Introduction

Quantum New Energy LLC and its affiliates (collectively “QNE,” “we,” and “us”) have developed and provide a public information platform and application for access and use by consumers to create awareness and knowledge about energy consumption, ways of conserving energy, enabling calculation of the cost of energy for consumers from available local energy suppliers, and matching consumers with appropriate energy service plans (the “Services”).   In doing so, we are committed to respecting your privacy.  

Commitment to Privacy

This Privacy Policy describes the types of information, particularly Personal Information, we capture or collect in the course of providing the Services on our website (the “Site”), how we use it, who we share it with, your rights and choices with regard to your Personal Information, and how you can contact us about our privacy practices. This Policy is intended to assist you in making informed decisions when visiting and using our Site.  By clicking on the “I ACCEPT” response, you accept and agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.  If you do not agree with these terms, you may decline to accept them, but you should not then proceed to navigate or use this Site or the Services.  By continuing to use the Services or navigate this Site, you signify through conduct your assent to the terms of our Privacy Policy. 

We may change our Privacy Policy from time to time. The most current version of the Policy will govern our collection, use, storage, and disclosure of Personal Information at that time. If we make changes to our Privacy Policy, we will notify you by email or by posting a notice on the Site prior to or on the effective date of the changes.  The Privacy Policy will also display on the first page the Policy’s latest revision date.  By continuing to access or use the Site or the Services after those changes become effective, you accept and agree to the revised Privacy Policy. 

The Information We Collect

You may visit the public areas of our website without entering any personal information about yourself.  “Personal Information” is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual, and includes different pieces of information, which collected together can lead to the identification of a particular person.  When you visit our Site, we may gather certain types of information from and about you.  This includes Personal Information you knowingly choose to disclose, information from web server logs, clickstreams, cookies, web beacons, tags, scripts, local shared objects, advertising identifiers, including mobile identifiers, and other similar technologies.  We collect only that Personal Information needed to provide and support the Services.

Automatic Information Collection

Our web servers automatically capture certain information, including but not limited to, your IP address or mobile device identifier, the domain name of the web page from which you entered our Site, the pages that you visit while on our Site, the click-through rates, and the amount of time that you spend on the Site.  We may use and analyze this data for analytics, trends, and to improve our Site.  Unless we have otherwise obtained your consent, if we share any of this information with third parties, it will only be provided in aggregate (de-identified) form so that it does not identify any individual user.

Information Obtained from Third Party Sources

We obtain consumer energy usage data from third party sources such as Smart Meter Texas.  This data reflects an individual customer’s measured energy usage but does not identify the customer.  When this data is associated with a Site user’s account information or other information about the Site user, it becomes Personal Information and is treated accordingly.  We will obtain your consent in order to obtain the energy usage data for your residence or business. We may also obtain information from publicly available sources, which we do not treat as Personal Information unless it is combined with other non-public information. 

Information You Provide

If you request information from QNE or engage in activities on our Site, you may be required to submit Personal Information.  This information will include data such as your name and contact information necessary to respond to your inquiries.  If you choose not to provide the requested information, you may continue to visit the Site, but we may be unable to respond to your inquiry or you may be unable to access certain offers, services or secure pages.

If you choose to participate in one of our programs, we may collect additional information from or about you for purposes of facilitating your participation.  If you choose not to provide the requested information, you may continue to visit the Site, but you may be unable to access or participate in those programs.

If you choose to correspond with us through email, we may retain the content of your email messages together with your email address and our responses.  Unless we advise you that security measures will be in place prior to your email transmission, such email transmissions may not be secure. QNE shall not be responsible for any interception of Personal Information by third parties that is sent to QNE by way of email or other forms of unencrypted electronic communication.  Therefore, you should not send confidential information such as social security numbers or account numbers to us through an unsecured email. 

In addition, we do not ask for, collect or knowingly receive sensitive Personal Information. This includes, but is not limited to, personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, genetic data, data concerning a person’s health, a person’s sexual orientation, trade union membership, or biometric data.

We do not knowingly collect or use information from children under the age of sixteen without the consent of a parent or legal guardian.  The Services are not directed to individuals under the age of sixteen (16), and we request that they not provide Personal Information through the Site. 

Website Content You Provide

To the extent that the Site provides any open forums for you to share information with others, you recognize that others may collect and use any information that you provide there, and you understand and agree that QNE is not responsible for any information that you provide in those forums, personal or otherwise.

How We Use Information

We use your information to respond to requests for information we receive from you, to  inform you about our Services and about relevant information in the industries we serve, to let you know about events, or for other purposes with your consent. We use Personal Information to facilitate and improve your use of the Site, to communicate with you, for purposes of evaluating and administering our business activities, providing customer service, making available other products and services to our customers and prospective customers, and to comply with any requirements of law. 

We may store information about your use of the Services, such as your search activity, the pages you view, and the date and time of your visit.  We may also store information that your computer or mobile device may provide to us in connection with your use of the Services, such as your browser type, type of computer or mobile device, browser language, IP address, mobile carrier, phone number, unique device identifier, location (including geolocation, beacon-based location, and GPS location), and requested and referred URL’s and mobile applications.  When we do not retain such information, it still must be transmitted to our servers initially and stored long enough to process.  You may be able to limit or disallow our access to or use of certain location data through your device or browser settings. 

