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All states · Electric and gas

Switched electric supplier without permission? What to do

By Dr. Matthew Crowley

· 14 min read

Checked against: the official prices in each of the 18 states it covers. How we get our prices

You open your electric or gas bill and see a company name you don't know. You never signed up with anyone. Were you switched without your permission?

If nobody in your home said yes, that is called slamming. State rules require a company to get your OK before it switches you. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) puts it plainly: "Your electric service should not be switched without your permission. This is called 'slamming,' and it is illegal."

But a strange name on the bill isn't always slamming. Here is how to tell in a few minutes, what to do if you were slammed, and who to call in your state.

One common reason is a town program. Look yours up on our Ohio town electric programs or Illinois town electric programs lists.

Was I slammed? Three reasons a name shows up

  1. Your town signed everyone up. Many cities and towns buy power for everyone at once. You were mailed a letter first. This is legal, and you can leave.
  2. Someone in the home said yes. A caller or a seller at the door got a "yes," maybe without it sounding like a switch. That isn't slamming, but you can still leave.
  3. Nobody said yes. That is slamming. Start with the steps right below.

Not sure which one? The two harmless reasons are explained further down. If you can't tell, treat it as slamming and call your utility. It costs nothing to ask.

First, a few words

  • Your utility is the company that owns the wires or gas pipes. Ohio Edison, PECO, Con Edison and Nicor Gas are examples. It delivers your power or gas, reads your meter and fixes outages.
  • A supplier is a company that sells the electricity or gas itself, at its own price. If you have one, its name usually shows in the supply part of your utility bill.
  • Your utility's standard price is what you pay if you never picked a supplier. Your bill may call it the Price to Compare, Standard Offer, Basic Service or another name.

Having a supplier doesn't change your wires, pipes or service. It only changes the price for part of your bill.

Two things can fool you before you even start:

  • In Texas, and in the Atlanta Gas Light area of Georgia, everyone buys from a company they pick. The wires company (like Oncor or CenterPoint) and Atlanta Gas Light don't sell plans. So a company name on your bill is normal there. The only question is whether it's the company you chose.
  • A few utilities print a company name even on the standard price. Columbia Gas of Ohio, for example, shows a supplier's name on the bill of people who never switched. A name alone doesn't mean you signed up. Judy checks the price against the standard price to tell the difference.

If you were switched without permission: what to do

  1. Call your utility. Use the number on your bill, not a number from a letter or a caller. Ask: "When was my account switched, and by which company?" Say you didn't agree to it, and ask to be switched back. (In Texas or the Atlanta area, where there is no standard price, ask to go back to the company you had before.)
  2. Ask to have the charges fixed. The Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC) says to ask "for any charges related to the unwanted switch to be removed from your bill." It's fair to ask that in any state.
  3. Call your state's utility office. The table below has the number. Do it soon: in Ohio, the time you take matters (see below).
  4. Write it all down. The date, the name of each person you talk with, and any reference number.
  5. Guard your account number. That number is what lets someone switch you. (In Texas it's the ESI ID on your bill.) Don't read it to callers or show your bill at the door.

What the rules say you get back

  • Ohio: if you tell the PUCO within 30 days after the slammer's bill, the rule says you don't have to pay the slammer's current charges while the PUCO checks, and if you were slammed, you owe the slammer nothing. If you wait longer, you get back what you paid above your old supplier's price for the same use. If the company can't show you agreed, the rule presumes you were slammed. Going back to the utility's standard price after a slam costs nothing.
  • Texas: if you were switched without your OK, you pay no more than the price you would have paid if the switch hadn't happened.
  • Maryland: the Maryland Public Service Commission says you are not cleared of all the supplier's charges. You get back the cancellation fee and the difference between the supplier's price and what you would have paid the utility. You don't have to pay a disputed bill while it is checked.
  • Everywhere: your state's utility office can tell you what you are owed. Ask when you call.

Who to call, state by state

Every state Judy covers has an office that takes complaints about a switch you didn't ask for. Here is the number to call for each one. Most are free calls.

| State | Who takes the complaint | Phone | | --- | --- | --- | | Connecticut | Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) | 1-800-382-4586 | | Georgia (gas) | Georgia Public Service Commission | 1-800-282-5813 | | Illinois | Illinois Commerce Commission | 1-800-524-0795 | | Indiana (gas) | Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission | 1-800-851-4268 | | Kentucky (gas) | Kentucky Public Service Commission | 1-800-772-4636 | | Maine | Maine Public Utilities Commission | 1-800-452-4699 | | Maryland | Maryland Public Service Commission | 1-800-492-0474 | | Massachusetts | Department of Public Utilities | 1-877-886-5066 | | Michigan (gas) | Michigan Public Service Commission | 1-800-292-9555 | | New Hampshire | NH Department of Energy, Consumer Services | 1-800-852-3793 | | New Jersey | Board of Public Utilities | 1-800-624-0241 | | New York | Department of Public Service | 1-800-342-3377 | | Ohio | Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) | 1-800-686-7826 | | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission | 1-800-692-7380 | | Rhode Island | Division of Public Utilities and Carriers | 401-941-4500 | | Texas | Public Utility Commission of Texas | 1-888-782-8477 | | Virginia | State Corporation Commission | 1-800-552-7945 | | Washington, DC | DC Public Service Commission, Office of Consumer Services | 202-626-5120 |

A few states have a second place to turn:

  • Ohio: the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, 1-877-742-5622, speaks up for home customers.
  • Pennsylvania: the Office of Consumer Advocate, 1-800-684-6560.
  • Illinois: the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), 1-800-669-5556, a nonprofit. The Illinois Attorney General also takes complaints.
  • Massachusetts: the Attorney General's consumer hotline, 617-727-8400.
  • New York: the Department of Public Service also has a line just for supplier (ESCO) complaints, 1-888-697-7728.
  • New Jersey: the Board of Public Utilities has its own slamming complaint form on its website.

