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1. NEXT STEPS 

[***] The Department does not seek either high-level comments or critiques from the competitive supplier community or Consumer Advocates on staff’s new Market Reset Proposal, as set forth in this Hearing Officer Memorandum. Instead, the Department seeks specific proposals that track, to the extent possible, the Market Reset Proposal presented herein. Consistent with this, the Department requests that the supplier community and Consumer Advocates submit their proposals in both a clean version and a redlined version, compared to the proposal outline set forth in Section III, above. The competitive supplier community and Consumer Advocates should submit their alternate proposals no later than Wednesday, August 6, 2025. 

Based on our review of those alternatives, staff will evaluate the likelihood of Department staff achieving consensus with either the supplier community or the Consumer Advocates on the Market Reset Proposal and thus determine whether it is worthwhile for staff to continue to engage stakeholders through the Working Group process. Stakeholders that have questions or seek to discuss their proposed alternatives with staff should contact Hearing Officers Lauren Morris and Timothy Federico.

[***} At the conclusion of the July 1, 2025, Working Group meeting, staff determined that reaching a consensus with either the competitive supplier community or the Consumer Advocates was sufficiently likely to warrant continuing the Working Group process. As the next step in the process, staff requested that the competitive supplier community work jointly to develop a Market Reset Proposal. Staff subsequently extended that same request to the Consumer Advocates. 

To guide the competitive supplier community and Consumer Advocates in their efforts, staff puts forth in this Hearing Officer Memorandum a new Market Reset Proposal, one that builds upon staff’s previous proposals and considers recent discussions we have had with stakeholders. The new Market Reset Proposal is not intended to serve as a “take-it-or leave-it” offer. Instead, it is intended to provide a framework for the supplier community and Consumer Advocates to use as they develop their proposals. The Department emphasizes that it does not seek either high-level comments or specific critiques of the new Market Reset Proposal. Instead, the Department seeks specific proposals from the supplier community and the Consumer Advocates that track, to the extent possible, the Market Reset Proposal presented herein. In particular, the Department requests that the supplier community and Consumer Advocates submit both a clean version of their proposals and a redlined version, compared to the detailed proposal outline of staff’s new Market Reset Proposal presented in Section III, below. [***]

Excerpts From Staff’s New Market Reset Proposal

1. Customer-Initiated Enrollments
   Outlined below are the customer, supplier, and EDC journeys for customer-initiated enrollments under staff’s new Market Reset Proposal.8

A customer goes to the Energy Switch webpage to view the supply products available in their applicable EDC service territory. The customer selects a product to initiate the enrollment process. 

Energy Switch prompts the customer to enter the personal information required by the EDC to verify customer identity.9 Energy Switch communicates this information to the applicable EDC via a secure interface.

Upon EDC verification of the customer’s identity, the EDC communicates back to Energy Switch the customer account information necessary for successful enrollment (including, but not limited to, the customer’s UAN). 

Energy Switch prompts the customer to: (a) specify the method by which the supplier should provide communications and documentation, and (b) indicate whether they authorize the supplier to automatically renew the contract at the end of the contract term (see Section II.D, below). 

The customer prompts Energy Switch to send the information to the supplier. Energy Switch communicates the above information to the supplier’s website via a secure interface. This step serves as demonstration of the customer’s affirmative authorization to enroll with the supplier for the selected product. See 220 CMR 11.05(4)(b). 

The supplier enrolls the customer, subject to the customer’s right to rescind its affirmative choice. See 220 CMR 11.05(4)(d). 

1. Supplier-Initiated Enrollments
   The Market Reset Proposal set forth by staff in this Hearing Officer Memorandum maintains supplier-initiated enrollments, but based on discussions with suppliers, presents a revised approach to the second step by which customers must confirm such enrollments. Outlined below are the customer, supplier and EDC journeys for supplier-initiated enrollments on Energy Switch under staff’s new Market Reset Proposal. 

A supplier interacts with a customer through a marketing activity. 

If the customer seeks to enroll with the supplier, the customer provides the supplier with the personal information required by the EDC to verify the customer’s identity.11 This step serves as the first demonstration of the customer’s affirmative authorization to enroll with the supplier for the selected product. See 220 CMR 11.05(4)(b). 

The supplier goes to the Energy Switch webpage that lists the supply products available in the customer’s EDC service territory. The supplier selects the supply product for which the customer has provided initial affirmative authorization. 

Energy Switch prompts the supplier to enter the personal information provided by the customer and required by the EDC to verify the customer’s identity.

Energy Switch communicates the customer’s personal information to the EDC via a secure interface. 

Upon the EDC’s verification of the customer’s identity, the EDC communicates back to Energy Switch the customer account information necessary for a successful enrollment (including, but not limited to, the customer’s UAN).12 

Upon receipt of this information from the EDC, the supplier sends the customer, by a method specified by the customer, the product information required by Department regulations to initiate the recission period.13 This communication must also include (1) a link to Energy Switch, (2) a way for the customer to acknowledge that they viewed the products listed on Energy Switch; and (3) a way for the customer to indicate whether they authorize the supplier to automatically renew the contract at the end of the contract term (see Section II.D, below). 

