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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2023 |
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People’s Counsel: Commission order on retail supplier a mixed bag
BALTIMORE – After waiting nearly two years, the Public Service Commission yesterday partially granted the Office of People’s Counsel’s request to fix the Commission-ordered remedies in a 2021 order relating to a retail supplier it found violated numerous State laws and regulations. But the Commission expressly declined to set those protections to ensure all affected customers obtain refunds related to violations of Maryland law that have resulted in thousands of customers paying exorbitant supply rates.
“We are pleased that the Commission took steps toward protecting customers harmed by the retail supplier’s marketing that the Commission found deceptive,” said People’s Counsel David S. Lapp. “But it is unfortunate that the Commission didn’t act to ensure that the bond money set aside for customer refunds was sufficient, especially given the Commission’s acknowledgement that the ‘refund obligation may be significantly more than’ the required bond.”
The order the Commission issued yesterday is related to its finding almost two years ago, following an Office of People’s Counsel complaint, that SmartEnergy Holdings, LLC, serving thousands of Maryland customers, violated Maryland consumer protection laws and Commission regulations. After finding the violations, the Commission has allowed the supplier to continue business until after court appeals are finished. That allowed the supplier to continue to profit from illegal contracts for almost two years as customers have continued to pay exorbitant prices and wait for refunds. In the meantime, SmartEnergy’s appeals have dragged on; its request that the Maryland Supreme Court consider hearing its appeal is now pending with that Court.
Yesterday’s order institutes new “pre-compliance” requirements designed to ensure that SmartEnergy begins expeditiously remitting refunds, should the Court either deny SmartEnergy’s request to hear its appeal—ending its case—or hear that appeal and uphold the Commission’s earlier findings of violations.
The new order, however, declines to raise the amount of the $2.5 million bond that the Commission earlier required SmartEnergy to obtain to ensure the company has enough money to pay the refunds. The company itself stated in a court filing in April 2021 that the estimated refunds then totaled about $6 million—an amount the Commission’s order acknowledges likely has grown as SmartEnergy continued to do business.
The Maryland Office of People’s Counsel is an independent state agency that represents Maryland’s residential consumers of electric, natural gas, telecommunications, private water and certain transportation matters before the Public Service Commission, federal regulatory agencies and the courts.
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