Electricity suppliers' campaign targets shady sales tactics
An association of competitive electrical suppliers launched a campaign Monday to educate consumers about choosing power suppliers, including how to recognize some of the shady sales tactics that have given the industry a black eye.
An association of competitive electrical suppliers launched a campaign Monday to educate consumers about choosing power suppliers, including how to recognize some of the shady sales tactics that have given the industry a black eye.
The Retail Energy Supply Association (RESA) unveiled a four-page consumer-education guide, an effort to sell a skeptical public on the virtues of giving up regulated utilities.
"We're taking more of a leadership role in trying to facilitate the education of consumers about customer choice," David Fein, the group's president, said in a media conference call.
In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, customers can choose suppliers to provide the electricity that is delivered over the wires of traditional utilities. Customers who do not switch receive basic generation service from the utilities.
Since Jan. 1, dozens of suppliers have entered the retail market Peco Energy Co. serves, and 332,108 customers have switched, according to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Statewide, about 22 percent of customers have switched, mostly to suppliers that sell at a discount or market "green" power derived from renewable-energy sources.
But the marketing frenzy has contributed to an increase in complaints about deceptive, high-pressure sales tactics, including door-to-door salespeople masquerading as representatives of the traditional utility.
Educating consumers helps put pressure on bad actors, said Jay Kooper, a RESA official who on Monday presented the material at a Los Angeles conference of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.
"We need to have consumers having a positive experience from this," he said.
The association's advice:
Salespeople are required to identify themselves, and they must disclose the terms of their offer in writing.
Customers should not feel pressured to make decisions on the spot. If they do decide on the spot, they should be aware they are signing a legally binding contract.