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The DPU issued an order approving the proposed settlement agreement. 

As previously reported, the agreement includes the following provisions:

• Mega Energy will return its current residential customers to basic service and exit the residential retail market for a period of three years;
• Mega Energy will pay a settlement payment of $100,000; and
• The settlement agreement will not constitute an admission by Mega Energy that any violation or other form of wrongdoing has occurred.
• In addition to approving the settlement, the order included some suggested best practices for suppliers operating in Massachusetts. These include the following:
• Training employees/agents regarding the supplier’s products and pricing, the importance of clarity in messaging, and the importance of active listening;
• Effective quality control management including reviewing customer messaging before and after customer contact with timely corrective action where necessary;
• Telemarketing practices that are aware of and conform to consumer protections in the competitive energy market as well as state and federal rules on telemarketing; and
• Oversight of third-party agents to avoid non-compliance with state and federal rules.
• DPU has issued a Notice of Probable Violation to retail supplier Mega Energy of New England. The DPU said the NOPV was issued based initially on complaints from fifteen electricity consumers in Massachusetts regarding telemarketing calls they received from Mega Energy. For seven of the complaints, the Consumer Division directed Mega Energy to provide recordings of the telemarketing calls and/or TPVs associated with the calls. Further, according to the NOPV, in four TPV recordings, Mega Energy did not obtain the appropriate affirmative choice for enrollment from the complainants. Four additional complaints provided evidence to the DPU that Mega Energy may have provided altered versions of telemarketing and TPV calls to the DPU.

As background, the assigned DPU commissioner that issued the NOPV recommended that Mega Energy be legally and financially responsible for a complete audit of its TPV and telemarketing calls, an expert to determine the extent to which recordings have been intentionally altered, and fines amounting to $25,000 per violation (up to $5 million) as well as action against the supplier’s licenses.

Order  (12/30/2023)
DPU Docket No. 20-47  (04/23/2020)