Aeeg presentation 2013

The role of the Italian

Regulatory Authority for
Electricity and Gas (AEEG) in the
promotion of ADR procedures
Ettore Ponz de Leon
Consumers Affairs Department
Rome, 4 April 2013
MEETING WITH BALTIC CONSUMER ASSOCIATIONS
This is not an official AEEG document

Italian Regulatory Authority for Electricity and Gas

1

Overview
• The Italian Regulatory
Electricity and Gas (AEEG)

Authority

for

• AEEG and customer policy

AEEG and ADR

2

The Italian Regulatory Authority
for Electricity and Gas (AEEG)
•
•
•
•

About us
Mission
Transparency
In the international context


3

The Italian energy Authority (AEEG)
About us- 1

• AEEG is the independent body which regulates,
controls and monitors the electricity and gas
markets in Italy
– With the law November 2011, n. 214 AEEG has now
competences also in regulating, controlling and
monitoring water services

• It has been established by Law November 14th
1995, n. 481 with the purpose to:
- promote competition
- empower and protect users and customers
- ensure
efficient,
cost-effective
and
profitable
nationwide services with satisfactory quality levels

4

About us - 2

• An independent Authority is a public body which
makes its own decisions under the terms of its
founding law, procedures and regulations
• The Authority operates with full autonomy and
independence of judgment within the general
policy guidelines laid down by the Government
and Parliament and taking into due account the
relevant European Union legislation


5


Mission
• AEEG mission includes:
- defining and maintaining a reliable and trasparent tariff
system
- reconciling the economic goals of operators with
costumer protection and empowerment
- promoting environmental protection and the efficient
use of energy
- promoting information and customer empowerment
and protection
• AEEG provides an advisory and reporting service to the
Governmnent and Parliament and formulates observation
and recommendations concerning issues in the regulated
sectors of electricity and gas

6

Transparency

• The general decisions are published on the official
website
• AEEG involves its own stakeholders
(customer system operators, suppliers and DSOs Distribution System Operators -, trade unions and
industrial associations) in the decision
proceeding, through public consultations and
hearings


7

In the international context

• In the international context, AEEG:
‒ takes part in the regulatory board of the Agency for the
Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER)
‒ is a founder member of the Council of European Energy
Regulators (CEER)
‒ holds the vice-presidency of the Association
of Mediterranean Regulators for Electricity and Natural
Gas (MEDREG)
‒ takes part in The Energy Community Regulatory Board
(ECRB)
‒ maintains bilateral relations with all the European
Regulators and cooperates with many non-EU
Regulators to exchange best practices and share
experiences

8

AEEG and customer policy
•
•
•
•
•

A regulatory perspective
A conceptual map
Information
Regulation
Focus on:
‒ Quality commercial standards
‒ Complaints handling

‒ADR

9

A regulatory perspective

• The 3rd Package includes new provisions on customer
empowerment and protection, and in particular as regards
complaint handlings and ADR
• Member States are invited to set up new tools for
the protections of household customers, among
which:
‒ single points of contact to provide information on their
rights
‒ information about the means of dispute settlement
‒ independent mechanisms for the treatment of
complaints and disputes
‒ financial compensation for customers
‒ complaint monitoring

10

A conceptual map

CUSTOMER
POLICY
Empowerment - Protection - Enforcement

• ENSURE
TRANSPARENCY
AND INFORMATION
• PUBLISH ACTUAL
QUALITY LEVELS
RANKING
• PRICE
COMPARISON
TOOLS

• TO SET RULES ABOUT
CONTRACTS TERMS
AND CONDITIONS,
BILLING
TRANSPARENCY, PRECONTRACTUAL
INFORMATION,
COMMERCIAL CODE OF
CONDUCT

• SET AND MAINTAIN
GUARANTEED
QUALITY STANDARDS
(E.G COMPLAINTS)
• INDIVIDUAL
COMPENSATIONS FOR
STANDARD
MISMATCHING
• COMPLAINTS
HANDLING
• ADR MECHANISMS


11

Information

• One of the three AEEG website sections is dedicated
“for customers”, with non-technical summaries of regulation
(other sections: Operators and Press releases) (e.g. “Atlas” for
Energy Consumers’ Rights), leaflets
• Sportello per il Consumatore (Energy consumers help
desk): call center
• Papers, presentations and, generally, promotion of
initiatives for transparency and information (e.g. price
comparison service “Trova Offerte”)
• Hearings of associations in which users and customers
are organised and stable cooperation with Consumer
Associations
• Publication of consultations, decisions, quality standards and
data on the website
• Publication of quality data in the yearly reports

