APPROVED CHAPTER
JUNE 8, 2021 108
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE
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H.P. 371 - L.D. 508
An Act To Improve Regulation of Door-to-door Marketing of Retail Energy
Supply
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §102, sub-§4-C is enacted to read:
4-C. Door-to-door sales. "Door-to-door sales" means the practice by which a
representative of a competitive electricity provider, including a 3rd-party sales agent,
solicits or sells electric services to residential or small commercial consumers by means of
personal visits to consumers at locations other than the representative's place of business.
"Door-to-door sales" does not include sales conducted entirely by mail, telephone or other
electronic means; sales conducted during a scheduled appointment at a consumer's
residence or place of business; or sales conducted following an initial contact that was
solicited by the consumer.
Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §102, sub-§19-A is enacted to read:
19-A. Third-party sales agent. "Third-party sales agent" means a person or entity
that has a business relationship with a competitive electricity provider in which the person
or entity conducts or arranges to conduct residential or small commercial consumer sales
of electricity to the public at retail on behalf of the competitive electricity provider through
door-to-door sales. "Third-party sales agent" does not include an employee of a
competitive electricity provider.
Sec. 3. 35-A MRSA §1508-A, sub-§1, ¶B-1 is enacted to read:
B-1. In addition to any penalty imposed on a competitive electricity provider under
paragraph A or B, the commission may:
(1) For a willful violation of this Title by any 3rd-party sales agent undertaking
the retail sale or marketing of electricity on behalf of a competitive electricity
provider, impose an additional administrative penalty on the competitive electricity
provider in an amount that does not exceed $5,000 or .25% of the annual gross
revenue that the 3rd-party sales agent received from sales and commissions in the
State. Each day a violation continues constitutes a separate offense. The maximum
administrative penalty for any related series of violations may not exceed $500,000
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 or 5% of the annual gross revenue that 3rd-party sales agent received from sales
and commissions in the State, whichever amount is lower; and
(2) For a violation in which a 3rd-party sales agent was explicitly notified by the
commission that it was not in compliance with the requirements of this Title, a
commission rule or a commission order and that failure to comply could result in
the imposition of administrative penalties or the termination of the 3rd-party sales
agent's registration, impose an administrative penalty that does not exceed
$500,000 and may terminate the registration of the 3rd-party sales agent.
Sec. 4. 35-A MRSA §1508-A, sub-§1, ¶C, as amended by PL 2011, c. 623, Pt. B,
§5, is further amended to read:
C. The commission may impose an administrative penalty in an amount that does not
exceed $1,000 on any person that is not a public utility, voice service provider, dark
fiber provider, wholesale competitive local exchange carrier or a, competitive
electricity provider or 3rd-party sales agent undertaking the retail sale or marketing of
electricity on behalf of a competitive electricity provider and that violates this Title, a
commission rule or a commission order. Each day a violation continues constitutes a
separate offense. The administrative penalty may not exceed $25,000 for any related
series of violations.
Sec. 5. 35-A MRSA §3203, as amended by PL 2017, c. 74, §1, is further amended
to read:
§3203. Licensing of competitive electricity providers; consumer protections;
enforcement
1. Authority. In order to provide effective competition in the market for the
generation and sale of electricity in the State and to provide an orderly transition from the
current form of regulation to retail access, the commission shall license competitive
electricity providers in accordance with this section.
2. Requirements. A competitive electricity provider may not undertake the sale of
electricity at retail in this State without first receiving a license from the commission.
Before approving a license application, the commission must receive from the applicant:
A. Evidence of financial capability sufficient to refund deposits to retail customers in
the case of bankruptcy or nonperformance or for any other reason;
B. Evidence of the ability to enter into binding interconnection arrangements with
transmission and distribution utilities;
C. Disclosure of all pending legal actions and customer complaints filed against the
competitive electricity provider at a regulatory body other than the commission in the
12 months prior to the date of license application;
D. Evidence of the ability to satisfy the renewable resource portfolio requirement
established under section 3210;
E. Disclosure of the names and corporate addresses of all affiliates of the applicant;
and
F. Evidence that the applicant is registered with the State Tax Assessor as a seller of
tangible personal property pursuant to Title 36, section 1754‑B, together with a
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 statement that the applicant agrees to be responsible for the collection and remission of
taxes in accordance with Title 36, Part 3 on all taxable sales of electricity made by the
applicant to consumers located in this State.;
G. Disclosure of the names and corporate addresses of all 3rd-party sales agents
proposed to be used by the applicant, in a form to be prescribed by the commission.
