduct the same type of business as it proposes to
				offer in Virginia has ever been denied, and whether any license or authority
				issued to it or an affiliate has ever been suspended or revoked and whether
				other sanctions have been imposed.
c. If applicant has engaged in the provision
				of electricity supply service or natural gas supply service, or both, in
				Virginia or any other state, a report of all instances of violations of
				reliability standards that were determined to be the fault of the applicant,
				including unplanned outages, failure to meet service obligations, and any other
				deviations from reliability standards during the previous three years. The
				report shall include, for each instance, the following information:
(i) a description of the event;
(ii) its duration;
(iii) its cause;
(iv) the number of customers affected;
(v) any reports, findings or
				issuances by regulators or electric and natural gas system reliability
				organizations relating to the instance;
(vi) any penalties imposed; and
(vii) whether and how the problem has been
				remedied.
16.
				A $250 registration fee payable to the State Corporation Commission.
17. Sufficient information to demonstrate
				technical fitness commensurate with the service or services to be provided, to
				include:
a. The applicant's
				experience.
b. Identity of
				applicant's officers directly responsible for the business operations conducted
				in Virginia and their experience in the generation of electricity, procurement
				of electricity or natural gas, or both, and the provision of energy services to
				retail customers.
c. If applying to
				sell electricity supply service at retail, documentation of any membership or
				participation in regional reliability councils or regional transmission
				organizations.
d. If applying to
				sell electricity supply service or natural gas supply service, or both, at
				retail, information concerning access to generation, supply, reserves, and
				transmission. If applying to sell electricity supply service, provide
				information specifying, to the extent possible, the expected sources of
				electricity or electricity procurement practices and transmission arrangements
				that will be used to support retail sales of electricity in Virginia. If
				applying to sell natural gas supply service, provide information regarding
				pipeline capacity and storage arrangements, including assurances that such
				suppliers will be able to meet the requirements of their essential human needs
				customers.
e. Billing service
				options the applicant intends to offer and a description of the applicant's
				billing capability including a description of any related experience.
18. A copy of the applicant's
				dispute resolution procedure.