ORDER NUMBER
A-1-26
IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473
and
Summitt Energy BC LP
Third-Party Verification Scripts and Training Materials
BEFORE:
E. B. Lockhart, Commissioner
B. A. Magnan, Commissioner
W. E. Royle, Commissioner
on February 9, 2026
ORDER
WHEREAS:
A. By Order A-1-25 dated April 7, 2025, the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) approved the Tenth Revision of the Code of Conduct for Gas Marketers (Code of Conduct), and directed gas marketers to revise their third-party verification (TPV) scripts to reflect changes to Article 33 of the Code of Conduct;
B. On August 27, 2025, Summitt Energy BC LP (Summitt Energy) filed with the BCUC revised versions of its TPV scripts as part of its gas marketer licence renewal application;
C. On October 21, 2025, Summitt Energy filed a further revised version of its TPV script, intended for Summit Energy’s commercial customers (Commercial TPV Script);
D. In a separate proceeding, by Order G-239-25 dated October 1, 2025, the BCUC directed Summitt Energy, among other things, to review its training materials to ensure they align with the latest versions of the Code of Conduct and its gas marketer license and file any proposed updated versions of its training materials;
E. On October 31, 2025, Summitt Energy filed its revised training materials; and
F. The BCUC has reviewed Summitt Energy’s TPV scripts and revised training materials and finds the following determinations are warranted.
NOW THEREFORE pursuant to section 71.1 of the Utilities Commission Act, and for the reasons outlined in the decision accompanying this order, the BCUC orders as follows:
1. Summitt Energy is directed to file a revised version of the Commercial TPV Script incorporating the changes set out in Appendix A to this order with the BCUC by no later than Wednesday, February 25, 2026.
2. Summitt Energy is directed to amend its training materials to remove references to “the account holder’s spouse” and “the account holder’s common law spouse” as authorized parties to sign residential agreements and file the amended versions with the BCUC by no later than Wednesday, February 25, 2026.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 9th day of February 2026.
BY ORDER
Electronically signed by Bernard Magnan
B. A. Magnan
Commissioner
Attachment
Summitt Energy BC LP
Third-Party Verification Scripts
revisions to the Commercial tpv script
The changes to the Commercial TPV Script referenced in Directive 1 of Order A-1-26 are:
1. Split question no. 10 into two questions, one containing the confirmation of price and the other containing the confirmation of term.
2. Follow the applicable option below, as it relates to a green energy option available to Summitt Energy’s commercial customers:
a. If a green energy option is available to Summitt Energy’s commercial customers, add a question following confirmation of the price addressing the green energy option in the form of question no. 6 of TPV scripts for commercial consumers found in Article 33 of the Code of Conduct.
b. If a green energy option is not available to Summit Energy’s commercial customers, please state so in your response. The above revision 2(a) is not required in this case.
3. Remove the following struck out words from question no. 12: “Do you understand that you may or may not save money […]”.
Summitt Energy BC LP
Commercial Third-Party Verification Scripts and Training Materials
Decision
1.0 Commercial Third-Party Verification Scripts
On August 27, 2025, Summitt Energy BC LP (Summitt Energy) filed with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) revised versions of its third-party verification (TPV) scripts as part of its gas marketer licence renewal application. Additionally, on October 21, 2025, Summitt Energy filed a further revised version of its TPV script, intended for Summit Energy’s commercial customers (Commercial TPV Script). The filings were submitted to the BCUC in alignment with Order A-1-25 dated April 7, 2025, which contained updates to Article 33 of the Code of Conduct for Gas Marketers (Code of Conduct).
Panel Determination
Upon review, the Panel finds inconsistencies between the Commercial TPV Script and Article 33 of the Code of Conduct, specifically with respect to requirements 5, 6, and 8 as they relate to questions no. 6, 10, and 12 of the Commercial TPV Script. Therefore, the BCUC directs Summitt Energy to apply the changes outlined in Appendix A of this order and file the updated script with the BCUC by Wednesday, February 25, 2026.
2.0 Training Materials
On October 31, 2025, Summitt Energy filed with the BCUC proposed updated training materials, as directed by the BCUC in Order G-239-25 dated October 1, 2025. The training materials consist of two slide presentations titled “Summitt BC Training Module 2025” and “Summitt BC Sales Agent Compliance Training 2025.”
The proposed updated training materials provided by Summitt Energy refer to “the account holder’s spouse” and “the account holder’s common law spouse” as being authorized parties to sign residential agreements. These references occur on slide 29 of the submission titled “Summitt BC Training Module 2025” and on slide 13 of the submission titled “Summitt BC Sales Agent Compliance Training 2025.”
Article 22 of the Code of Conduct establishes, among other things, that gas marketers shall ensure that training for a salesperson includes adequate and accurate materials covering multiple topics, such as the content of the Code of Conduct and all relevant regulatory requirements. Pursuant to the Code of Conduct, spouse status by itself, does not grant authority to sign a gas marketer agreement on behalf of the account holder. Previous versions of the Code of Conduct listed “the account holder’s spouse” as an authorized party to enter into residential agreements. Since the ninth revision of the Code of Conduct, however, the account holder’s spouse is no longer an authorized party under Article 26.[1]
Article 26 reads, in part:
… The signatory and not the Salesperson, must complete the Title field to confirm the capacity, such as Account Holder or legally authorized representative, in which they are signing the Consumer’s Agreement…
[Emphasis added]
This does not mean that the spouse cannot sign customer choice agreements on behalf of the account holder, only that the authority to do so is not inherent to the spousal status but depends on whether the spouse is a legally authorized representative of the account holder. In this regard, the Panel notes that gas marketers must ensure that the signee has proper signing authority for the account holder, obtaining supporting documentation as appropriate.[2]
Panel Determination
The Panel finds that references in Summitt Energy’s training materials to “the account holder’s spouse” and “the account holder’s common law spouse” as authorized parties to sign residential agreements are inconsistent with the changes to the Code of Conduct as described above. Therefore, the Panel directs Summitt Energy to amend its training materials to remove references to “the account holder’s spouse” and “the account holder’s common law spouse” as authorized parties to sign residential agreements and file the amended versions with the BCUC by no later than Wednesday, February 25, 2026.
Dated at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 9th day of February 2026.
Electronically signed by Bernard Magnan
_________________________________
B. A. Magnan
Commissioner
Electronically signed by Blair Lockhart
_________________________________
E. B. Lockhart
Commissioner
Electronically signed by Wendy Royle
_________________________________
W. E. Royle
Commissioner