The disclosure must include:
(1) A sworn statement by each proposed 3rd-party sales agent attesting to the 3rd-
party sales agent's understanding of its compliance obligations with the State's
door-to-door sales law, the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act and the applicable
commission rules;
(2) Any transient seller license number issued to each proposed 3rd-party sales
agent by the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation pursuant to Title
32, chapter 128, subchapter 2;
(3) All pending legal actions and customer complaints filed against each proposed
3rd-party sales agent at a regulatory body other than the commission in the 12
months prior to the date of the applicable license application; and
(4) Any other information the commission determines is necessary; and
H. An acknowledgement by each 3rd-party sales agent proposed to be used by the
applicant of the 3rd-party sales agent's submission to the jurisdiction of the
commission.
A 3rd-party sales agent undertaking the retail sale or marketing of electricity in the State
may not engage in any sales or marketing activity unless the 3rd-party sales agent has been
registered by the commission as part of the licensing process of a competitive electricity
provider in accordance with this subsection. The commission shall provide a registration
number to a 3rd-party sales agent proposed to be used by a competitive electricity provider
in the competitive electricity provider's application for a license.
The commission shall consider the need for requiring and, if it determines there is a need,
may require a competitive electricity provider to file a bond with the commission as
evidence of financial ability to withstand market disturbances or other events that may
increase the cost of providing service or to provide for uninterrupted service to its
customers if a competitive electricity provider stops service.
3. Informational filings Filings; public information. The commission shall
establish by rule information disclosure and filing requirements for competitive electricity
providers. The rules must require a competitive electricity provider to submit updated
disclosures of 3rd-party sales agents prior to any agent undertaking any activities on behalf
of the provider in order to maintain the accuracy of the information required pursuant to
subsection 2, paragraphs G and H and to require the registration of a 3rd-party sales agent
not already registered by the commission. The rules must require generation providers to
file their generally available rates, terms and conditions with the commission. The
commission, subject to appropriate protective orders, may require the submission of
individual service contracts or any other confidential information from a competitive
electricity provider.
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The commission by rule shall establish standards for making available, through any means
considered appropriate, information that enhances consumers' ability to effectively make
choices in a competitive electricity market.
Rules adopted under this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter
375, subchapter 2‑A.
4. Consumer protection provisions. As a condition of licensing, a competitive
electricity provider that provides or proposes to provide generation service to a residential
consumer or to a small commercial consumer:
A. May not terminate generation service without at least 30-day prior notice to the
consumer;
B. Must Shall offer service to the consumer for a minimum period of 30 days;
C. Must Shall allow the consumer to rescind selection of the competitive electricity
provider orally or in writing within 5 days of initial selection receipt of the first bill or
invoice from the competitive electricity provider, which the consumer is responsible
for paying in full;
D. Must Shall comply with all federal and state laws, federal regulations and state rules
regarding the prohibition or limitation of telemarketing;
E. Must Shall provide to the consumer within 30 days of contracting for retail service
a disclosure of information provided to the commission pursuant to rules adopted under
subsection 3 in a standard written format established by the commission; and
F. Must Shall comply with any other applicable standards or requirements adopted by
the commission by rule or order.;
G. May not enter, or allow any of the provider's 3rd-party sales agents on the provider's
behalf, to enter into an agreement to provide service to a residential or small
commercial consumer when that service is solicited using door-to-door sales without
providing the consumer with a standard disclosure form that meets the requirements of
this paragraph. The standard disclosure form requirements include, but are not limited
to, the following:
(1) A type size that is no less than 14 points;
(2) Contact information, including the telephone numbers for the competitive
electricity provider, the commission and the Office of the Public Advocate;
(3) A telephone number and publicly accessible website where the consumer may
obtain information on the current standard-offer service rate and expiration date
and the publicly accessible website for electricity supply information available
through the Office of the Public Advocate;
(4) Information regarding the consumer's right to rescind service as provided in
paragraph C;
(5) The registration number of the 3rd-party sales agent issued by the commission
pursuant to subsection 2 and any transient seller's license number issued by the
Department of Professional and Financial Regulation pursuant to Title 32, chapter
128, subchapter 2; and
(6) Any other information the commission determines is necessary; and
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 H. Shall comply with all federal and state laws, federal regulations and state rules
regarding the prohibition or limitation on door-to-door sales.
