N.J. Admin. Code § 14:8-9.10

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 14:8-9.10 - Consumer protection

(a) Board staff shall develop a standard registration form for subscriber organizations. Subscriber organizations shall be required to complete and submit this form at least 30 days prior to first doing community solar business operations in New Jersey. Failure to comply may result in a temporary or permanent prohibition from conducting business related to community solar in New Jersey. Subscriber organizations must submit the form only once, unless there is material change to the content of the registration form, at which time a new registration form must be submitted.

(b) Community solar subscriber organizations must comply with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations governing advertising, marketing, and fair business practices, including, but not limited to, N.J.A.C. 13:45A-9 and 13:45D and N.J.S.A. 56:8-2 and 48:3-85. Additionally, the following consumer protection measures shall apply to all subscriber organizations, and any agent, contractor, subcontractor, or affiliated person.

1. As to subscriptions, as follows;

i. Unless affirmatively allowed pursuant to N.J.A.C. 14:8-9.6(1), a connmunity solar subscriber may not be subscribed without their affirmative written consent, either through wet or electronic signature.

ii. If a subscriber organization uses electronic methods to sign up, renew, or switch subscribers, the subscriber organization shall comply with the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act, N.J.S.A. 12A:12-1 through 26.

iii. A subscriber organization may not add a new charge or make any other material change to the content of the contract or subscription without first obtaining affirmative written consent via wet or electronic signature from the subscriber, whether it be for a new service, existing service, or service option.

iv. Customers must be notified in writing within 30 days if the subscriber organization managing their subscription has changed;

2. As to nnarketing, advertising, and solicitations, as follows:

i. Subscriber organizations may market and advertise community solar project(s). Under no circumstances can subscriber organizations, or any agent, contractor, subcontractor, or affiliated person knowingly make false or misleading marketing claims or suggestions, engage in marketing or advertising practices that are unfair, misleading, or deceptive, or in any way violate consumer protection laws and/or rules implemented or enforced by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.

ii. Subscriber organizations shall provide information about the community solar projects that they are marketing in a prominent location on their websites, including projects' name, capacity, address, areas served, and projected or actual commercial operation date.

iii. Subscriber organizations or any agent, contractor, subcontractor, or affiliated person must clearly identify themselves by the name of the subscriber organization, as registered with the Board. They may not falsely represent themselves as another party, including an EDC or a New Jersey government entity, such as the "New Jersey Board of Public Utilities" or the "New Jersey Clean Energy Program."

iv. Subscriber organizations may not use high-pressure sales tactics, including, but not limited to, excessive number of communications, whether in-person, by phone, e-mail, mail, and/or other forms of communications.

v. Subscriber organizations shall comply with all Federal Trade Commission telemarketing rules, including, but not linnlted to, the restriction on telemarketing between the hours of 9:00 P.M. and 8:00 A.M., Eastern Standard Time.

vi. Subscriber organizations must include in all advertisements, marketing, or sales materials, a toll-free or local telephone number and a link to a website through which customers can obtain further information regarding the subscriber organizations' product and/or services.

vii. Subscriber organizations are prohibited from contacting a potential subscriber by telephone for the purpose of making an unsolicited advertisement, if the subscriber organization does not have an existing business relationship with the potential subscriber and the potential subscriber's telephone number appears on the no telemarketing call list established and maintained by the Division of Consumer Affairs, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 56:8-127 or any successor statute, or the national do-not-call registry as maintained by the Federal Trade Commission. Any violation of this provision shall be forwarded to the Division of Consumer Affairs for further investigation.

viii. Subscriber organizations shall not contact, market to, or engage potential subscribers prior to registration with the Board under (a) above;

3. As to contracts, as follows:

i. Contracts must contain a plain-language description of the subscription agreement, including the type of agreement, effective date of the contract, duration of the contract, a clear description of the amount and terms of payment of the subscription fee and underlying calculations, a good-faith written estimate of the savings a subscriber will realize net of the subscription fee or payment per year (or other applicable period) and the assumptions underlying such estimate, a clear description of the billing arrangements, and a complete list of any other fees, including, but not limited to, any applicable transfer and/or cancellation fees, due date for payment, late payment fees and the number of days after which a late payment fee may be applied, and any interest charges. The contract must also contain the specific conditions under which such penalties and/or fees can be imposed.

