§ 7-507. License required to engage in electricity supplier business
West's Annotated Code of MarylandPublic UtilitiesEffective: June 1, 2021
West's Annotated Code of Maryland
Public Utilities (Refs & Annos)
Division I. Public Services and Utilities [Titles 1-15] (Refs & Annos)
Title 7. Gas, Electric, and Water Companies (Refs & Annos)
Subtitle 5. Electric Industry Restructuring (Refs & Annos)
Part II. Electric Industry Restructuring Enabled (Refs & Annos)
Effective: June 1, 2021
MD Code, Public Utilities, § 7-507
Formerly cited as MD PUBLIC UTIL COMP § 7-507
§ 7-507. License required to engage in electricity supplier business
(a) A person, other than an electric company providing standard offer service under § 7-510(c) of this subtitle, a municipal electric utility serving customers solely in its distribution territory, or a community choice aggregator under § 7-510.3 of this subtitle, may not engage in the business of an electricity supplier in the State unless the person holds a license issued by the Commission.
(b) An application for an electricity supplier license shall:
(c) The Commission shall, by regulation or order:
(d) A license issued under this section may not be transferred without prior Commission approval.
(e) The Commission shall adopt regulations or issue orders to:
(f) In accordance with regulations or orders of the Commission, electricity bills, for competitive and regulated electric services, provided to consumers may provide, in addition to the requirements of § 7-505(b)(5) of this subtitle and subsection (e)(2) of this section, the following information:
(g)(1) An electricity supplier or any person or governmental unit may not, without first obtaining the customer's permission:
(h)(1) An electricity supplier may not discriminate against any customer based wholly or partly on race, color, creed, national origin, or sex of an applicant for service or for any arbitrary, capricious, or unfairly discriminatory reason.
(i) An electricity supplier shall be subject to all applicable federal and State environmental laws and regulations.
(j) An electricity supplier shall post on the Internet information that is readily understandable about its services and rates for small commercial and residential electric customers.
(k)(1) The Commission may revoke or suspend the license of an electricity supplier, impose a civil penalty or other remedy, order a refund or credit to a customer, or impose a moratorium on adding or soliciting additional customers by the electricity supplier, for just cause on the Commission's own investigation or on complaint of the Office of People's Counsel, the Attorney General, or an affected party.
(l)(1) An electricity supplier or person selling or offering to sell electricity in the State in violation of this section, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, is subject to:
(m) In connection with a consumer complaint or Commission investigation under this section, an electricity supplier shall provide to the Commission access to any accounts, books, papers, and documents which the Commission considers necessary to resolve the matter at issue.
(n) The Commission may order the electricity supplier to cease adding or soliciting additional customers or to cease serving customers in the State.
(o) The Commission shall consult with the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Attorney General before issuing regulations designed to protect consumers.
(p) The People's Counsel shall have the same authority in licensing, complaint, and dispute resolution proceedings as it has in Title 2 of this article.
(q) Nothing in this subtitle may be construed to affect the authority of the Division of Consumer Protection in the Office of the Attorney General to enforce violations of Titles 13 and 14 of the Commercial Law Article or any other applicable State law or regulation in connection with the activities of electricity suppliers.
Credits
Added by Acts 1999, c. 3, § 1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 1999, c. 4, § 1, eff. July 1, 1999. Amended by Acts 2001, c. 662, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2001; Acts 2010, c. 52, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2010; Acts 2016, c. 134, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2016; Acts 2021, c. 449, § 2, eff. June 1, 2021.
MD Code, Public Utilities, § 7-507, MD PUBLIC UTIL § 7-507
Current with all legislation from the 2023 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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