To carry out essential elements of a sustainable and effective consumer protection program in connection with electric service providers offering electrical service to residential and small commercial customers as intended by the Legislature in this article, the following shall apply:
(a) The commission shall collect a registration fee of one hundred dollars ($100) from electric service providers required to register under this article, and deposit the fee proceeds in the Public Utilities Reimbursement Account established under Section 402.
(b) The commission shall annually determine the costs of administering the registration program and other facets of consumer protection directly related to the direct access transactions of electric service providers. The commission shall collect only those costs not already being collected elsewhere. A registrant who fails to submit to the commission a required fee or a piece of information upon which fees are calculated within 30 days of billing shall be subject to a 15-percent penalty.
(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 604, Sec. 2. (SB 656) Effective January 1, 2014.)