From The Corner
By IMUA General Manager & CEO Ronald D. Earl

Safeguarding customer data – such as billing records, personal information and related financial transactions – is gaining ever-increasing attention as new identity theft requirements proposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are set to take effect November 1.

The rule stems from the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, which became effective January 1 of this year.  Sometimes referred to as the “red flag identity theft rule,” the rule requires creditors, which includes utilities, to establish programs to detect, prevent and mitigate identity theft in connection with opening new accounts and maintaining existing accounts.  Utilities are considered creditors because they generally do not require payment for their services until the end of the month, and are therefore extending credit to their customers. 
Examples of identity theft “red flags” which must be identified and reported by utilities include:

• instances of ID theft which they have experienced;
• alerts, warnings or advisories they have received from national consumer credit reporting agencies, such as a notice of an address discrepancy;
• suspicious documents or personal identification materials; and,
• unusual use of an account.

The new requirements are prompting utilities across the country to take the initiative by developing and implementing written programs and procedures that will enable them to comply with these new directives.  Based upon feedback and inquiries from its members, IMUA decided to assist its members with compliance by hosting a daylong informational session on this very topic in mid-September.   
 
The session itself was devoted to covering what materials are needed in order to comply with this new directive, including the required components of a basic identity-theft prevention policy; procedures for adopting such a policy; the various training requirements for governing bodies, utility management and its employees; and, what follow-up procedures and actions are necessary once a policy is adopted.  

IMUA will continue to keep its members apprised of developments related to these and other important issues as they evolve throughout the coming months.
Following is a brief update on several other matters of mutual interest to our members: 

Net Metering/Interconnection – At its regular meeting in late August, the IMUA Board gave approval to the Association’s model net metering/interconnection/billing policies.  These model policies were developed in cooperation with a committee comprised of  representatives of Springfield CWLP, several state electric cooperatives and a number of IMUA member municipalities, and will be made available for use by those members whose customers may have an interest in the area of wind, solar and other renewable energy sources.

Mutual Aid – On behalf of IMUA, I extend our thanks and appreciation to all IMUA member municipalities – in particular, the City of Princeton – who offered to respond to the State of Louisiana’s recent request for mutual aid.   That request, channeled through the Missouri Public Utility Alliance (MPUA), was a direct result of the flooding, outages and property damage caused by Hurricane Gustav during the Labor Day holiday, and reflects the benefit of the partnership IMUA continues to enjoy with the APPA, statewide trade associations and other municipalities, both within and outside of Illinois, to provide service-restoration and related assistance in times of such emergencies.