Your Rights As A Customer

This document summarizes Your Rights as a Customer and is based on customer protection rules adopted by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC). These rules apply to all retail electric providers (REPs) and the provider of last resort (POLR), unless otherwise noted or waived by the customer as allowed under PUC rules. You may view the PUC’s rules at puc.state.tx.us. Contact information is located within this document.

OBTAINING AND CANCELING SERVICE

Unauthorized Change of Service Provider or “Slamming”: A REP must obtain your verifiable authorization before switching your electric service. If you believe your electric service has been switched without your authorization, you should request that the REP provide you with a copy of your authorization and verification. The REP must submit this to you within 5 business days of your request. If you are not satisfied with this response, you may also file a complaint with the PUC at the address provided below. Upon receipt of a complaint filed with the PUC, the REP must respond within 21 days of receipt of the complaint, providing all documentation relied upon by the REP related to the authorization to switch, and any corrective actions taken to date, if any.

If a REP is serving your account without proper authorization, the REP must work with other market participants to take all actions necessary to return you to your original REP as quickly as possible. Your original REP has the right to bill you at the price disclosed in your terms of service and electricity facts label from either: 1) the date you are returned to your original REP, or 2) any prior date chosen by your original REP for which that REP had the authorization to serve you. The REP that served you without proper authorization shall, within 5 days from the date that your service is returned to your original REP, refund all charges paid for the time period the original REP ultimately bills you. In addition, the REP that served you without your authorization is responsible for paying all charges associated with returning your service to your REP of choice. For periods that the unauthorized REP served you that are not billed to you by your original REP, the REP that served you without your authorization may bill you but at a rate no higher than the rate you would have been charged by your original REP.

Right of Rescission: When requesting a switch in service providers, you may rescind your contract with the new REP without any penalty or fee within 3 federal business days (includes Saturday) after you receive your Terms of Service Agreement. For details on how to rescind your service, please see your Terms of Service Agreement. This right of rescission does not apply to applicants requesting a move-in or to customers whose REP transfers the customers to the POLR. If you do not rescind your request for service within this 3 federal business day period, you will be responsible for all service rendered to you at the enrollment address. If you do not rescind the contract within this 3 federal business day period, you retain the right to select another REP and may do so by contacting that REP, although you will be responsible for any charges incurred to switch your service. See your Terms of Service Agreement for details regarding canceling or terminating your contract.

BILLING ISSUES

Unauthorized Charges or “Cramming”: Before any new charges for non-energy-related products or services are included on your electric bill, your REP must inform you of the product or service, all associated charges, how these charges will appear on your electric bill and obtain your consent to accept the product or service. Your REP must provide you with a toll-free telephone number and address that you may use to resolve any billing dispute or to ask questions about your bill. If you believe your electric bill includes unauthorized charges, you may contact your REP to dispute such charges and may file a complaint with the PUC. Your REP will not seek to terminate your electric service for non-payment of an unauthorized charge or file an unfavorable credit report against you for disputed unpaid charges that are alleged to be unauthorized, unless the dispute is ultimately resolved against you.

If the charges are determined to be unauthorized, your REP will cease charging you for the unauthorized service or product remove the unauthorized charge from your bill and refund or credit all money you paid for any unauthorized charge within 45 days. If charges are not refunded or credited within 3 billing cycles, interest shall be paid to you at an annual rate established by the PUC on the amount of any unauthorized charge until it is refunded/credited. You may request all billing records under the REP’s control related to any unauthorized charges within 15 business days after the date the unauthorized charge is removed from your bill. Your REP will not rebill you for any charges determined to be unauthorized.