At times, we may use the information we collect to notify you about important changes to our Site, new services, and special offers we think you may find valuable.  You may notify us at any time of your desire not to receive these offers by clicking the box provided when you receive an offer or by sending an email request to [email protected].  If you are a European visitor, we will request your express consent in order to send you marketing-related communications. 

When and Why We Might Disclose or Share Your Information

QNE may share your Personal Information with service providers and contractors that help us administer this Site, respond to your inquiries, provide communications and hosting services, network security, technical and customer support, tracking and reporting functions, quality assurance testing, payment processing, and other functions necessary to operate and provide the Services.  We may share information from or about you with these third-party providers so that they can perform their services or complete your requests, but these service providers and contractors are not permitted to use your data for any purpose unrelated to providing our Services.  These third-party providers may share information with us that they obtain from or about you in connection with providing their services or completing your requests. Third party providers may also share this information with their affiliates. An ‘affiliate’ means any legal entity that a party owns, that owns a party, or that is under a party’s common ownership.

QNE may transfer certain Personal Information you have provided to an energy service Plan provider that you select in order to set up a Plan Account for you with that provider.  That data transfer will be done using secure means.  The transferred information will not then be retained or stored by QNE.      

QNE may disclose your Personal Information if necessary to protect our legal rights, if the information relates to actual or threatened harmful conduct, or we have a good faith belief that such action is necessary to: 1) conform to the requirements of law or comply with governmental orders, court orders, or legal process served on us, or 2) to protect and defend our property or other rights, the users of the Site, or the public. 

If we should ever file for bankruptcy, are part of a reorganization, sell our assets or merge with another company, we may sell or transfer the information you provide to us through the Site or share your Personal Information with the third party or company we sell to or merge with. 

We may share usage data and other aggregated, anonymized information that shows patterns, trends, preferences, and other collective characteristics of our users, with third parties. Sharing of this information helps us and our marketing partners evaluate and tailor our communications, services and general business practices to the needs of our users.

Finally, in addition to the sharing described in this Privacy Policy, we may share Personal Information about you with other third parties when you provide consent to such sharing.

"Cookies"

We may use cookies, web beacons, tags, scripts, local shared objects, advertising identifiers, including mobile identifiers and similar technologies in connection with your use of the Services and mobile applications. Cookies are small pieces of text sent to your web browser by a website you visit. A cookie file is stored in your web browser and allows the Site to recognize you and make your next visit easier and the Services more useful to you. Cookies may have unique identifiers, and reside, among other places, on your computer or mobile devices. Cookies may transmit information about you, your use of the site, such as your browser type, search preferences, IP address, data relating to the things you have clicked on, and the date and time of your use.  Cookies may be persistent or they may be stored only during an individual session (“session cookies”). The purpose for our use of cookies is to provide you with the best level of service by remembering you when you return to our Site, saving your preferences, and using them to help us show you things that are relevant to your interests. If we use cookies (other than those that are essential to providing service), you will be presented with a screen requesting consent to store cookies described there on your device in order to continue to use our Site and the Services. You have the ability to accept or decline such cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can modify your browser to decline them. If you reject cookies by changing your browser settings, be aware that this may disable some functions otherwise available to you when visiting our Site.

Other Websites and Links

This Site may contain links to third party websites and may provide integration with social media platforms.  When we provide links to other websites, it is solely for your convenience and information.  If you choose to use any of these links or this integration, you will be leaving the QNE Site and going to a website that is not controlled by us.  Protection of your privacy at these linked sites will be governed by the privacy policy at that site.  You should take the time to read the privacy policies at those sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of such sites or the information that is provided by or collected through those websites, or for any other activities of those websites.

Protecting the Information We Collect

We use physical, technical and administrative measures to protect your information against loss, theft, and unauthorized access, use, disclosure or alteration.  While we strive to protect the information we receive and maintain, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information that you transmit to us since no method of data transmission or storage is 100% secure.  While no computer system is completely secure, we believe the measures implemented by our Site reduce the likelihood of security problems to a level appropriate to the type of data involved.  In the event that we believe there has been a security breach involving your Personal Information, we would endeavor to notify you promptly in accordance with applicable law.

Retention Time for Personal Information

We keep Personal Information on our server or in our archives for so long as may be reasonably necessary to provide the Services to you and to the extent necessary to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.  We also retain user data to comply with our tax, accounting, and financial reporting obligations, where we are required to retain the data by our contractual commitments to our financial partners, and where data retention is mandated by the payment methods that we support.  We may alter this practice according to changing business or legal requirements.  In some circumstances we may anonymize your personal data in accordance with then current standards so that it can no longer be associated with you, in which case it would no longer be Personal Information. 

For U.S. Visitors and Non-European Visitors

For Non-European visitors residing outside the U.S., the information that you submit to us or that we obtain as a result of your use of our Site may be collected in your country and subsequently transferred to the United States.  By using this Site, you consent to the collection, international transfer, storage, and processing of your information. 

