As noted by EnergyChoiceMatters.com today, the State of New Jersey has filed suit against three retail suppliers Palmco Power NJ, LLC & Palmco Energy NJ, LLC; HIKO Energy LLC; and Keil & Sons, Inc., d/b/a Systrum Energy, alleging various violations of state law and regulation concerning consumer protection and marketing.

While, in a sad commentary on the retail energy industry, most of the allegations mirror countless allegations made against other suppliers in other states over the past decade (allegedly posing as from the utility, etc.), here are the most egregious violations from the suits. We stress that the quoted text below are allegations, quoted verbatim from the complaints:

• "Upon information and belief, a Palmco representative returned to a consumer's home twice in one day and when told by the account holder's daughter that they were not interested in switching to Palmco, the representative tried to gain entry to the house, thus requiring the consumer to call the police," the State alleged

• "Upon information and belief, a Palmco sales representative followed a PSE&G technician into the home of an 87 -year-old woman residing with two (2) developmentally disabled relatives, and living in subsidized housing on a fixed income and in a neighborhood where solicitation was prohibited. The Palmco representative told the consumer that he was from PSE&G and convinced her to sign the Palmco Contract," the State alleged

• "Upon information and belief, a Palmco sales representative told an account holder's friend that he was a representative of PSE&G and stated that if he did not sign the Palmco Contract, power would be shut off," the State alleged

• "Upon information and belief, a resident of Ventnor City, New Jersey had signed a Palmco Contract in June 2012, but cancelled before activation. The consumer was then told that he switched to Palmco as a result of a Door-to-Door Solicitation on November 1, 2012. The consumer challenged Palmco, for as a result of Superstorm Sandy, Ventnor City was not accessible to non-emergency vehicles at that time," the State alleged

Complaints:

• Palmco

• Hiko

• Systrum