Orders

ORDER NUMBER

G-139-25

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

and

Summitt Energy BC LP

Potential Non-Compliance with Code of Conduct for Gas Marketers

BEFORE:

B. A. Magnan, Commissioner

on June 10, 2025

ORDER

WHEREAS:

A.      On August 28, 2024, a customer, S.K. (Customer), filed with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) a dispute (Dispute) against Summitt Energy BC LP (Summitt). In the Dispute, the Customer requested to cancel a gas marketing agreement with Summitt signed on August 12, 2024, with a start date of November 1, 2024 (Agreement). The Customer indicated “Marketing: Misrepresentation – Term” as the reason for dispute, without further details;

B.      Summitt is a licensed gas marketer located in Burnaby, BC, with approximately 2,356 customers and operates as part of the Natural Gas Customer Choice Marketing Program in BC (Customer Choice);

C.      As a condition of its license, Summitt is required to abide by the Rules for Gas Marketers, approved by the BCUC on October 18, 2013, by Order A-12-13, and the Code of Conduct for Gas Marketers (Code of Conduct). The Ninth Revision (Amended) of the Code of Conduct was approved by Order A-12-23, effective December 18, 2023, and was in effect when the Agreement was signed;

D.      In accordance with the Customer Choice dispute process, Summitt filed with the BCUC its response to the Dispute, including the Third-Party Verification (TPV) call conducted with the customer in relation to the Agreement;

E.       A TPV consists of a digitally recorded telephone call, or electronic process, which must be conducted by a gas marketer after the signing of a contract, in order to receive verification from the customer regarding certain aspects of their enrolment and contract. The Code of Conduct governs the approved form of TPVs;

F.       On October 24, 2024, the Dispute was closed without adjudication after the BCUC was informed that the Customer had accepted Summitt’s offer to cancel the Agreement before its start date;

G.      As part of the Customer Choice dispute process BCUC staff reviewed the Dispute evidence and identified aspects of the content of the Agreement and Summitt’s conduct during the TPV call placed to the Customer that may have contravened the requirements of the Code of Conduct;

H.      BCUC staff prepared a report dated April 25, 2025, recommending that the BCUC hold a hearing to determine if Summitt contravened section 71.1(3) of the Utilities Commission Act by failing to comply with the Code of Conduct; and

I.         The BCUC has reviewed the matter and considers further process is warranted.

NOW THEREFORE the BCUC orders as follows:

1.       A public hearing process to determine whether Summitt is in breach of the Code of Conduct is established in accordance with the regulatory timetable attached as Appendix A to this order.

2.       Summitt is directed to provide notice of this order in a clearly visible location on the homepage of its website at: https://www.summitt.ca/ on or before Wednesday, June 18, 2025. The notice must remain in place until a final determination in this proceeding has been issued.

3.       Summitt is directed to provide written confirmation to the BCUC that it has provided notice of this order on its website pursuant to Directive 2 by Thursday, June 19, 2025.

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this      10^th       day of June 2025.

BY ORDER

Electronically signed by Bernard Magnan

B. A. Magnan

Commissioner

Attachment

Summitt Energy BC LP

Potential Non-Compliance with Code of Conduct for Gas Marketers