For the hours and the office's web page, see your state's help page: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, or type your ZIP code on the Help page for any other state.

The two harmless reasons, explained

Your town's program signed you up

In many states, a city, town or county can buy electricity (and in some states, gas) for everyone at once. It goes by different names: aggregation, a town program, Community Choice (New York), Community Power (New Hampshire) or Government Energy Aggregation (New Jersey).

Most of these programs are opt-out. That means everyone in the area is signed up unless they say no. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) puts it this way: an opt-out program "automatically enrolls all local residents, unless they individually opt-out of the program."

You should have gotten a letter about it first. Those letters are easy to miss or toss.

How to check:

  • Look at your town's website, or call your town office and ask, "Do we have an electric or gas program? Which company?"
  • If the company on your bill matches the town's company, that's your answer.
  • In Ohio and Illinois, our Ohio towns and Illinois towns pages list the programs we know about.

What the rules say:

  • Illinois: send back the opt-out form by its date. You can leave the program at any time with no fee.
  • Massachusetts: if your town has a plan, the town's price may be your default instead of your electric company's Basic Service. Your town's letter says how to leave.
  • New Hampshire: to leave Community Power, call the town's program and ask to go back to your electric company.
  • New Jersey: you can say no within 30 days of the notice. You can leave later at any time with 30 days' notice and no fee.
  • New York: Community Choice programs have run in Westchester and the Hudson Valley. The town mails you a letter before it starts. You can say no, or leave later.
  • Ohio: the state's own pages give different figures for how long you have to answer the opt-out letter (about 14 to 21 days), so go by the date printed on it. After that, your utility mails its own letter, and you have 7 days from the postmark to call the utility and stay out.
  • Pennsylvania: town programs that sign everyone up on their own are not the normal way things work. In 2011 the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission said opt-out programs need its approval and will be approved only "in unique circumstances where it is clearly in the public interest to do so." So in Pennsylvania, an unknown supplier is more likely to be reason 2 or 3.

Is a town program bad? Not at all. Many are fair deals. But you should still check that its price is lower than your utility's standard price. My guides for Ohio town programs and Illinois town programs explain how, and how to leave.

Someone in the home said yes

A salesperson came to the door or called. Someone in the home agreed, maybe without knowing it was a switch. It happens a lot, and it's nothing to be ashamed of. Sellers are good at making it sound like a small thing.

If you are helping a parent, ask gently: "Did anyone come by or call about the electric bill?" Look for a welcome letter or a contract from the company in the mail pile.

If this is what happened, you can leave. Whether it costs anything depends on your state and your contract:

  • No fee to leave a home plan: Connecticut, and Illinois (electric and gas).
  • The fee is capped: Michigan gas ($50 for a plan of a year or less, $100 for a longer one) and Rhode Island (no more than $50, or twice an average month's bill if that is less).
  • Everywhere else: check the plan papers for a fee to leave early, or call the company and ask.

One more thing to know: in Michigan, only the person whose name is on the gas account can sign up for a gas plan. A spouse can't do it for them. If that's what happened, say so when you call.

My guide to early termination fees has more.

Catch the next one early

When a company signs you up, your utility or the company sends you a letter. Read every letter about your bill. In most states, that letter also starts your window to cancel for free:

  • Connecticut: 3 days after you sign up. The company must wait that long before it tells your utility.
  • Georgia (gas): no set rule. Ask the company, and write down the answer.
  • Illinois: electric, 10 days after your utility's letter; gas, 10 business days after the gas company's letter.
  • Indiana (gas, NIPSCO): 5 business days after you get the company's written terms, if you signed up by phone or email. Call the company.
  • Kentucky (gas): no set rule. Ask the company.
  • Maine: at least 5 days after you get your first bill from the new company. Tell the company.
  • Maryland: 3 business days if you signed at your door. Otherwise, ask the company.
  • Massachusetts: 3 business days after you get the company's terms.
  • Michigan (gas): 30 days from the day you sign up.
  • New Hampshire: at least 5 days after you sign up (5 to 11, depending on how you signed).
  • New Jersey: 7 days after your utility's letter. Tell the utility.
  • New York: 3 days after you get the agreement. Call the new company.
  • Ohio: electric, 7 days after your utility's letter; gas, 7 business days. Call the utility.
  • Pennsylvania: 3 business days after you get the plan papers. Tell the new company.
  • Rhode Island: 3 business days from the day you sign up.
  • Texas: 3 business days after you get the plan papers.
  • Virginia: 10 days after your utility mails its notice. Tell the utility.
  • Washington, DC: 3 days after you sign.

Weekends and holidays don't count as business days.

Whatever the reason, compare the price

Once you know who your supplier is, the next question is simple: is its price lower than your utility's standard price? If it is, staying may be fine. If it isn't, you may be paying more than you need to every month. (In Texas and the Atlanta area, compare it with the best plans for your use instead.)

Judy Saves is independent. I don't sell electricity or gas, and no supplier pays me. I'll never call you or knock on your door.

The rules in your state

Each state has its own rules for town programs, canceling a switch and who to call. Your state's help page has them, with phone numbers and hours: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, or type your ZIP code on the Help page. To see your utility's standard price, start from your state, like Ohio, Pennsylvania or Illinois.

What to do next

Sources

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