Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a)
Registration required. A person must not provide brokerage services, including
brokerage services offered online, in this state for compensation or other
consideration unless the person is registered with the commission as a broker.
A broker is responsible for all activities conducted on its behalf by any
subcontractor or agent. A retail electric provider (REP) is not permitted to
register as a broker and must not knowingly provide bids or offers to a person
who provides brokerage services in this state for compensation or other
consideration and is not registered as a broker. A REP may rely on the publicly
available list of registered brokers posted on the commission's website to
determine whether a broker is registered with the commission.
(b) Definitions. The following terms, when
used in this section, have the following meanings unless the context indicates
otherwise:
(1) Broker--A person that provides
brokerage services.
(2) Brokerage
services--Providing advice or procurement services to, or acting on behalf of,
a retail electric customer regarding the selection of a REP, or a product or
service offered by a REP.
(c) Requirements for a person seeking to
register as a broker. A person seeking to register under this section must
provide the information listed in this subsection.
(1) All business names of the registrant
limited to five business names;
(2)
The mailing address, telephone number, and email address of the principal place
of business of the registrant;
(3)
The name, title, business mailing address, telephone number, and email address
for the registrant's commission contact person;
(4) The name, title, business mailing
address, telephone number, and email address of the registrant's customer
service contact person;
(5) The
name, title, business mailing address, telephone number, and email address of
the registrant's commission complaint contact person;
(6) The form of business being registered
(e.g., corporation, partnership, or sole proprietor); and
(7) An affidavit from the owner, partner, or
officer of the registrant affirming that the registrant is authorized to do
business in Texas under all applicable laws and is in good standing with the
Texas Secretary of State; that all statements made in the application are true,
correct, and complete; that any material changes in the information will be
provided in a timely manner; and that the registrant understands and will
comply with all applicable law and rules.
(d) Registration procedures. The following
procedures apply to a person seeking to register as a broker:
(1) A registration application must be made
on the form approved by the commission, verified by notarized oath or
affirmation, and signed by an owner, partner, or officer of the registrant. The
form may be obtained from the central records division of the commission or
from the commission's Internet site. Each registrant must file its registration
application form with the commission's filing clerk in accordance with the
commission's procedural rules.
(2)
The registrant must promptly inform the commission of any material change in
the information provided in the registration application while the application
is being processed.
(3) An
application will be processed as follows:
(A)
Commission staff will review the submitted form for completeness. Within 20
working days of receipt of an application, the commission staff will notify the
registrant by mail or e-mail of any deficiencies in the application. The
registrant will have ten working days from the issuance of the notification to
cure the deficiencies. If the deficiencies are not cured within ten working
days, commission staff will notify the registrant that the registration
application is rejected without prejudice.
(B) Commission staff will determine whether
to accept or reject the application within 60 days of the receipt of a complete
application.
(C) An applicant may
contest commission staff's rejection of its application by filing a petition
for formal review of the registration application in accordance with the
commission's procedural rules. The registrant has the burden of proof to
establish that its application meets the requirements of PURA and commission
rules.
(e)
Registration Update. Unless updated, a broker registration expires three years
after the date of the assignment of a broker registration number or the
registration's most recent update. Each registrant must submit the information
required to update its registration with the commission not less than 90 days
prior to the expiration date of the current registration. An expired
registration is no longer valid, and the broker will be removed from the broker
list on the commission's website.
(f) Registration Amendment. A broker must
amend its registration to reflect any changes in the information previously
submitted, including business name, mailing address, email address, or
telephone number within 30 calendar days from the date of the change. This
amendment is an update under (e) of this section.
(g) Suspension and Revocation of Registration
and Administrative Penalty. The commission may impose an administrative penalty
for violations of PURA or commission rules. The commission may also suspend or
revoke a broker's registration for significant violations of PURA or commission
rules. Significant violations include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) providing false or misleading information
to the commission;
(2) engaging in
fraudulent, unfair, misleading, deceptive or anti-competitive
practices;
(3) a pattern of failure
to meet the requirements of PURA, commission rules, or commission
orders;
(4) failure to respond to
commission inquiries or customer complaints in a timely fashion;
(5) switching or causing to be switched the
REP of a customer without first obtaining the customer's authorization;
or
(6) billing an unauthorized
charge or causing an unauthorized charge to be billed to a customer's retail
electric service bill.
