16 Tex. Admin. Code § 25.8 - Classification System for Violations of Statutes, Rules, and Orders Applicable to Electric Service Providers
(a)
Purpose. The purpose of this rule is to establish a classification system for
violations of the Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA) and related commission
rules and orders, and to establish a range of penalties that may be assessed
for each class of violations.
(b)
Classification system.
(1) Class C violations.
(A) Penalties for Class C violations may not
exceed $1,000 per violation per day.
(B) The following violations are Class C
violations:
(i) failure to file a report or
provide information required to be submitted to the commission under this
chapter within the timeline required;
(ii) failure by an electric utility, retail
electric provider, or aggregator to investigate a customer complaint and
appropriately report the results within the timeline required;
(iii) failure to update information relating
to a registration or certificate by the commission within the timeline
required; and
(iv) a violation of
the Electric no-call list.
(2) Class B violations.
(A) Penalties for Class B violations may not
exceed $5,000 per violation per day.
(B) All violations not specifically
enumerated as a Class C or Class A violation are Class B violations.
(3) Class A violations.
(A) Each separate violation of PURA
§35.0021, PURA §38.075, or a commission rule or commission order
adopted under PURA §35.0021 or PURA §38.075 is a Class A violation
and the administrative penalty will not exceed $1,000,000 per violation per
day. Penalties for all other Class A violations will not exceed $25,000 per
violation per day.
(B) The
following types of violations are Class A violations if they create economic
harm in excess of $5,000 to a person or persons, property, or the environment,
or create an economic benefit to the violator in excess of $5,000; create a
hazard or potential hazard to the health or safety of the public; or cause a
risk to the reliability of a transmission or distribution system or a portion
thereof.
(i) A violation related to the
wholesale electric market, including protocols and other requirements
established by an independent organization;
(ii) A violation related to electric service
quality standards or reliability standards established by the commission or an
independent organization;
(iii) A
violation related to the code of conduct between electric utilities and their
competitive affiliates;
(iv) A
violation related to prohibited discrimination in the provision of electric
service;
(v) A violation related to
improper disconnection of electric service;
(vi) A violation related to fraudulent,
unfair, misleading, deceptive, or anticompetitive business practices;
(vii) Conducting business subject to the
jurisdiction of the commission without proper commission authorization,
registration, licensing, or certification;
(viii) A violation committed by
ERCOT;
(ix) A violation not
otherwise enumerated in this paragraph (3)(B) of this subsection that creates a
hazard or potential hazard to the health or safety of the public;
(x) A violation not otherwise enumerated in
this paragraph (3)(B) of this subsection that creates economic harm to a person
or persons, property, or the environment in excess of $5,000, or creates an
economic benefit to the violator in excess of $5,000; and
(xi) A violation not otherwise enumerated in
this paragraph (3)(B) of this subsection that causes a risk to the reliability
of a transmission or distribution system or a portion thereof.
(c)
Application of enforcement provisions of other rules. To the extent that PURA
or other rules in this chapter establish a range of administrative penalties
that are inconsistent with the penalty ranges provided for in subsection (b) of
this section, the other provisions control with respect to violations of those
rules.
(d) Assessment of
administrative penalties. In addition to the requirements of §
22.246 of this title (relating to
Administrative Penalties), a notice of violation recommending administrative
penalties will indicate the class of violation.
Notes
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