16 Tex. Admin. Code § 22.242 - Complaints
(a) Records of complaints. Any affected
person may complain to the commission, either in writing or by telephone,
setting forth any act or thing done or omitted to be done by any person under
the jurisdiction of the commission in violation or claimed violation of any law
which the commission has jurisdiction to administer or of any order, ordinance,
rule, or regulation of the commission. The commission staff may request a
complaint made by telephone be put in writing if necessary to complete
investigation of the complaint. The commission shall keep information about
each complaint filed with the commission. The commission shall retain the
information in conformance with the agency's records retention schedule as
approved by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. The information
shall include:
(1) the date the complaint is
received;
(2) the name of the
complainant;
(3) the subject matter
of the complaint;
(4) a record of
all persons contacted in relation to the complaint;
(5) a summary of the results of the review or
investigation of the complaint; and
(6) for complaints for which the commission
took no action, an explanation of the reason the complaint was closed without
action.
(b) Access to
complaint records. The commission shall keep a file about each written
complaint filed with the commission that the commission has the authority to
resolve. The commission shall provide to the person filing the complaint and to
the persons or entities complained about the commission's policies and
procedures pertaining to complaint investigation and resolution. The
commission, at least quarterly and until final disposition of the complaint,
shall notify the person filing the complaint and each person or entity
complained of about the status of the complaint unless the notice would
jeopardize an undercover investigation.
(c) Informal resolution required in certain
cases. A person must present a complaint to the commission for informal
resolution before presenting the complaint to the commission.
(1) Exceptions. A complainant may present a
formal complaint to the commission, without first referring the complaint for
informal resolution, if:
(A) the complainant
is commission staff, the Office of Public Utility Counsel, or any
city;
(B) the complaint is filed by
a qualifying facility and concerns rates paid by an electric utility for power
provided by the qualifying facility, the terms and conditions for the purchase
of such power, or any other matter that affects the relations between an
electric utility and a qualifying facility;
(C) the complaint is filed by a person
alleging that an electric utility or a telecommunications utility has engaged
in anti-competitive practices;
(D)
the complaint has been the subject of a complaint proceeding conducted by a
city;
(E) the complaint is filed by
a person alleging that a water or sewer utility has abandoned the service of
the utility; or
(F) the complaint
is filed by a person alleging that a wholesale water or sewer provider has
discontinued, reduced, or impaired its wholesale water or sewer service to its
customers for reasons other than those specified in § 24.88 of this title
(relating to Discontinuance of Service).
(2) For any complaint that is not listed in
paragraph (1) of this subsection, the complainant may submit to the commission
a written request for waiver of the requirement for attempted informal
resolution. The complainant shall clearly state the reasons informal resolution
is not appropriate. The commission staff may grant the request for good
cause.
(d) Termination
of informal resolution. The commission staff shall attempt to informally
resolve all complaints within 35 days of the date of receipt of the complaint.
The commission staff shall notify, in writing, the complainant and the person
against whom the complainant is seeking relief of the status of the dispute at
the end of the 35-day period. If the dispute has not been resolved to the
complainant's satisfaction within 35 days, the complainant may present the
complaint to the commission. The commission staff shall notify the complainant
of the procedures for formally presenting a complaint to the
commission.
(e) Formal Complaint.
If an attempt at informal resolution fails, or is not required under subsection
(c) of this section, the complainant may present a formal complaint to the
commission.
(1) Requirement to present
complaint concerning electric, water, or sewer utility to a city. If a person
receives electric, water, or sewer utility service or has applied to receive
electric, water, or sewer utility service within the limits of a city that has
original jurisdiction over the electric, water, or sewer utility providing
service or requested to provide service, the person must present any complaint
concerning the electric, water, or sewer utility to the city before presenting
the complaint to the commission.
(A) The
person may present the complaint to the commission after:
(i) the city issues a decision on the
complaint; or
(ii) the city issues
a statement that it will not consider the complaint or a class of complaints
that includes the person's complaint.
(B) If the city does not act on the complaint
within 30 days, the commission may send the city a letter requesting that the
city act on the complaint. If the city does not respond or act within 30 days
from the date of the letter, the complaint shall be deemed denied by the city
and the commission shall consider the complaint.
(2) The commission staff may permit a
complainant to cure any deficiencies under this subsection and may waive any of
the requirements of this subsection for good cause, if the waiver will not
materially affect the rights of any other party. A formal complaint shall
include the following information:
(A) the
name of the complainant or complainants;
(B) the name of the complainant's
representative, if any;
(C) the
address, telephone number, and facsimile transmission number, if available,
and, unless the person has filed a statement under §
22.106 of this title (relating to
Statement of No Access), the email address of the complainant or the
complainant's representative;
(D)
the name of the person against whom the complainant is seeking
relief;
(E) if the complainant is
seeking relief against an electric, water, or sewer utility, a statement of
whether the complaint relates to service that the complainant is receiving
within the limits of a city;
(F) if
the complainant is seeking relief against an electric, water, or sewer utility
within the limits of a city, a description of any complaint proceedings
conducted by the city, including the outcome of those proceedings;
(G) a statement of whether the complainant
has attempted informal resolution through the commission staff and the date on
which the informal resolution was completed or the time for attempting the
informal resolution elapsed;
(H) a
description of the facts that gave rise to the complaint; and
(I) a statement of the relief that the
complainant is seeking.
(f) Copies to be provided. A complainant
shall file the required number of copies of the formal complaint as required by
§
22.71 of this title (relating to
Filing of Pleadings, Documents, and Other Materials). A complainant shall
provide a copy of the formal complaint to the person from whom relief is
sought.
(g) Docketing of
complaints. Any complaint that substantially complies with the requirements of
this section shall be docketed.
(h)
Continuation of service during processing of complaint. In any case in which a
formal complaint has been filed and an allegation is made that a person is
threatening to discontinue a customer's service, the presiding officer may,
after notice and opportunity for hearing, issue an order requiring the person
to continue to provide service during the processing of the complaint. The
presiding officer may issue such an order for good cause, on such terms as may
be reasonable to preserve the rights of the parties during the processing of
the complaint.
(i) List of cities
without regulatory authority. The commission shall maintain and make available
to the public a list of the municipalities that do not have exclusive original
jurisdiction over all electric rates, operations, and services provided by an
electric utility within its city or town limits and a list of the
municipalities that have surrendered to the commission original jurisdiction
over the rates charged by a utility for retail water or sewer service within
the corporate boundaries of the municipality.
Notes
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