Houston Supports Utility Companies in Petition To Adjust TCPA
A petition requesting a declaratory ruling under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act facilitates the critical public policy goal of ensuring the safe, reliable and efficient provision of utility services to citizens of Houston, the city said in an ex parte…
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letter posted Wednesday in docket 02-278. Edison Electric Institute and the American Gas Association have requested a ruling that a customer who provides a telephone number to a utility constitutes "prior express consent" under the TCPA for purposes of receiving automated, serviced-related utility contacts, the filing said. It's essential for utility providers to communicate in real time with customers about matters that directly affect their service, such as planned or unplanned service outages, it said. Absent such communications, the exchange of critical information can be delayed and already strained municipal services may be further taxed as a result of having to direct customer calls that would otherwise be avoided through the use of an automated, utility notification program, the filing said.