New Jersey § 48:3-85

§ 48:3-85.

a. Notwithstanding any provisions of the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968,

c. 410 ( C.52:14B-1 et seq. ) to the contrary, the board, in consultation with the Division of Consumer Affairs

in the Department of Law and Public Safety, shall initiate a proceeding and shall

adopt, after notice, provision of the opportunity for comment, and public hearing,

interim consumer protection standards for electric power suppliers or gas suppliers,

within 90 days of February 9, 1999, including, but not limited to, standards for collections,

credit, contracts, and authorized changes of an energy customer's electric power supplier

or gas supplier, for the prohibition of discriminatory marketing, for advertising

and for disclosure. The standards shall be effective as regulations immediately upon filing with the

Office of Administrative Law and shall be effective for a period not to exceed 18

months, and may, thereafter, be amended, adopted, or readopted by the board in accordance

with the provisions of the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c. 410 ( C.52:14B-1 et seq. ). (1)(a) An electric power supplier or gas supplier shall not provide electric generation

service or gas supply service to a customer in this State unless the electric power

supplier or gas supplier has provided the customer a one-page information sheet summarizing

the material terms and conditions of the contract as determined by the board. Contract standards shall include, but not be limited to, requirements that electric

power supply contracts or gas supply contracts conspicuously disclose the duration

of the contract; state the price per kilowatt hour or per therm or other pricing

determinant approved by the board; use a 12-point font; provide a one-page information

sheet in a 12-point font summarizing the material terms and conditions of the contract

in English and Spanish, as determined by the board; provide the phone number and

website for filing complaints with the Board of Public Utilities, Division of Customer

Assistance, and a one-sentence explanation of the practice known as “ slamming ,” which is an unauthorized change of a customer's electric power supplier or gas

supplier, in a 12-point, boldface font on the one-page information sheet; and state,

in a 12-point, boldface font, whether the contract is for a fixed rate or a variable

rate, and provide a brief explanation of the difference between a fixed rate and a

variable rate that is easily understandable by the general public, including an explanation

on how weather fluctuations may affect the price of variable rate contracts; have

the customer's written signature or electronic signature; an audio recording of a

telephone call initiated by the customer; independent, third-party verification,

in accordance with section 37 of P.L.1999, c. 23 ( C.48:3-86 ), of a telephone call initiated by an electric power supplier, gas supplier, or private

aggregator; or any alternative forms of verification as the board, in consultation

with the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety,

may permit prior to switching electric power suppliers or gas suppliers and for contract

renewal; and include termination procedures, notice of any fees, and toll-free or

local telephone numbers for the electric power supplier or gas supplier and for the

board. An electric power supplier or gas supplier shall not provide the customer's telephone

number, electronic mail address, or postal address to other electric power suppliers

or gas suppliers if the customer's telephone number appears on the no telemarketing

call list established and maintained by the Division of Consumer Affairs, pursuant

to the provisions of section 9 of P.L.2003, c. 76 ( C.56:8-127 ), or the national do-not-call registry as maintained by the Federal Trade Commission. (b) As used in this paragraph, “ customer ” means a residential customer or a commercial electric customer with a cumulative

peak load of 50 kilowatts or less, or a commercial gas customer with a cumulative

peak load of 5,000 therms or less. (2) Standards for the prohibition of discriminatory marketing shall provide, at a

minimum, that a decision made by an electric power supplier or a gas supplier to accept

or reject a customer shall not be based on race, color, national origin, age, gender,

religion, source of income, receipt of public benefits, family status, sexual preference,

or geographic location. The board shall adopt reporting requirements to monitor compliance with its standards. (3) Advertising standards for electric power suppliers or gas suppliers shall provide,

at a minimum, that optional charges to the customer will not be added to any advertised

cost per kilowatt hour or per therm, and that the only unit of measurement that may

be used in advertisements is cost per kilowatt hour or per therm, unless otherwise

approved by the board. If an electric power supplier or gas supplier does not advertise using cost per

kilowatt hour or per therm, the electric power supplier or gas supplier shall provide,

at the customer's request, an estimate of the cost per kilowatt hour or per therm. Any optional charges to the customer shall be identified separately and denoted

as optional. (4) Credit standards shall include, at a minimum, that the credit requirements used

to make decisions must be the same for all residential customers and that electric

power suppliers, gas suppliers, and private aggregators not impose unreasonable income

or credit requirements. (5) Billing standards shall include, at a minimum, provisions prohibiting electric

public utilities, gas public utilities, electric power suppliers, and gas suppliers

from charging a fee to residential customers for either the commencement or termination

of electric generation service or gas supply service. b. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, an electric power supplier,

a gas supplier, an electric public utility, and a gas public utility shall not disclose,

sell, or transfer individual proprietary information, including, but not limited to,

a customer's name, address, telephone number, energy usage, and electric power payment

history, to a third party without the consent of the customer. (2)(a) An electric public utility or a gas public utility may disclose and provide,

in an electronic format, which may include a CD rom, diskette, and other format as

determined by the board, without the consent of a residential customer, a residential

customer's name, rate class, and account number, to a government aggregator that is

a municipality or a county, or to an energy agent acting as a consultant to a government

aggregator that is a municipality or a county, if the customer information is to be

used to establish a government energy aggregation program pursuant to sections 42,