During the recission period, if the customer seeks to continue with the enrollment, they must respond to the supplier, confirming that they have received the required product information, they have reviewed the products on Energy Switch, and indicating whether they authorize the supplier to automatically renew the contract at the end of the contract term. 

The supplier may not finalize the enrollment (i.e., submit an enrollment transaction to the EDC) unless the customer affirmatively responds to the communication during the recission period. The supplier must invalidate the enrollment if the customer does not respond accordingly. 

1. In-Person Marketing
   A fundamental theme that characterizes staff’s Market Reset Proposal is the imperative to protect vulnerable customers from misleading and deceptive marketing and sales practices in which suppliers may engage. During the Working Group process, there has been much discussion related to the negative experiences of customers exposed to in-person marketing channels (i.e., tabletop and door-to-door), particularly in neighborhoods in which vulnerable customers are likely to reside. 

Allowing for supplier-initiated enrollments increases the concerns related to in-person marketing in these neighborhoods. As such, staff’s new Market Reset Proposal precludes suppliers from engaging in door-to-door and tabletop marketing activities in locations that the Commonwealth has identified as including EJ Populations.14 

The alternative to such a ban is to establish a set of stringent oversight measures that focus on these activities, such as (1) daily notification of supplier’s expected tabletop marketing activities (akin to door-to-door marketing), (2) notice to municipalities where a supplier expects to engage in in-person marketing, (3) requirements related to the recording of in-person marketing interactions and the retention of those recordings (akin to telemarketing), and (4) an oversight system for pro-actively reviewing recordings to check for misleading and deceptive in-person marketing practices. 

From staff’s perspective, a ban on these marketing practices targeting residents living in an EJ population is an effective and efficient way to protect this group of vulnerable customers from the harm that may result from these practices.

1. Automatic Contract Renewals
   In response to concerns expressed by suppliers regarding tying automatic renewal prices to those of basic service rates, staff propose the following conditions under which suppliers can automatically renew customers’ contracts:
2. A fixed-price contract can only be automatically renewed to another fixed-price contract (with the same pricing structure) for which the term does not exceed the existing term; 
3. The automatic renewal price cannot exceed the price of the product listed by the supplier on Energy Switch with the same product characteristics (e.g., term, voluntary renewable content). 

If the supplier no longer offers the product that is being automatically renewed (i.e., the product is no longer listed on Energy Switch), the automatic renewal price cannot exceed the price of the product listed by the supplier on Energy Switch for which the characteristics are most similar to the product being automatically renewed.

If the automatic renewal price exceeds the customer’s existing price, the supplier must obtain confirmation from the customer that they authorize the contract renewal. As part of their automatic renewal notification communications (see below), the supplier would provide the customer with information on the upcoming price increase, along with a link to Energy Switch. By a date specified, the customer must respond to the supplier, confirming that they (1) have reviewed the automatic renewal information provided, (2) have reviewed the products on Energy Switch, and (3) authorize the supplier to renew the contract. If the customer does not respond to the supplier by the specified date, the supplier cannot automatically renew the customer’s contract (instead, the supplier returns the customer to basic service). 

A supplier cannot charge a fee for the early cancellation of an automatically renewed product.

With respect to customer notification, staff’s new Market Reset Proposal adopts the approach presented by NRG, which establishes a three-part notification journey for existing customers: (1) an initial “heads-up” notification 60 days prior to the automatic renewal date informing the customer of the upcoming contract renewal; (2) a second “review your renewal contract terms” notification 30 days prior to the renewal date, providing details of the automatic renewal contract product; and (3) a third “reminder” notification 10 days prior to the renewal date.17 These communications should accommodate the customer’s preferred communication method. 

Finally, staff’s new Market Reset Proposal incorporates the approach presented by NRG that requires customers, during the initial enrollment process, to affirmatively select an automatic renewal option at the time of their initial enrollment (see Section II.B, above).18 

Staff considers the set of provisions related to automatic contract renewals to strike a reasonable and appropriate balance between consumer protection and industry-standard business practices for products that automatically renew across other industries. Requiring suppliers to automatically renew fixed-price contracts to the price listed on Energy Switch for the product with the same characteristics (term, renewable content) protects customers from suppliers that attempt to maximize revenue by continually increasing their automatic renewal prices. Similarly, requiring suppliers to obtain affirmative customer authorization when the automatic renewal price exceeds the existing contract price provides the incentive for suppliers to avoid price increases. Finally, requiring customers to affirmatively authorize automatic contract renewal at the time of initial enrollment should reduce the number of customers who are unaware that they are subject to automatic renewals. 

As with the other provisions of the new Market Reset Proposal, staff recognize the significant effort that would be required to implement the rules for automatic contract renewals. Staff would continue to work with stakeholders to develop the details of implementation.

See Staff’s entire proposal at docket link below.

D.P.U. 19-07
(Investigation by the Department of Public Utilities on its own Motion into Initiatives to Promote and Protect Consumer Interests in the Retail Electric Competitive Supply)