PSC Acts Against Fourteen Energy Companies for Failing to Abide b...
ALBANY — The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) today revoked the eligibility of API Energy, LLC to operate as an energy services company (ESCO) in New York State and Prime Time and PTM Marketing & Consulting to serve as energy brokers or energy consultants. The Commission also revoked the eligibility of eleven distributed energy resource (DER) suppliers to operate in New York State for violating the Commission’s Uniform Business Practices (UBP) rules. These companies failed to comply with applicable Commission orders to maintain eligibility to operate in New York State, as well as several provisions of the Commission’s Uniform Business Practices that are in place to ensure strong consumer protection requirements. These violations include failure to submit annual required compliance filings, using unregistered subcontractors for customer enrollments, and conducting improper customer enrollments or attempted enrollments unauthorized by the customer. The Commission also directed several providers to address unresolved consumer complaints.
Commission Chair Rory M. Christian said, “The Public Service Commission is laser focused on protecting the public, enforcing the rules, and demanding accountability by putting people, not private interests, first. To conduct business in New York, private energy companies must comply with all applicable orders from this Commission. If companies fail to comply, we will take swift action.”
If a consumer’s ESCO is no longer allowed to do business in New York State, the consumer’s service reverts back to the local utility, or the consumer can select another energy provider. DER suppliers that are currently serving customers but are no longer allowed to do business in New York State must submit plans detailing how customer agreements will be honored.
The UBP and the Uniform Business Practices for Distributed Energy Resource Suppliers (UBP-DERS) provide for consistent business procedures for ESCOs, energy brokers, energy consultants, DER suppliers, and electric and natural gas utilities across the state. As the competitive retail energy market has evolved in New York, the UBP and UBP-DERS have been revisited and modified to reflect changes in the market while continuing to provide consumer protections, streamlined business transactions and communications protocols between ESCOs, DER suppliers and utilities.
In addition to revoking API Energy’s ability to operate as an ESCO and Prime Time’s and PTM Marketing & Consulting’s ability to operate as an energy broker or energy consultant in New York, the Commission revoked the following businesses’ abilities to operate as DER suppliers in New York:
- AMS Construction Corp
- Distributed Generation Associates
- Hifadhi Clean Energy LLC
- IC Energy Consulting
- JG Renovations, LLC
- JRG Solar
- Sunnova Energy Corporation
- No Shorts Electric
- PosiGen Developer LLC
- Solitude Solar, LLC
- Rural Generation and Wind
In addition to no longer being able to operate in New York, the following DER providers must show how they intend to honor obligations to existing customers.
- AMS Construction Corp
- IC Energy Consulting
- Sunnova Energy Corporation
- PosiGen Developer LLC
An ESCO is a company eligible to sell electricity and/or natural gas to end-use customers using utility transmission or distribution systems and may also perform other retail service functions. An energy broker is an entity that assumes the contractual and legal responsibility for the sale of electric and/or natural gas to end-use customers but does not take title to any of the electricity or natural gas sold. An energy consultant is any person, firm, association, or corporation who acts as a broker in soliciting, negotiating, or advising any electric or natural gas contract, or acts as an agent in accepting any electric or natural gas contract on behalf of an ESCO. A DER supplier is a company that provides access to small-scale, modular energy generation and storage technology that is usually located near where electricity is used, like a solar farm, rooftop solar panels or battery storage, and can be connected to the power grid to provide electricity locally, rather than relying solely on large, centralized power plants.
Today’s decisions may be obtained by going to the Commission Documents section of the Commission’s website at https://dps.ny.gov and entering Case Numbers 26-M-0426 (API Energy, LLC), 26-M-0519 (PTM Marketing & Consulting Inc.), 26-E-0522 (Prime Time), 26-E-0413 (AMS Construction Corp.), 26-E-0414 (Distributed Generation Associates), 26-E-0415 (Hifadhi Clean Energy LLC), 26-E-0416 (IC Energy Consulting, Inc.), 26-E-0417 (JG Renovations, LLC), 26-E-0418 (JRG Solar, LLC), 26-E-0423 (Sunnova Energy Corporation), 26-E-0419 (No Shorts Electric), 26-E-0420 (PosiGen Developer, LLC ), 26-E-0422 (Solitude Solar, LLC ) or 26-E-0421 (Rural Generation and Wind) in the input box labeled "Search for Case/Matter Number". Many libraries offer free Internet access. Commission documents may also be obtained from the Commission’s Files Office, 14th floor, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223 (518-474-2500). If you have difficulty understanding English, please call us at 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this press release.
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