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PUC Issues Order Streaming Formal and Informal Complaint Process
On October 1, 2026 the PUC of Texas issued order adopting amendments regarding amending the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) to streamline the utility complaint process in response SB1778 of 2023 and SB790 of 2024.
Among other things the proposed amendments would eliminate the informal/formal complaint distinction and remove the subsection “Formal Complaints” and related subsections from TAC §22.242, §25.485, and §26.30.
Among other things the Commission’s order:
(1) Adopted Staff’s recommendation to decline party-proposed substantive changes to the proposed rules, except for allowing that “a complainant can request OCA issue a closing letter and refer the complaint to [PUCT’s Division of Compliance and Enforcement (DICE)] without informal resolution if the complaint meets one of the existing exceptions or for other good cause.”
(2) Clarified that “On the effective date of amended §22.242, complainants will no longer be able to file a formal complaint as a contested case at [PUCT] upon the conclusion of the informal complaint process,” including “any pending informal complaints,” but “any formal complaint properly filed up until the day before that section’s effective date will be processed as a contested case under the existing rule and is eligible for adjudication at SOAH.”
(3) Added “a savings clause that clarifies that §22.242 does not alter the jurisdiction and processes established in other laws,” saying that, “For example, the adoption of this rule would not affect a person’s right to dispute ERCOT conduct under §22.251… [or] preclude a retail public utility’s ability to request cease and desist relief from the commission under TWC § 13.252” and
(4) Clarification “to provide additional clarity for consumers,” modified “the proposed rule to”: (i) “explicitly note that the closing of a complaint by OCA represents the exhaustion of remedies available under this section”; and (ii) “explain that when the complainant exhausts its remedies at [PUCT], the complainant can seek any available remedies in a court of competent jurisdiction.”