If you are on an electric service product other than a prepaid electric service product and are unable to pay your bill on time, you may have the right to a short-term payment arrangement or a deferred payment plan: If you cannot pay your bill, please call us immediately. We may offer you a short-term payment arrangement that allows you to pay your bill after your due date but before your next bill is due. In addition, you may qualify for a “deferred payment plan.” PRONTO Power offers a Deferred Payment Plan which allows a residential customer to pay an outstanding balance in installments over a period of time. To enroll in a Deferred Payment Plan we may require from you an initial payment of 50% of the outstanding balance on your account and for the remaining balance to be paid over five billing cycles. Your service may be terminated and disconnected if you do not meet the terms of the Deferred Payment Plan issued to you. You may request a deferred payment plan for bills that become due during extreme weather emergencies, during governor-declared disasters as directed by the Public Utility Commission, or if you have been underbilled by $50 or more. You may also request a deferred payment plan for bills that become due in July, August or September (or in January or February in certain situations) and you are: are designated as a Chronic Condition or Critical Care Residential Customer; or if you cannot pay your bill on time unless (1) you have been disconnected for non-payment during the previous 12 months, (2) have made more than two payments during the previous 12 months that were returned due to insufficient funds available or, (3) you have received service from us for less than three months and you lack sufficient credit or a satisfactory history of payment for electric service from a previous retail electric provider. If you are on a deferred payment plan, your account will be subject to a switch-hold. A switch-hold means that you will not be able to buy electricity from other companies until you pay the total deferred balance. The switch-hold will be removed after your deferred balance is paid. While a switch-hold applies, if you are disconnected for not paying, you will need to pay us to get your electricity turned back on.

If you are on an electric service product other than a prepaid electric service product you may have the right to receive a level or average payment plan – PRONTO Power offers an average billing plan. With this plan your monthly payment will be based on the historical usage associated with your account. Your monthly payment amount may be adjusted quarterly based on your actual usage. We will notify you of any change in your average payment amount. We will reconcile your account at least annually and may charge or credit your account based on any difference between actual usage charges and payments received under the average billing plan. This program is available to any customer who is not currently delinquent in payment to PRONTO Power. If, at the time of enrollment on our average billing plan you are delinquent, your account will be subject to a switch-hold. A switch-hold means that you will not be able to buy electricity from other companies until you pay the total deferred balance. The switch-hold will be removed after your deferred balance is paid. While a switch-hold applies, if you are disconnected for not paying, you will need to pay us to get your electricity turned back on. In the event the Terms of Service are canceled or terminated or your electric service is disconnected, the level or average billing option does not affect your obligation to pay for all actual usage.

Financial and Energy Assistance: An electric customer who receives food stamps, Medicaid, TANF or SSI from the Texas Department of Human Services (TDHS) or whose household income is not more than 125% of the federal poverty guidelines may qualify for energy assistance from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). Customers who do not currently receive these benefits but whose household income is not more than 125% of the federal poverty guidelines may apply for the discount.

Meter Reading and Testing: Please contact your REP for information regarding how to read your meter. You have the right to request a meter test. Your REP may make this request to your Transmission Distribution Utility (TDU) on your behalf. If a test is performed more than once in a four-year period and the meter is determined to be functioning properly, then you may be charged a fee for the additional meter test(s) at the rate approved for your TDU. The TDU or REP will advise you of the test result, including the test date, testing person and, if applicable, the removal date of the meter.

DISCONNECTION OF SERVICE

Failure to Pay: For customers who do not pay their electric bill by the due date, their REP may request that the TDU “disconnect” the electric service, after the expiration of a required 10-day notice period. The REP will provide a 21-day notice for Critical Care Residential Customers and Chronic Condition Residential Customers, which will be sent to the residential customer and the customer’s designated secondary contact. Prior to disconnecting a Critical Care Residential Customer or Chronic Condition Residential Customer, the TDU shall contact the customer and the secondary contact. If the TDU does not reach the customer and secondary contact by phone, the TDU shall visit the premises, and, if there is no response, shall leave a door hangar containing the pending disconnection information and how to contact the REP and TDU.

Disconnection of Service: The PUC has provided that under certain dangerous circumstances (such as unsafe electric line situations) any REP, including the POLR, may authorize your TDU to disconnect your electric service without prior notice to you. Your REP or TDU may also, at any time, authorize disconnection of your electric service without prior notice for any of the following reasons:

• where a known dangerous condition exists for as long as the condition exists;
• where service is connected without authority by a person who has not made application for service;
• where service is reconnected without authority after disconnection for nonpayment;
• where there has been tampering with the equipment of the TDU; or
• where there is evidence of theft of service.

