(a) Application. This section does not apply to a municipally owned utility where it offers retail electric power or energy outside its certificated service territory or to a retail electric provider (REP) that is an electric cooperative.
(b) Record retention.
  (1) Each REP and aggregator shall establish and maintain records and data that are sufficient to:
    (A) Verify its compliance with the requirements of any applicable commission rules; and
    (B) Support any investigation of customer complaints.
  (2) All records required by this subchapter shall be retained for no less than two years, unless otherwise specified.
  (3) Unless otherwise prescribed by the commission or its authorized representative, all records required by this subchapter shall be provided to the commission within 15 calendar days of its request.
(c) Annual reports. In its annual report, a REP shall report the information required by §25.107 of this title (relating to Certification of Retail Electric Providers (REPs)) to the commission and the Office of Public Utility Counsel (OPUC) and the following additional information on a form approved by the commission for the 12-month period ending December 31 of the prior year:
  (1) The number of residential customers served, by nine-digit zip code and census tract, by month;
  (2) The number of written denial of service notices issued by the REP, by month, by customer class, by nine-digit zip code and census tract;
  (3) The number and total aggregated dollar amount of deposits held by the REP, by month, by customer class, by nine-digit zip code and census tract;
  (4) Information relating to the REP's bill payment assistance program for residential electric customers required by §25.480(n)(1) of this title (relating to Bill Payment and Adjustments);
  (5) The number of complaints received by the REP from residential customers for the following categories by month, by nine-digit zip code and census tract:
    (A) Refusal of electric service, which shall include all complaints pertaining to the implementation of §25.477 of this title (relating to Refusal of Electric Service);
    (B) Marketing and quality of customer service, which shall include complaints relating to the interfaces between the customer and the REP, such as, but not limited to, call center hold time, responsiveness of customer service representatives, and implementation of §25.472 of this title (relating to Privacy of Customer Information), §25.475 of this title (relating to General REP Requirements and Information Disclosures to Residential and Small Commercial Customers), §25.473 of this title (relating to Non-English Language Requirements), §25.476 of this title (relating to Renewable and Green Energy Verification ), and §25.484 of this title (relating to Texas Electric No-Call List), and which shall not include issues for which the REP is not responsible, such as, but not limited to, power quality, outages, or technical failures of the registration agent;
    (C) Unauthorized charges, which shall encompass all complaints pertaining to §25.481 of this title (relating to Unauthorized Charges);
    (D) Enrollment, which shall encompass all complaints pertaining to the implementation of §25.474 of this title (relating to the Selection of Retail Electric Provider), §25.478 of this title (relating to Credit Requirements and Deposits), and §25.495 of this title (relating to Unauthorized Change of Retail Electric Provider);
    (E) Accuracy of billing services, which shall encompass all complaints pertaining to the implementation of §25.479 of this title (relating to Issuance and Format of Bills); and
    (F) Collection and service termination, and disconnection, which shall encompass all complaints pertaining to the implementation of §25.480 of this title, and §25.483 of this title (relating to Disconnection of Service).
  (6) In reporting the number of informal complaints received pursuant to paragraph (4) of this subsection, a REP may identify the number of complaints in which it has disputed categorization or assignment pursuant to the provisions set forth in §25.485 of this title (relating to Customer Access and Complaint Handling).
(d) Information regarding payment options and payment assistance programs. With its annual report, a REP shall include a statement containing the information described in §25.480(n) of this title to the extent such information is not included in the form approved by the commission pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
(e) Additional information. Upon written request by the commission, a REP or aggregator shall provide within 15 days any information, including but not limited to marketing information, necessary for the commission to investigate an alleged discriminatory practice prohibited by §25.471(c) of this title (relating to General Provisions of the Customer Protection Rules).

Source Note: The provisions of this §25.491 adopted to be effective January 15, 2001, 26 TexReg 125; amended to be effective June 1, 2004, 29 TexReg 4756; amended to be effective March 8, 2007, 32 TexReg 1286; amended to be effective November 3, 2009, 34 TexReg 7647; amended to be effective May 13, 2018, 43 TexReg 3001