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SALT LAKE CITY — The state Division of Public Utilities, the Office of Consumer Services and the Public Service Commission have ordered Dominion Energy to halt using its bill to collect charges for third-party services unless customers have already authorized them.
The case arose from the utility sharing its customer information with third parties, said Chris Parker, director of the Division of Public Utilities. The commission will consider new rules for these billing- and information-sharing practices and will also require the utility to credit customers with the value of customer information and access, to be determined in a future proceeding, he said.
Dominion Energy customers who are being charged for HomeServe insurance products on their natural gas bill can continue to make their HomeServe payment on their bill if they wish, he said. Customers may also cancel the service by calling HomeServe at 1-833-808-6703 or Dominion Energy at 1-800-323-5517. Customers can also manage their accounts online at dominionenergy.com, he added.
Dominion Energy customers who do not pay for HomeServe insurance products will not need to do anything, he said. To buy a third-party insurance product, make arrangements directly with the provider, he said.
Third-party services may not be billed on Dominion Energy gas bills if customers were not already paying for the third-party service on or before Oct. 4, a news release states.
The Division of Public Utilities and the Office of Consumer Services will continue advocating for customers to be compensated fairly for the value of the information traded by Dominion Energy, Parker said. The agencies will also participate in the upcoming rule-making to address utilities’ information sharing practices to protect customers’ information and privacy, he added.