ii. Prices, whether in a quote or a contract, must include disclaimers that:

(1) Utility rates and projected savings are subject to change; and

(2) The Board does not regulate the price of community solar subscriptions, nor does it guarantee projected savings beyond the project's guaranteed minimum bill discount or the savings indicated in the project's application form.

iii. Under no circumstances shall the contract contain a statement or provision by which a subscriber waives any rights they have under New Jersey or Federal consumer protection laws, rules, and/or regulations. The contract also may not include provisions (sometimes referred to as "material change notices") that permit the subscriber organization to change material terms of the contract without the subscriber's affirmative consent, unless the change is required by operation of law. "Material terms of a contract" include, but are not limited to, terms regarding the price, deliverability, or time period of the contract.

iv. The use of robo-signing is prohibited: contracts must be signed either by a wet signature or by requiring the signer to take an affirmative action (at least a click) at each location in the document where the signatures and/or initials appear; if the signature is electronic, the software used must provide a digital certificate of the number of times each signature and set of initials was applied to the document.

v. Subscribers will have a seven-calendar-day rescission period, during which they may cancel their contract with no penalty. This rescission period must be clearly communicated to subscribers in the original signed contract.

vi. Contracts must include a toll-free or local telephone number and email address through which subscribers can request information, address complaints, and cancel or renew their subscription consistent with the terms of their contract.

vii. Subscribers must receive, via electronic means and/or mail, a copy of the signed applicable contract and disclosure statement, no later than two calendar days after signing the contract and disclosure statement;

4. As to disclosure statements, as follows;

i. Subscriber organizations must present a disclosure statement designed by Board staff to each community solar subscriber at the same time as their subscription contract. Each subscriber must sign an acknowledgement that they have received and read the disclosure statement.

ii. Disclosure statements are intended to provide subscribers with an accurate overview of the subscription contract and shall include a plain-language summary of key provisions from said community solar subscription contract.

iii. Disclosure statements must be made available to a subscriber in Spanish, upon request of the subscriber;

5. As to non-discrimination, as follows:

i. Subscriber organizations may not discriminate against any customer on the basis of race, origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, or engage in any other discriminatory practice.

ii. Subscriber organizations must apply uniform income, security deposit, and credit standards when deciding whether to offer a subscription to customers within a given customer class (low-income, moderate-income, or other). The subscriber organization may, however, apply separate sets of uniform standards for the purpose of promoting participation by low- and moderate-income residential customers.

iii. While a subscriber organization may market services on a geographic basis, they may not refuse to provide service to a customer based on the economic character of a geographic area or the collective credit reputation of the area;

6. As to inquiry and remediation, as follows;

i. Community solar developers, operators, owners, and/or subscriber organizations shall use good faith efforts to respond to and resolve all complaints promptly.

ii. The Board may revoke a subscriber organization's registration, as set forth under (a) above, resulting in a temporary or permanent prohibition from conducting business related to community solar in New Jersey, if said subscriber organization has been found by the Board to have engaged in fraud, deception, misrepresentation, false promise or pretense, repeated acts of negligence, submissions of incorrect or incomplete data, significantly deficient service, sales, or commercial practices that are unethical, misleading, or illegal, or having been engaged in and/or having been convicted of any crime or offensive action involving moral turpitude or relating adversely to the entity's or person's business.

7. As to document retention, as follows:

i. Signed contracts and disclosure forms, and the signed approval of any changes made to the original contract, must be kept by the subscriber organization for a minimum six years following the expiration of said contract, and be made available to the Board and Board staff upon request.

ii. Proof of eligibility for LMI subscribers must be collected by the subscriber organization and be kept by the subscriber organization for a minimum of six years following the expiration of the contract with said subscriber and be made available to the Board and Board staff upon request.

N.J. Admin. Code § 14:8-9.10

Adopted by 51 N.J.R. 232(a), effective 2/19/2019

Administrative Change, 51 N.J.R. 639(b).

Amended by 53 N.J.R. 2053(a), effective 12/6/2021

Amended by 56 N.J.R. 1990(d), effective 10/7/2024