Additionally, your REP may be allowed to seek to have your electric service disconnected for any of the reasons listed below:

• failure to pay a bill owed to the REP or to make a deferred payment arrangement by the date of disconnection stated on the disconnection notice;
• failure to comply with the terms of a deferred payment arrangement or other payment agreement made with the REP;
• using service in a manner that interferes with the service of others or the operation of nonstandard equipment;
• failure to pay a deposit required by the REP; or
• failure of a guarantor to pay the amount guaranteed when the REP has a written agreement, signed by the guarantor, which allows for disconnection of the guarantor’s service.

Prior to disconnecting your service, your REP must provide you with a written Disconnect Notice. This notice must be mailed to you separately (or hand-delivered), or sent to you by email, if your REP has offered and you have agreed to receive disconnection notices from the REP by email, no earlier than the first day after the date your bill is due. The disconnection date must be 10 days from the date the notice is issued (or 21 days from the date the notice is issued for a Critical Care Residential Customer or a Chronic Condition Residential Customer) and may not fall on a holiday or weekend (or the day preceding) unless the REP’s personnel are available to take payments and service can be reconnected. For Critical Care Residential Customers and Chronic Condition Residential Customers, your REP must send the notice to the residential customer and the customer’s designated secondary contact.

Your REP may not authorize disconnection of your electric service for any of the following reasons:

• failure to pay for electric service by a previous occupant of the premise if that occupant is not of the same household;
• failure to pay any charge unrelated to electric service;
• failure to pay a different type or class of electric service not included on the account’s bill when service was initiated;
• failure to pay underbilled charges that occurred for more than 6 months (except theft of service);
• failure to pay any disputed charges until your REP or the PUC determines the accuracy of the charges and you have been notified of this determination;
• failure to pay charges arising from an underbilling due to any faulty metering, unless the meter has been tampered with or unless such underbilling charges are due under PUC rule 25.126 relating to Adjustments Due to Non-Compliant Meters and Meter Tampering in Area Where Customer Choice Has Been Introduced (puc.state.tx.us); or
• failure to pay an estimated bill other than a bill rendered pursuant to an approved meter-reading plan, unless the bill is based on an estimated meter read by the TDU.

Additionally, your REP may not authorize disconnection of your electric service:

• if the REP receives notification by the final due date stated on the disconnection notice that an energy assistance provider will be forwarding sufficient payment on your account; and you have paid or made payment arrangements to pay any outstanding debt not covered by the energy assistance provider’s payment;
• for non-payment during an extreme weather emergency, and upon request, the REP must offer you a deferred payment plan for bills due during the emergency; or for non-payment if you are a Critical Care Residential Customer at a permanent, individually metered dwelling unit and you inform the REP, prior to the disconnection date stated on the notice, that disconnection of service will cause some person at that residence to become seriously ill or more seriously ill. However, to obtain this exemption, you must complete all of the following by the disconnection date stated on the notice, including: entering into a deferred payment plan with your REP and having the ill person’s attending physician contact the REP and submit a written statement confirming that the customer is a Critical Care Residential Customer. This exemption from disconnection of a Critical Care Residential Customer shall be in effect for 63 days and may be applied for again after the 63 days has expired and the deferred payment plan has been fulfilled.

If you are on a prepaid electric service product your REP must offer you a deferred payment plan upon request if your prepaid account balance reflects a negative balance of $50 or more during an extreme weather emergency, if you were underbilled by $50 or more for reasons other than theft of service, or if you are in an area that has been declared a state of disaster in which the PUCT has directed deferred payment plans be offered.

Availability of Provider of Last Resort: If you are notified that you are subject to termination or disconnection of your electric service, you may seek to obtain services from another REP or the POLR. You have the option to request service from the POLR, which offers a standard retail service package. Information about the POLR and other REPs can be obtained from the PUC or the POLR.

Restoration of Service: If your service has been disconnected by your REP for non-payment, you must, before service is reinstated, pay all amounts due to the REP, and reestablish credit, including payment of any applicable deposit. Upon payment of all amounts due and reestablishment of credit your REP or the POLR will notify your TDU to reconnect your service. If your service was disconnected due to a dangerous situation, your service will be reconnected once you demonstrate to your REP or the POLR that you have corrected the dangerous situation.