For U.S. and Non-European Visitors.  You have the right to access your Personal Information.  You may choose to opt out of certain disclosures if you do not want your information disclosed to a third party or for it to be used for a purpose materially different than the purpose for which it was originally collected or subsequently authorized by you (unless the disclosure is merely to an agent performing tasks for us under our instructions or control).  You may request that we update, correct, amend or delete any of the Personal Information we have collected from you, and you may opt out of receiving emails and other communications from us by sending a request to us at [email protected]. We may choose not to fulfill any request that we determine is illegal or incorrect, where we need to maintain the Personal Information because of our contractual or legal obligations, where the burden or expense of providing access would be disproportionate to the risks to the individual’s privacy, or where the rights of persons other than the individual would be violated, but our intention is to comply with opt-out requests and other requests that seek to correct, update or delete your Personal Information, as fully as possible in accordance with applicable law. You will also be given notice and the ability to “opt out” should we propose to use your Personal Information for a purpose other than that for which it was originally collected or processed. 

For European Visitors

Legal Grounds.  We will process your Personal Information: 1) with your consent; 2) to perform a contract between you and us, such as a request for information; 3) to comply with a legal obligation; or 4) where we have a legitimate interest to do so, including responding to your requests.  Our legal basis for processing the information described above will depend on the specific information concerned and the context in which we collect it. If you have questions about or need further information concerning the legal basis on which we process your Personal Information, please contact us using the information provided in the Notices section below.

If you choose to provide us with Personal Information, you consent to transfer and storage of that information on our servers located in the United States. You have the right to have any inaccurate or incomplete Personal Information corrected or completed by submitting a written request.  While we are evaluating your request, you have the right to ask that we restrict the processing of your Personal Information.  Under those circumstances, the data will be stored, but not processed until we have rendered a decision regarding the request.  You also have the right in certain circumstances to request deletion of Personal Information previously obtained with your consent, called the “right to be forgotten.”  In addition, you have the right to request that we export to another company, where technically feasible, your Personal Information that we hold in order for them to provide services to you. 

Privacy Questions or Notices

If you have a privacy question regarding this Site or are required to provide a notice, please contact us at:

Quantum New Energy LLC
2101 CityWest Blvd 1st floor,
Houston, TX 77042
Email:  [email protected]

We will take such steps as deemed necessary to confirm your identity before sharing any Personal Information with you.  We will investigate your question, respond to your inquiry, and attempt to resolve any concern regarding your privacy question.

Complaints and Dispute Resolution

The English language version of this Privacy Policy shall govern your relationship with Quantum New Energy LLC. If you have a complaint or concern regarding your Personal Information arising from your use of this Site or our Privacy Policy, please contact us at [email protected] with delivery confirmation or write to us at the address appearing above.  We suggest that you put in the subject line of any email or written communication, “Privacy Policy” or “Privacy Complaint.”  We will respond within 45 days.  If our response does not resolve your concern, you agree to first pursue mediation before a qualified mediator selected by the parties who shall apply the commercial mediation rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) or the Association for International Arbitration (AIA) to attempt in good faith to negotiate a resolution of the matter directly between the parties.  Each party shall pay its own expenses relating to the mediation along with its pro-rata share of all reasonable fees and costs billed by the mediator.  If the matter remains unresolved after forty-five (45) days following the Notice of mediation, either party may invoke binding arbitration by providing a Notice of arbitration in writing to the other party.  The arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the commercial arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) or the Association for International Arbitration (AIA) and judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court worldwide having jurisdiction thereof. The arbitration tribunal shall consist of a single arbitrator mutually agreed upon by the parties, or in the absence of such agreement within ten days from the date of the notice, the arbitrator shall be selected by two independent, disinterested attorneys, one of whom shall be appointed by each side to the dispute.  The arbitrator shall provide a full written decision on all issues in the matter within ninety (90) days from the date of referral of the matter to the arbitrator.  The arbitrator shall have the authority to decide all issues of interpretation, application, and enforceability regarding or arising out of this Privacy Policy.  The arbitrator’s determinations shall be binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.  The location for arbitration will be in Houston, Texas, U.S.A.  You may choose to participate in person or by telephone or video conference.  The prevailing party in the arbitration may be awarded its reasonable attorney fees and costs.  However, should a party file any arbitration claims or administrative or legal actions without first having attempted to resolve the matter through negotiation and mediation, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, they will not be entitled to recover attorneys’ fees or arbitration fees, even if they would otherwise be entitled to them.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, no arbitration under this Privacy Policy shall be joined to an arbitration involving any other party subject to this Policy, whether through class arbitration proceedings or otherwise. 

Nothing in the aforesaid dispute resolution mechanism shall, however, prohibit a party hereto from obtaining injunctive relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.  The parties agree that irreparable damage for which money damages would not be an adequate remedy would occur in the event that any of the provisions of these Terms and Conditions were materially breached. It is accordingly agreed that, in addition to any other remedies a party may have at law or in equity, the parties shall be entitled to seek an injunction to prevent or halt such breach and to enforce specifically the terms thereof.

Other important information about our company and our services