43, and 45 of P.L.1999, c. 23 ( C.48:3-91 ; C.48:3-92 ; and C.48:3-94 ). The number of residential customers and their rate class, and the load profile of

non-residential customers who have affirmatively chosen to be included in a government

energy aggregation program pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection a. of section 45

of P.L.1999, c. 23 ( C.48:3-94 ) may be disclosed pursuant to this paragraph prior to the request by the government

aggregator for bids pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection b. of section 45 of P.L.1999, c. 23 ( C.48:3-94 ), and the name, address, and account number of a residential customer and the name,

address, and account number of non-residential customers who have affirmatively chosen

to be included in a government energy aggregation program pursuant to paragraph (3)

of subsection a. of section 45 of P.L.1999, c. 23 ( C.48:3-94 ) may be disclosed pursuant to this paragraph upon the awarding of a contract to a

licensed power supplier or licensed gas supplier pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection

b. of section 45 of P.L.1999, c. 23 ( C.48:3-94 ). Any customer information disclosed pursuant to this paragraph shall not be considered

a government record for the purposes of and shall be exempt from the provisions of P.L.2001, c. 404 ( C.47:1A-5 et al.). (b) An electric public utility or a gas public utility disclosing customer information

pursuant to this paragraph shall exercise reasonable care in the preparation of this

customer information, but shall not be responsible for errors or omissions in the

preparation or the content of the customer information. (c) Any person using any information disclosed pursuant to this paragraph for any

purpose other than to establish a government energy aggregation program pursuant to

sections 42, 43, and 45 of P.L.1999, c. 23 ( C.48:3-91 ; C.48:3-92 ; and C.48:3-94 ) , or a solar energy project established pursuant to section 5 of P.L.2018, c. 17 ( C.48:3-87.11 ), shall be subject to the provisions of section 34 of P.L.1999, c. 23 ( C.48:3-83 ). (d) The role of an electric public utility or a gas public utility in a government

energy aggregation program established pursuant to P.L.1999, c. 23 ( C.48:3-49 et al.) shall be limited to the provisions of this paragraph. (e) An electric public utility may disclose and provide, in an electronic format,

which may include any format as determined by the board, without the consent of a

residential customer, a residential customer's name, address, rate class, account

number, and energy usage, to a municipality, county, or an agent acting for a municipality

or county, if the information is to be used for automatic enrollment in a solar energy

project under the Community Solar Energy Pilot Program or the permanent Community

Solar Energy Program established by the board pursuant to section 5 of P.L.2018, c. 17 ( C.48:3-87.11 ). Any customer information disclosed pursuant to this paragraph shall not be considered

a government record for the purposes of, and shall be exempt from the provisions of, P.L.2001, c. 404 ( C.47:1A-5 et al.). (3) Whenever any individual proprietary information is disclosed, sold, or transferred,

pursuant to paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of this subsection, it shall be used only

for the provision of continued electric generation service, electric-related service,

gas supply service, or gas-related service to that customer. In the case of a transfer or sale of a business, customer consent shall not be required

for the transfer of customer proprietary information to the subsequent owner of the

business for maintaining the continuation of those services. (4) Notwithstanding any provisions of the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968,

c. 410 ( C.52:14B-1 et seq. ) to the contrary, the board shall, within 90 days of the effective date of P.L.2003, c. 24 ( C.48:3-93.1 et al.), review existing regulations including, without limitation, Chapter 4 of Title 14 of the New Jersey Administrative Code (Energy Competition), to determine their consistency with the provisions of section

