The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) today approved a settlement agreement in the formal complaint proceeding against Universal Gas & Electric Corporation (UGE) that resolves almost all issues.  The Commission also said the docket in this case will remain open until the MPSC is satisfied that the terms of the settlement have been fully implemented.

In addition, the MPSC today said it will begin a contested case to determine whether any clarifications, revisions, or additions should be made to certain sections of gas choice tariffs.  The Commission invites interested parties to submit their comments in this case (Case No. U-15929).

" I am pleased to announce that approval of this settlement brings closure to a longstanding and contentious complaint the MPSC staff filed on behalf of gas choice customers against Universal relating to the company's past marketing practices and tariff compliance efforts," said MPSC Chairman Orjiakor Isiogu.  "The Commission is confident that actions to be taken as a result of this comprehensive agreement will remedy the past practices that the MPSC staff found most troublesome.  Changes, when implemented, should greatly improve future Universal marketing practices and product offerings. Furthermore, lessons learned from this experience should be instructive in guiding future Commission actions to strengthen important customer protections and thus enhance success of the Michigan Gas Customer Choice Program."

Today's approved settlement agreement requires UGE to:

·         offer to terminate - without charge - contracts with certain customers or, alternatively, provide a $50 credit to these customers who choose to remain with UGE.

·         reimburse certain customers for their time and costs associated with litigating this case.

·         reimburse the State of Michigan $300,000 for the indeterminate costs of the investigation.

·         submit its marketing materials to the MPSC staff for review and to change certain products and marketing practices.  Specifically, the company agrees:

o        to limit its gas supply contracts to one and two year terms and to limit its cancellation fees to $50 - for early cancellation of a one-year contract - and $100 for early cancellation of a two-year contract.[1]         

o        to revise its contract language to more specifically indicate that the terms and conditions of the contract are set forth in the New User Guide distributed with the contract.

o        as part of its recorded telephone verification calls, UGE will separately ask customers whether they received a copy of the contract with the New User Guide, and whether the customer received these materials at the same time. 

o        to assure that the customer responds affirmatively on telephone verification calls.

o        to allow customers to cancel their contracts over the phone without the need for making the request in a separate written document.            

In opening a new docket (Case No. U-15929) to investigate whether changes should be made to other previously approved gas choice tariffs, the MPSC asks interested persons to e-mail comments to mpscedockets@michigan.gov.  Written comments should be mailed to the Executive Secretary, Michigan Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 30221, Lansing, MI  48909.  All comments should reference Case No. U-15929 and must be received by 5 p.m. on September 15.  All information submitted to the Commission in this matter will become public information, available on the Commission's Web site, and subject to disclosure.

The MPSC is an agency within the Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth.

Case No. U-15509 et al.

[1] These contractual provisions will not be applicable to the termination fee that UGE may charge commercial accounts using in excess of 2,000 hundred-cubic feet (Ccf) of natural gas per year.