California state regulators chastised an unregulated affiliateof Pacific Gas and Electric Co. for breaking state-mandatedmarketing guidelines at the same time they proposed a new specialcomplaint procedure to be used in policing the rules governingrelationships between natural gas and electric utilities and theirunregulated energy affiliates. The ongoing opening up of thestate’s gas and electricity markets makes the sanctions necessary.

Fines of up to $10 million are being proposed by the CaliforniaPublic Utilities Commission, although in its actions April 9 it didnot impose any fines yet against PG&ampE.

The CPUC said it sided with consumer advocacy groups that hadaccused PG&ampE of allowing its affiliate, PG&ampE Energy Services,”to misuse the parent name and logo in soliciting business.”

Regulators said they will obtain more details on the newspaperadvertisement in question before setting a penalty, adding that itwants to “put on notice both PG&ampE and other electric utilitydistribution companies that they must clearly show the distinctionbetween the parent utility company and affiliates using the parentcompany name and logo in advertising for electricity customers.”

The controversial ad, which first appeared in newspapers March23, prompted both The Utility Reform Network (TURN), a long-timeutility watchdog group, and the CPUC Office of Ratepayer Advocates(ORA) to file a motion to stop the ad from being published further.However, PG&ampE voluntarily stopped publication of the ad once thecontroversy arose, and the CPUC did not have to impose aninjunction.

The focus of the concern centered on the fact that theCPUC-required disclaimer by PG&ampE Energy Services in using itsaffiliated utility’s logo was printed too small and vertically,making it virtually impossible for consumers to read.

In the future, these disputes will be handled by the CPUC’sproposed special complaint process, which will include commissionmediation if the utility cannot quickly resolve the complaint.Comments on the CPUC’s new procedure are due May 12.

Richard Nemec, Los Angeles

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