By Amanda Durish Cook

Wrapping up a three-year effort, the Illinois Commerce Commission last week issued strengthened consumer protections against the marketing practices of alternative retail electric suppliers.

The commission’s Oct. 19 order (15-0512) requires retail suppliers to provide customers with a disclosure statement that details whether electricity rates are fixed or variable; the price per kilowatt-hour and the number of months that price is guaranteed; all monthly fees and any early termination fees; and whether the contract renews automatically.

The ICC also ordered suppliers to send customers identical disclosure statements about automatic renewals via mail and one other form of communication. Termination fees cannot exceed $50 for residential customers and $150 for small commercial retail customers under the new provisions.

The new rules also require retail suppliers to retain for two years any copies of customer contracts and a recording of telemarketing solicitations that result in enrollment. Suppliers must also make more detailed disclosures about renewable energy offers and cannot describe plans as “green” unless they go beyond Illinois’ renewable portfolio standard.

Retail suppliers are also prohibited from using the name and logo of any Illinois public utilities in their electric power and energy service offers. Any supplier that is an affiliate of a public utility and starting doing business as of Jan. 1, 2016, can continue to use that utility’s name and identifying information in marketing offers outside the utility’s service territory.

Under the rules, all customers now have the right to cancel a contract with a retail supplier within 10 business days of their first bill.

The ICC said it was prompted to tighten the rules following the spike in electricity prices during the 2013-2014 “polar vortex” winter, when its consumer services division received “a sharp increase in public complaints about the marketing practices of certain retail electric suppliers.”

“The rules will ensure that consumers have information about electricity supplier options that enable them to compare offers and utility plans, and make better-informed decisions. The new marketing guidelines also provide regulators with improved enforcement mechanisms, and require suppliers to take improved verification and quality control measures,” the ICC said.

Chairman Brien Sheahan said the changes are “a major victory for the public interest and all stakeholders by ensuring consumers have clear information to make good choices regarding their energy needs.”

Executive Director Cholly Smith said the new rules will protect customers from “bad actors” while “fostering a robust competitive market.” He added that the ICC will now work with stakeholders and industry officials to implement the rules uniformly.