The Maine Public Utilities Commission will deliberate Tuesday whether to open an investigation into the marketing practices of Clearview Energy.

Representatives of the Dallas, Texas utility have been making the rounds in several Maine communities over the past few months, and were in Sanford last week in a bid to have residents switch from their current electric supplier to Clearview.

Their methods have raised some eyebrows. Sanford resident Becky Brown said she initially agreed to switch to Clearview Energy, but later canceled the transaction.

A college-age woman came to her door a week ago, said Brown.

“She said she needed to know if we were still eligible for the reduced rates,” said Brown, who said she got the impression from that remark that the woman was representing her current electricity provider. Brown said the woman told her electric rates always go up in the winter, and that she needed to know how many kilowatts the household used each month to determine eligibility for the lower rate.

“She was very much acting like the company was already the provider,” said Brown. “She took the presumptive position that we were already customers and that she was confirming we were continuing to be eligible for the plan.”

Brown said the woman asked to see her CMP bill, but Brown gets hers online, and didn’t invite the woman in to view it. Brown learned she’s paying 11 cents now, and the price on offer from Clearview was 9.99 cents.

Brown said a couple of “red flags” began to appear – still, she felt the price was better, so she agreed to the lower rate. After thinking about the situation, she called to cancel.

Brown did some research and found that Clearview is a legitimate company – but she said the marketer who visited her was “very misleading.”

In August, CMP, which delivers electricity but is not a provider, urged customers to be wary of door-to-door purveyors of electricity and asked the PUC to launch a formal investigation into the marketing practices of what a news release termed “one energy supplier.”

MPUC administrative director Harry Lanphear said the commission will deliberate on whether to open an investigation Tuesday and the commissioners are expected to make a decision that day.

Clearview Energy, which supplies electricity drawn from wind power, did not return an email message seeking comment. However, in a July 8 response to a number of questions from the PUC, the energy provider said marketers go through a full week of training before they’re put to work. Clearview Energy contracts with a company called Platinum Advertising, which supplies sales representatives who work on commission. At the time, there were 13 sales representatives in Maine, wrote Tammi Shroud, vice president of sales at Clearview Energy. She noted that many of the representatives were single mothers, whom she said were thankful for a flexible job opportunity.

Shroud wrote that Clearview Energy has a zero tolerance policy for misrepresentation and fraudulent enrollment, and that background checks are conducted on each sales representative. She also pointed out that those who switch have five days to cancel the transaction.

Sanford Police Chief Tom Connolly said Clearview Energy called dispatch on Sept. 28 to inform police they had four women and two men working in the area door-to-door, but said they weren’t selling, only providing information. Connolly said the police department got a call that day from a resident saying representatives were being very aggressive in their marketing approach.

Those who want to know more about the standard offer or any of the companies selling electricity in Maine can go to: www.maine.gov/mpuc/electricity/ index.shtml. The standard offer, according to the Maine PUC, is 6.54 cents per kilowatt hour through Dec. 31.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.