12

Regulation

• BILLING
‒ AEEG has approved guidelines concerning transparency of billing
documents for electricity and gas consumptions
‒ Transparent and customer friendly billing are one of the means to
enhance customer awareness of their rights
‒ Only where bills are clearly understandable and customers are
provided with all the relevant information for switching, they’re
also able to compare offers and to change supplier
• COMMERCIAL CODE OF CONDUCT
‒ AEEG has approved rules that all gas and electricity suppliers
presenting offers to household and small business have to comply
with
‒ Suppliers must provide household customers with a comparison
leaflet (a written document) that summarizes their rights and
allows them to verify if the contract being offered complies with
AEEG resolutions

13


Focus on: commercial quality standards

• COMMERCIAL QUALITY GUARANTEED STANDARDS
FOR SUPPLY ELECTRICITY & GAS :
‒ specific and general standards
‒ when guaranteed specific standards are not met by
fault of the supplier or DSO, users are entitled to
receive automatic compensation payments through
their bills


14

Focus on: complaints handling
•

Definition of complaint: a written communication, sent to the
supplier, regarding the non-compliance of the supplied
service with the terms of contract or the regulation

•

Complaints can be submitted by the customers individually or through
their organisations and have to be sent first to the supplier, who
has the obligation to respond

•

If the supplier does not respond, or when the given answer is
unsatisfactory, the complaint can be submitted to the
Authority. It can be sent directly to the Authority only if very urgent
matters are involved (e.g. safety reasons)

•

The customer is requested to enclose all the relevant supporting
documents

•

First step of the complaint assessment process is outsourced to
the Complaint Unit of the Sportello per il consumatore
15

Focus on: ADR

• ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
‒ Support of “paritetiche”
‒ The new Energy Conciliation Service
‒ Information: web area on AEEG web
site

AEEG and ADR…

16

AEEG and ADR
Definitions
European law
Italian law
Supporting
and
monitoring
“Paritetico” model
• The new Energy Conciliation Service
•
•
•
•


the

17

AEEG and ADR
Definitions - 1

• In general, Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) helps
customers resolve disputes with traders or
suppliers
• ADR entities are out-of-court (non-judicial) entities.
They involve a neutral party (e.g. a conciliator,
mediator, arbitrator, ombudsman, complaints board etc.)
who proposes or imposes a solution or brings the parties
together to help them find a solution
• When these entities operate fully online, they are
called online dispute resolution (ODR) entities. This can
help solve disputes especially with online purchases, when
the customer and the trader are located far from each
other

18

AEEG and ADR
Definitions - 2

• ADR and ODR are usually low-cost or free of
charge, simple and fast procedures and are
therefore beneficial to both customers and traders,
who can avoid court costs and lengthy procedures
• ADR and ODR are not internal customer complaint
services run by traders


19

AEEG and ADR
European law - 1

• On 12 March 2013, the European Parliament
voted to support the new legislation on
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and Online
Dispute Resolution (ODR)
• The vote confirms the political agreement reached in
December 2012 on the two legislative proposals put
forward by the European Commission in 2011
• The new legislation will be adopted soon
• Member States will have 24 months after the entry
into force of the Directive to transpose it into their
national legislation (that takes us to mid-2015)

20

AEEG and ADR
European law - 2

• The Directive on ADR is to contribute to the functioning of

the internal market and to the achievement of a high level
of consumer protection by ensuring that disputes between
consumers and traders can be submitted to entities
offering impartial, transparent, effective and fair
alternative dispute resolution procedures

• Member States shall ensure that ADR entities have a
website and enable the parties to exchange information
with them via electronic means
• Expertise and impartiality of the natural person in charge
of dispute resolution
• Transparency, effectiveness and fairness of the procedure

21

AEEG and ADR
Italian law

• AEEG is called by law (Lgs. Decree 93/11,
implementing the Third Energy Package in the
Italian legislation) to guarantee an efficient
treatment of ADR procedures between a
customer and an energy supplier or DSO
• Alternative dispute resolution represents the
suitable place where a national regulatory
Authority may play an important role by
enhancing customer protection and confidence in
the market


