Section 412.160  Online Marketing

a)         Each ARES offering electric power and energy service to customers online shall make all disclosures in Section 412.110 for any services offered through online enrollment before requiring the customer to enter any personal information other than zip code, electric utility service territory, and type of service sought, unless the ARES secures consent to obtain customer-specific information for the purposes of pricing a product through a letter of agency or another Commission-approved method.  The ARES' marketing material shall not make any statements that it is a representative of, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of, a utility or a utility program, a consumer group or consumer group program unless the ARES is, through the consumer group, offering services at prices, terms, and conditions that are available solely to members of that organization, or, a governmental body or program of a governmental body, unless the ARES has entered into a contractual arrangement with the governmental body and has been authorized by the governmental body to make the statements.

b)         The UDS and contract must be printable in a PDF format and shall be available electronically to the customer.

c)         The ARES shall obtain, in accordance with 83 Ill. Adm. Code 453 and Section 2EE(b) of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act [815 ILCS 505], an authorization to change ARES that confirms and includes appropriate verification data by encrypted customer input on the ARES website.

d)         The enrollment website of the ARES shall, at a minimum, include:

1)         All disclosures required by Section 412.110;

2)         A statement that electronic acceptance of the terms is an agreement to initiate service and begin enrollment;

3)         A statement that the customer should review the contract and/or contact the current supplier to learn if any charges or fees for devices, equipment or other services provided by the utility or ARES are applicable; and

4)         An email address and toll-free phone number of the ARES where the customer can express a decision to rescind the contract.

(Source:  Amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 19509, effective November 23, 2022)