Advocacy Filings

FTC staff filed a comment supporting NACHA’s proposal to strengthen its rules to monitor bank debit transactions conducted through the Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) Network, including those that have been most closely associated with consumer fraud. The comment also urged NACHA to make clear that its thresholds do not represent an acceptable level for returns, but rather are a signal that enhanced scrutiny of a merchant’s business is warranted.

FTC staff submitted a comment in response to the District of Columbia Public Service Commission’s (DC PSC) request for comments on Potomac Electric Power Company’s (Pepco’s) proposed dynamic pricing program for residential customers. The comment encouraged DC PSC to adopt the proposal as a constructive initial step toward improving the efficiency of the electric system in a way that can benefit many customers, but also leave the existing price structure in place for customers who do not (or cannot) respond to the efficiency incentives. It also recommended that DC PSC periodically review the effects of the proposed approach, with a focus on the accuracy of the price signals being conveyed, consumer participation in and satisfaction with the program, and methods to enhance consumer participation and satisfaction. The comment further recommended that DC PSC ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place with respect to the personal information that smart meters generate about customers and ensure that entities that receive such personal information protect it appropriately.

FTC staff submitted a comment before the Public Service Commission (PSC) of the State of Delaware, in response to a request for comments on a proposal to revise its rules for certifying and regulating electricity suppliers. The staff comment noted the potential benefits of dynamic pricing, and encouraged the PSC to consider the potential costs associated with a proposal to require electricity suppliers to give customers at least five days’ advance notice of price changes. The comment identified alternatives to a five-day notice period that would provide consumers with the benefits of dynamic pricing via devices such as “smart meters” while assuring that consumers have accurate and timely electricity price information. The comment recommended that, if the PSC chooses to implement such alternatives, it could also require special prominence for disclosures pertaining to price variability and early termination charges in residential retail electricity sales contracts involving variable rates.