22

AEEG and ADR

Supporting and monitoring the “Paritetico “ model - 1

• Since 2007, consumer organisations and
about ten energy companies (the most
important in the market) have been arranging
specific procedures of conciliation known as
“paritetiche”
• This kind of procedure allows the resolution of
customers’problems
• One conciliator acts on behalf of a consumer
association and the other one acts on behalf
of the energy company: they arrange a
commission, which tries to reach an agreement to
resolve the dispute. Customer can sign the
agreement or not

23

AEEG and ADR

Supporting and monitoring the “Paritetico “ model - 2
• AEEG
supports
the
training
associations' staff/conciliators

of

consumer

• Consumer associations are granted a fee when the
ADR procedure is successfully completed (the
customer and the company have reached an agreement).
Projects financed by a specific fund fed by penalties paid
by service providers when they violate the regulation.
Projects approved by the Ministry of Economic
Development
• Recently, AEEG has signed an agreement with the
most representative small and medium enterprises
Associations, also for promoting ADR for the benefit of
SME’s as energy consumers

24

AEEG and ADR

The new Energy Conciliation Service - 1

• AEEG has recently launched an ADR procedure:
THE ENERGY CONCILIATION SERVICE
(Resolutions n. 260/2012, 475/2012, 93/2013)
• The procedure started 3 days ago (on April the first)
• The procedure is operated by the Single Buyer
(Acquirente Unico S.p.A.)
• Working groups with the associations representing
interested parties (suppliers, DSOs, customers, small and
medium enterprises) have been established: circulation of
documents, collection of written observations, debates and
discussions, sharing ideas

25

AEEG and ADR


• FEATURES
‒ The procedure is entirely on-line, from the
beginning to the potential signature of the
agreement by the parties (electronic signature)
‒ The procedure is voluntary and free of
charge
‒ The final agreement binds parties as a
contract


26

AEEG and ADR


• The procedure regards disputes between a
customer and a supplier or DSO
• Before accessing to the procedure, customer must
try to solve the problem directly with the
provider
by
submitting
the
written
complaint (this procedure is only the second
step in a complaint process)
• In case of lack of any answer by the supplier or
when the answer given is unsatisfactory,
customer can submit the dispute to the Energy
Conciliation Service

27

AEEG and ADR


• Customer can’t benefit from this procedure
when on the same topic:
‒ the procedure known as “paritetica” or a legal
action are on-going or the dispute has already
been handled by these procedures
‒ when customer has submitted a complaint to
the Consumer Help Desk or it has given an
answer about the dispute


28

AEEG and ADR


• Which customer?
– Electricity:
all
households;
small
businesses
connected at low voltage (with less than 50 employees
and a yearly turnover not exceeding 10 million euros)
– Gas: all households; condominium for residential use
with annual consumptions not exceeding 200.000 cubic
meter; small businesses with annual consumptions not
exceeding 50.000 cubic meter


29

AEEG and ADR


• Customer starts the procedure individually
or through a delegate (consumer associations
included)
• Consumer associations are granted a fee
when:
‒ help customer to fill in the form
‒ ADR procedure is successfully completed (the
customer and the company have reached an
agreement)


30

AEEG and ADR


• Timing
‒ Start up: within 1 year from the submission
of the complaint (in case of lack of any answer
by the supplier); within 6 months from the
answer
‒ Procedure can last maximum 90 days


31

AEEG and ADR


• Conciliator:
‒ is appointed on the basis of an agreement
between the Single Buyer and Chambers of
Commerce of Rome and Milan
‒ is impartial (it’s a third party)
‒ doesn’t resolve the dispute: he brings the
parties together to help them find a solution


32

AEEG and ADR


• The Energy conciliation Service’s structure:
‒ The Responsible for the Service
‒ The Administrative office

• Responsible
for
the
Service:
selects
conciliators for the procedures, supervises
activities
• Administrative
office:
sets
administration of the procedure

up

the
33

AEEG and ADR

Energy conciliation Service web site:
www.conciliazione.energia.it


34

AEEG and ADR

For further information about ADR for the energy customer:
http://www.autorita.energia.it/it/consumatori/conci
liazione.htm


35

THANK YOU
FOR YOUR ATTENTION!


36

Web references
http://www.autorita.energia.it/it/index.htm
http://www.autorita.energia.it/it/inglese/index.htm
http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/redress_cons/adr_e
n.htm
www.conciliazione.energia.it


37

Aeeg presentation 2013

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