DISPUTES WITH YOUR PROVIDER

Complaint Resolution: Please contact your REP if you have specific comments, questions or complaints. Upon receipt of a complaint, your REP must investigate and notify you of the results within 21 days. If you are dissatisfied with the results of the investigation, you may request a supervisory review, if available. Your REP must advise you of the results of the supervisory review within 10 business days of your request. If you are dissatisfied with the results of the investigation or supervisory review, you may file a complaint with the PUC or the Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division. Please include your name and account number, as well as an explanation of the facts and the resolution you desire in your complaint. For a complaint involving a disputed bill, your REP may not initiate collection activities or termination or disconnection activities or report the delinquency to a consumer reporting agency with respect to the disputed portion of the bill. However, after appropriate notice, your REP may disconnect your service for non-payment of any undisputed portion of the bill.

Pronto Power CUSTOMER CARE DEPARTMENT
PO Box 460485
Houston, Texas 77056
Toll Free: 1-888-234-1373
Fax: 1-713-481-8482
Email: service@powermepronto.com

Public Utility Commission of Texas
Customer Protection Division
P.O. Box 13326
Austin, Texas 78711-3326
Tel: 512-936-7120; Toll-free tel: 1-888-782-8477
Fax: 512-936-7003; TTY: 800-735-2988
E-mail: customer@puc.state.tx.us; Website: www.puc.state.tx.us

Reporting Outages: Your REP is responsible for providing you with the telephone number you may use to report outages or other emergencies. For your reference, this contact information is provided in this brochure.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc:
Local: 713-207-2222
Toll-free Tel: 1-800-332-7143
Service orders: same
24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Texas-New Mexico Power Co.:
Toll-free Tel: 1-888-866-7456
Service orders: same
24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Oncor Electric Delivery:
Toll-free: 1-888-313-4747
Service orders: 1-888-313-6862
24 hours a day, 7 days a week

American Electric Power Co. – Texas Central/Texas North:
Toll-free: 1-866-223-8508
Service orders: 1-877-373-4858
24 hours a day, 7 days a week

OTHER PROTECTIONS

Do Not Call List: The PUC maintains a “Do Not Call List” of customers who do not want to receive telemarketing calls for electric service. Call tollfree 1-866-TXNOCAL(L) or 1-866-896-6225, or visit the PUC website at www.puc.state.tx.us to subscribe to the Do Not Call List.

Language Availability: You may request to receive information from your REP in Spanish, or any language in which you were initially solicited. This includes the Terms of Service Agreement, Electricity Facts Label, bills and bill notices, information on new electric services, discount programs, promotions, and access to customer assistance. You will receive this Your Rights as a Customer document and disconnection notices in English and Spanish or English and your designated language if you have designated a language other than Spanish and were originally solicited in that language.

Privacy Rights: Except as described below, REPs may not release your proprietary customer information to any other person without your consent. This includes your name, address, account number, type or classification of service, historical electricity usage, expected patterns of use, types of facilities used in providing service, individual contract terms and conditions, price, current charges or billing records. This prohibition does not apply to the release of your information under certain circumstances as required by law, including release to the PUC, an agent of your REP, consumer reporting agencies, law enforcement agencies or your TDU. A REP may also share this information with a third party for the purpose of marketing such party’s products or services to you after you are provided an opportunity to opt-out of the release of your information. In addition, this prohibition does not apply to the release of prior historical usage upon request and authorization of a current customer or applicant of a premise. Industrial and commercial customers may contact their REP or TDU and designate that their prior historical usage is competitively sensitive in order to prevent the release of this information.

Special Services: Your REP may offer special services for hearing-impaired customers and programs for customers with physical disabilities. If you have a physical disability or require special assistance regarding your electric account, please contact your REP to inquire about the process to become qualified for any of these special services.

