PROVIDENCE, RI – In a letter sent to the Division of Public Utilities & Carriers last week, Lt. Governor Dan McKee announced his plan to propose legislation that will further protect Rhode Island consumers who are doing business with alternate electric suppliers while protecting potential savings realized from this practice.
The goal of the legislation would be to ensure that any electric customer enrolling in a term plan with an alternate supplier will be dis-enrolled from the alternate supplier at the end of the term to protect customers from being placed on a costlier rate plan. Under McKee's proposal, customers would automatically return to the Standard Offer if they take no action. Once returned to the Standard Offer, customers can switch to another supplier without facing a penalty.
"Enacting this legislation is a natural next step in the effort to protect consumers while ensuring they can take advantage of utility savings," said McKee. "Individuals who are using the state's Empower RI website to choose a competitive supplier and those paying attention to the required contract notifications are benefiting from significant savings on their electric bills. We do not want to see these savings eliminated. Instead, we are making this proposal to protect consumers who may not be using Empower RI or paying close attention to their contract terms."