36 of P.L.1999, c. 23 ( C.48:3-85 ), section 43 of P.L.1999, c. 23 ( C.48:3-92 ) and section 45 of P.L.1999, c. 23 ( C.48:3-94 ), repeal or modify any regulations that are inconsistent with the provisions thereof,

and shall adopt regulations and standards implementing the provisions thereof permitting

disclosure of customer information without the consent of the customer including,

without limitation, provisions for the development of a board-approved agreement between

the disclosing party and the receiving party and the creation of a mechanism for the

recovery by the disclosing electric public utility or gas public utility of its reasonable

incremental costs of providing the customer information if those costs are not covered

in an existing third-party supplier agreement. (5) An electric power supplier, a gas supplier, a gas public utility, or an electric

public utility may use individual proprietary information that it has obtained by

virtue of its provision of electric generation service, electric related service,

gas supply service, or gas related service to: (a) Initiate, render, bill, and collect for these services to the extent otherwise

authorized to provide billing and collection services; (b) Protect the rights or property of the electric power supplier, gas supplier, or

public utility; and (c) Protect consumers of these services and other electric power suppliers, gas suppliers,

or electric and gas public utilities from fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful use of,

or subscription to, these services. c. The board shall establish and maintain a database for the purpose of recording

customer complaints concerning electric and gas public utilities, electric power suppliers,

gas suppliers, private aggregators, and energy agents. The board shall publish on its website on a quarterly basis a detailed report regarding

customer complaints that shall not include the names or other personal information

of the customers who complained, but shall include the names of the electric and gas

public utilities, electric power suppliers, gas suppliers, private aggregators, and

energy agents against which the complaints were filed. d. The board, in consultation with the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department

of Law and Public Safety, shall establish, or cause to be established, a multi-lingual

electric and gas consumer education program. The goal of the consumer education program shall be to educate residential, small

business, and special needs consumers about the implications for consumers of the

restructuring of the electric power and gas industries. The consumer education program shall include, but need not be limited to, the dissemination

of information to enable consumers to make informed choices among available electricity

and gas services and suppliers, and the communication to consumers of the consumer

protection provisions of P.L.1999, c. 23 ( C.48:3-49 et al.). The board shall ensure the neutrality of the content and message of advertisements

and materials. The board shall promulgate standards for the recovery of consumer education program

costs from customers which include reasonable measures and criteria to judge the success

of the program in enhancing customer understanding of retail choice. e. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2003, c. 24 ) f. (1) In addition to the advertising standards adopted by the board pursuant to paragraph

(3) of subsection a. of this section, the board, in consultation with the Division

of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, shall adopt, pursuant

to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c. 410 ( C.52:14B-1 et seq. ) interim advertising and marketing standards for electric power suppliers, gas suppliers,

brokers, energy agents, marketers, private aggregators, sales representatives, and

telemarketers applicable to potential residential customers, within 270 days of the

effective date of P.L.2013, c. 263, which standards shall include, but not be limited to, prohibiting electric power

suppliers, gas suppliers, brokers, energy agents, marketers, private aggregators,

sales representatives, and telemarketers from: (a) making false or misleading advertising

claims to a potential residential customer; or (b) contacting a potential residential

customer by telephone for the purpose of making an unsolicited advertisement if the

electric power supplier, gas supplier, broker, energy agent, marketer, private aggregator,

sales representative, or telemarketer does not have an existing business relationship

with the potential residential customer and the residential customer's telephone number

appears on the no telemarketing call list established and maintained by the Division

of Consumer Affairs, pursuant to the provisions of section 9 of P.L.2003, c. 76 ( C.56:8-127 ), or the national do-not-call registry as maintained by the Federal Trade Commission. The standards shall be effective as regulations immediately upon filing with the

Office of Administrative Law and shall be effective for a period not to exceed 18

months, and may, thereafter, be amended, adopted, or readopted by the board in accordance

with the provisions of the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c. 410 ( C.52:14B-1 et seq. ). (2) In addition to any other penalties, fines, or remedies authorized by law, an electric

power supplier, gas supplier, broker, energy agent, marketer, private aggregator,

sales representative, or telemarketer that violates subparagraph (a) of paragraph

(1) of this subsection and collects charges for electric generation service or gas

supply service supplied to a residential customer, who was subjected to false or misleading

advertising claims by the electric power supplier, gas supplier, broker, energy agent,

marketer, private aggregator, sales representative, or telemarketer in violation of

subparagraph (a) of paragraph (1) of this subsection, shall be liable to the residential

customer in an amount equal to all charges paid by the residential customer after

such violation occurs in accordance with any procedures as the board may prescribe,

whether the electric power supplier or gas supplier provided the electric generation

service or gas supply service to that customer, or the electric generation service

or gas supply service was provided to the customer by a broker, energy agent, marketer,

private aggregator, sales representative, or telemarketer who contacted the customer

on behalf of the electric power supplier or gas supplier. An electric power supplier, gas supplier, broker, energy agent, marketer, private

aggregator, sales representative, or telemarketer that violates this subsection shall

also be liable for a civil penalty pursuant to section 34 of P.L.1999, c. 23 ( C.48:3-83 ). The board is hereby authorized to revoke the license of any electric power supplier,

gas supplier, broker, energy agent, marketer, or private aggregator that violates

this subsection.