Reports about electric supply salesmen posing as major utility representatives are rare, but state regulators hope to eliminate them with a new code of conduct.

Approved in mid-March, the code - or guidelines - applies to the marketing and sales practices of suppliers and aggregators that sell electricity for reduced rates. The state's major utilities, Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating, remain responsible for delivery of that electricity.

The deregulation of the electric industry and high cost of power have led to a relatively new marketplace in Connecticut for the purchase of cheaper power.

As of the end of last year, more than 586,000 residents and businesses, or about 38 percent of ratepayers, have switched from CL&P or UI to an alternative supplier. The Retail Energy Supply Association, an industry trade group, put that number as of Jan. 31 at 602,349.

But reports of salespeople for alternative suppliers masquerading as representatives from the major utilities have occurred often enough for the state Department of Public Utility Control to decide to do something about it.

The new rules address everything from prevention of misleading sales tactics to requirements for comprehensive background checks and photo ID badges for door-to-door salespeople.

The guidelines are to be codified with the full weight of law as part of the proposed energy bill, although some industry representatives object to nuances in the regulations approved by DPUC, and related provisions that they say may jeopardize the still-evolving competitive market.

"While there haven't been many instances, it really isn't appropriate for someone to knock on the door and say they're from CL&P when they're not," said DPUC spokesman Philip Dukes.

The agency's lead commissioner, Anna Ficeto, elaborated on why the code of conduct was approved by the agency.

"We need to police the market, and oftentimes you have to have laws in place not for the good actors, but the bad actors," Ficeto said.

"When those things happen, you don't want to be unprepared. This type of guideline sets the rules for the whole market so they can't come back later, if they're found to have done something wrong, and say, 'We didn't know, the rules weren't clear.'"

Alternative electric suppliers and their agents sell power to residents and businesses based on variable or fixed contracts that can last up to a year, typically offering lower rates than the major utilities, which have to buy electricity on the wholesale market months in advance.

"I am in favor of a code of conduct," said state Sen. John Fonfara, D-Hartford, co-chairman of the Energy and Technology Committee. "I won't support doing damage or harm to the industry. (But) I won't ignore the need for some regulations that will protect the industry from those rogue operators. That's not fair to the consumer and suppliers that are doing a good job."

The proposed legislation supports the spirit of the administrative rules approved by regulators, said Jeffrey Mayer, the president and chief executive officer of one such supplier, Stamford-based MX Energy.

One change he would support in the legislation, which if enacted would override rules approved by the DPUC, would be to limit salespeople to calling on consumers to an hour before sunset, instead of 6 p.m., which would be too early in the summertime, he said.

"There are a lot of hardworking people that make a good living selling energy door to door, and their intent is not to be annoying," he said. "It's to explain a very complicated product to the customer."

RESA, which likewise supports consumer protections broadly, would rather not see time limits on door-to-door sales, the agency said in a statement.

The DPUC had proposed a similar code of conduct last year and the year before. It was approved by lawmakers last year but rejected by then-Gov. M. Jodi Rell, Ficeto said.

"So we thought that if we did an administrative code of conduct at least we would have it if legislation got bogged down again," she said. "But we did it so that if the legislature passed something it would trump ours."

Some issues in the energy bill, like direct billing by these suppliers, have yet to be addressed. Electric suppliers currently bill customers through the major utilities.

RESA has a mix of suppliers who bill directly as well as through the utility.

"It is only fair to allow retail suppliers to bill their charges through the billing and customer care functions provided by the utility," RESA wrote in recent legislative testimony.

"All customers pay for these functions through their regulated distribution rates (with the major utilities). To charge a retail supplier for use of these services will necessarily result in customers served by retail suppliers paying for these services twice - once to the utility and again to the retail supplier. Clearly this is an untenable outcome."

"We have not looked at that yet," Fonfara said. "The legislature has an interest in this area and there will be language in the legislation addressing this. There are a lot of trade groups with opinions on things and we take that into consideration when they testify, but we have to balance the interest of the consumer and ratepayer" with industry concerns.

p.daddona@theday.com

Code of conduct for electricity suppliers, agents

Below is a sampling of key guidelines put in place in March by state Regulators.

Prohibited■ Misleading or false marketing.■ Refusing to honor a valid cancellation notice.

Required■ Conduct comprehensive criminal background checks of salespeople.■ Require salespeople to wear a photo ID badge.■ Monitor conduct of salespeople.■ Train salespeople in ethical sales practices.

Source: Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control