Siesta calls to switch power companies are days away. The central government will ban electricity marketers from advertising or contracting practices that are not requested by the user over the phone, unless there is an explicit request from the consumer or the call is initiated by them.
According to the draft Royal Decree approving the General Regulations for the Supply and Contracting of Electricity, in Article 13, if this positive initiative is made by the user, the marketer will have to record the entire call, regardless of who creates it, including all the information provided to the consumer as well as all the pre-contractual information with the basic characteristics of the offer.
This project is in public consultation until September 13. The new text “wants to adapt the current regulatory framework to respond to the challenges and objectives of energy policy”, confirms and embodies the view of the latest report on gas and electricity retail markets issued by the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC). This measure was triggered in the face of multiple consumer complaints due to misleading calls.
The text includes a series of rights and obligations for agents who sell electricity, including this ban. In addition, commercial companies must send their commercial offers, whether new or any possible modifications to existing offers, to the CNMC, at least ten days before the date on which they will take effect.
The Organization will conduct price comparisons on the basis of these documents, which will be confidential until made public, and will prepare an annual report.
Regarding PVPC, when a consumer in the free market asks to benefit from the regulated price, the company must know that this method, and in its case, the application of the social bonus, can only lead to reference marketing terms (from groups such as Iberdrola, Endesa, Naturgy, Repsol and TotalEnergies).
The latter simultaneously submits requests submitted by the same consumer and linked to each other, such as registering him as a beneficiary of the social allowance, if he meets the requirements for that, and changing the ownership of the supply point if the applicant is not.
On the other hand, if a consumer with a social voucher wants to access the duty-free market, the incoming marketer must explicitly inform him of the incompatibility between the new contract and the aid received. In the event that the electricity bill is not paid by the duty-free customer, the company will inform him of the possibility of benefiting from the regulated price and applying for the social allowance.
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