For purposes of this subsection, "residential consumer" means a consumer defined as
residential under the terms and conditions of the consumer's transmission and distribution
utility. For purposes of this subsection, "small commercial consumer" means, in the case
of a consumer served by an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility, a
nonresidential consumer that meets the availability criteria to take service under a core
customer class of the transmission and distribution utility that does not pay a demand
charge to the transmission and distribution utility or, in the case of a consumer served by a
consumer-owned transmission and distribution utility, a nonresidential consumer with a
demand of 20 kilowatts or less.
4-A. General consumer protections. As a condition of licensing, a competitive
electricity provider:
A. Shall obtain a consumer's authorization before serving the consumer;
B. May not release to any other entity, other than for purposes of debt collection or
credit reporting pursuant to state and federal law or to law enforcement agencies
pursuant to lawful process, any personal information regarding a customer, including
name, address, telephone number, usage and historical payment information, without
the consent of the customer;
C. Must Shall comply with the provisions of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act,
Title 5, chapter 10;
D. May not collect or seek to collect unreasonable costs from a customer who is in
default;
E. Must Shall comply with all applicable provisions of the federal Equal Credit
Opportunity Act, 15 United States Code, Sections 1691 to 1691f;
F. Must Shall comply with all federal and state laws, federal regulations and state rules
regarding the prohibition or limitation of telemarketing; and
H. Must Shall comply with any other applicable standards or requirements established
by the commission by rule.
4-B. Residential consumer protections. As a condition of licensing, a competitive
electricity provider that provides or proposes to provide generation service to a residential
consumer:
A. Shall disclose, before entering into an agreement to provide service to a residential
consumer, to the residential consumer where the residential consumer can obtain
information with which to compare the service provided by the competitive electricity
provider and the standard-offer service;
B. May not renew a contract for generation service without providing a residential
consumer with notice of renewal in advance by mail;
C. May not renew a contract for generation service at a fixed rate that is 20% or more
above the contract rate in the expiring contract without the express consent of the
residential consumer;
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 D. May not renew a contract for generation service for a term that is longer than the
term of the expiring contract or 12 months, whichever is shorter, without the express
consent of the residential consumer; and
E. May not impose an early termination fee for any contract for generation service that
was renewed without express consent from the residential consumer.
If a residential consumer does not provide the express consent required by paragraphs C
and D, the residential consumer must be transferred to standard-offer service.
4-C. Residential consumer protection through transmission and distribution
utility bill information. The monthly utility bill for a residential consumer that elects to
receive generation service from a competitive electricity provider must contain the
following:
A. A website address or other resource that residential consumers can access to obtain
information that provides independent information as determined by the commission
that allows residential consumers to compare terms, conditions and rates of electricity
supply; and
B. A statement that directs the residential consumer to the competitive electricity
provider for more information on the residential consumer's contract, including its
terms, and that provides the telephone number of the competitive electricity provider.
5. Licensing renewals and revocations. Consistent with all applicable requirements
of Title 5, chapter 375, the commission may limit the duration and effectiveness of a license
to a specified term, may conduct proceedings for the renewal of licenses and may conduct
proceedings for the revocation of a license when a requirement of this section has not been
complied with by a competitive electricity provider. The commission shall adopt rules
governing the procedures for issuing or revoking a license under this section and related
matters.
6. Consumer protection standards; rules. The commission shall establish by rule
consumer protection standards and standards to protect and promote market competition in
order to protect retail consumers of electricity from fraud and other unfair and deceptive
business practices. The commission shall prohibit, by rule, a competitive electricity
provider or a 3rd-party sales agent from representing itself as an alternative to or affiliated
in any way with a transmission and distribution utility. Notwithstanding Title 32, chapter
69, subchapter 5 or Title 32, section 14716, the commission may provide by rule that a
competitive electricity provider or a 3rd-party sales agent may satisfy the requirements of
subsection 4‑A, paragraph A by obtaining from the customer oral authorization obtained
by an independent 3rd party.
7. Penalties. The commission may impose administrative penalties upon a
compet