(a) The commission shall compile and regularly update the following information: names and contact numbers of a registered core transport agent, information to assist consumers in making service choices, and the number of customer complaints against specific providers in relation to the number of customers served by those providers and the disposition of those complaints. To facilitate this function, registered entities shall file with the commission information describing the terms and conditions of any standard service plan made available to core gas customers. The commission shall adopt a standard format for this filing. The commission shall maintain and make generally available a list of entities offering core transport services operating in California. This list shall include all registered core transport agents and those agents not required to be registered that request the commission to be included on the list. The commission shall, upon request, make this information available at no charge. Notwithstanding any other law, public agencies that are registered entities shall be required to disclose their terms and conditions of service contracts only to the same extent that other registered entities would be required to disclose the same or similar service contracts.
(b) The commission shall issue public alerts about companies attempting to provide core transport service in the state in an unauthorized or fraudulent manner as described in subdivision (b) of Section 983.5.
(c) The commission shall compile and post on its Internet Web site easily understandable informational guides or other tools to help core gas customers understand core transport service options. In implementing these provisions, the commission shall pay special attention to ensuring that customers, especially those with limited-English-speaking ability or other disadvantages when dealing with marketers, receive correct, reliable, and easily understood information to help them make informed choices. The commission shall not make specific recommendations, rank the relative attractiveness of specific service offerings of registered providers of core transport services, or provide customer-specific assistance in the evaluation of core transport agents.
(d) The Office of Ratepayer Advocates shall analyze customers’ complaints submitted to the gas corporation and to the commission and the disposition of those complaints to determine if the changes in the consumer protection rules are necessary to better protect the participants in the core transportation program, and make recommendations to the commission regarding those rule changes.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 71, Sec. 152. (SB 1304) Effective January 1, 2015.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018