Critical Care Residential Customer or Chronic Condition Residential Customer: You have the right to apply for designation as a “Critical Care Residential Customer” or “Chronic Condition Residential Customer.” However, such customers may not enroll in, or continue to be served on a prepay product that utilizes an advanced meter. If we are notified that you have received designation as either a “Critical Care Residential Customer” or a “Chronic Condition Residential Customer” and you are currently on such a prepay product, we will work with you to promptly transition you to a non-prepay product in a manner that avoids service disruption. If you do not respond to our efforts to place you on a non-prepay product of your choosing, we will place you on a competitively offered, month-to-month product. In this event, you will be provided a notice of the transfer as well as the Terms of Service and Electricity Facts Label for the new product.

A Critical Care Residential Customer is a residential customer who has a person permanently residing in his or her home who has been diagnosed by a physician as being dependent upon an electric-powered medical device to sustain life. A Chronic Condition Residential Customer is a residential customer who has a person permanently residing in his or her home who has been diagnosed by a physician as having a serious medical condition that requires an electric-powered medical device or electric heating or cooling to prevent the impairment of a major life function through a significant deterioration or exacerbation of the person’s medical condition.

Upon your request, your REP will provide to you a PUC-approved application form, which you and the patient’s physician must complete. The patient’s physician must sign and electronically return the application form to your TDU by facsimile or other electronic means. The TDU will evaluate the form for completeness. Incomplete forms will be returned to you by the TDU for completion. The TDU may verify the physician’s identity and signature and may deny an application for designation, if it determines that the identity or signature of the physician is not authentic.

The TDU will notify you and your REP of the final status of the application process, including whether you have been designated for Critical Care Residential Customer or Chronic Condition Residential Customer status. The TDU will also notify you of the date a designation, if any, will expire, and whether you will receive a renewal notice. If the TDU does not approve the application, you may file a complaint with the PUC. If approved, the designation of Critical Care Residential Customer is valid for two years; and the designation of Chronic Condition Residential Customer is valid for 90 days to one year. Your TDU will send you a renewal form, if applicable, prior to the expiration of your designation.

Designation as a Critical Care Residential Customer or Chronic Condition Residential Customer does not relieve the customer of the obligation to pay the REP or the TDU for services rendered. However, a Critical Care Residential Customer or Chronic Condition Residential Customer who needs payment assistance is encouraged to contact their REP or TDU immediately regarding possible deferred payment options or other assistance that may be offered by the REP or TDU.

Governmental Entities: If you are a governmental entity as defined in the Prompt Payment Act (PPA), TEX. GOV’T CODE, Chapter 2251 (statutes.legis.state.tx.us), it is your responsibility to inform your REP of your status so that the PPA protections can be applied. If you are a governmental entity subject to the PPA, your payment shall become overdue as provided in the PPA and interest on an overdue payment shall be calculated by you pursuant to the terms of the PPA and remitted to your REP with the overdue payment. Billing disputes between a governmental entity, as defined in the PPA, and an aggregator or a REP about any bill for aggregator or REP service, shall be resolved as provided in the PPA.

Dear customers, at Pronto Power we like to keep customers informed of any changes that happened in the energy sector. The PUC has implemented new regulations. Please click on the link for more information depending on your energy provider.

CHAPTER 25. SUBSTANTIVE RULES APPLICABLE TO ELECTRIC SERVICE PROVIDERS.

Subchapter R. CUSTOMER PROTECTION RULES FOR RETAIL ELECTRIC SERVICE.

§25.475. General Retail Electric Provider Requirements and Information Disclosures to Residential and Small Commercial Customers.

(h) Your Rights as a Customer disclosure. The information set out in this section must be included in a REP’s “Your Rights as a Customer” document in plain language, to summarize the standard customer protections provided by this subchapter or additional protections provided by the REP.

(4) The YRAC must provide information the REP has received from the TDU pursuant to PURA §17.003(e) regarding the TDU’s procedures for implementing involuntary load shedding initiated by the independent organization certified under PURA §39.151 for the ERCOT power region, and, if applicable, where any additional details regarding those procedures or relevant updates may be located. The REP may fulfill this requirement by providing a website address with the required information. Each TDU must develop such information and resources by September 1, 2021 and make the website address where such information can be viewed available to REPs. A REP may provide this information at a website address other than the website addresses made available by the TDUs. A TDU or other entity providing a website address is required to update this information within 30 days of any material change in the information.

• AEP Texas: Load Shed Information
• Oncor
• TNMP
• Centerpoint