The National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC) approved a draft amendment to the Retail Electricity Market Rules that proposes shortening the switching period between suppliers to one day under certain technical conditions.
“The new rules will give consumers greater freedom of choice, and suppliers — an incentive to compete for customers on price and service quality,” the statement said.
Timeframe and technical conditions for switching
The main innovation of the draft is the ability to change supplier within one day if the necessary technical conditions are met. Applications for switching are proposed to be processed so that the procedure takes no longer than a day, provided the network is ready.
There is no need to alter the power grid, and switching supplier will be free of charge, except in cases of early termination of certain contracts as provided by law. A debt or dispute with the previous supplier will not block the switch, although obligations under the previous contract will remain in force.
Group switches and demand management
The draft also provides that groups of household consumers will be able to switch supplier collectively and negotiate more favourable terms. This allows collective initiatives to negotiate tariffs and services with a supplier.
In addition, the document contains provisions for introducing European demand-management mechanisms that allow consumers to shift consumption from peak hours to periods of lower load. A reward is foreseen for changing the schedule or volumes of consumption in accordance with a contract with an aggregator.
