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New York to Examine Supplier Consolidated Billing, Customer Acquisition Costs, Other Barriers to Value-Added Offerings
As part of its continued retail market investigation focused on facilitating the development of value-added product and service offerings for mass market energy consumers, the New York PSC has issued a series of questions for stakeholder comment regarding ESCO customer acquisition costs, billing (including ESCO consolidated billing), enrollment processes, customer data availability, net metering, and other issues.
The questions issued by the PSC are:
1. Are there specific actions that the Commission could take to reduce the costs to energy service companies (ESCOs) of acquiring mass market customers who will purchase energy-related value-added services? What are the costs and benefits of these potential actions?
2. Should a new generation of utility ESCO referral programs be developed to facilitate customer awareness of energy-related value-added services offered by ESCOs? Should customers be referred to specific ESCOs based on their interest in energy-related value-added services? What are the costs and benefits of these potential changes?
3. Should utilities be directed to obtain information from their customers regarding their interest in energy-related value-added services that might facilitate ESCO marketing? What are the costs and benefits of such a requirement?
4. Are changes to Commission policies concerning consolidated ESCO billing (CEB) required to remove unwarranted barrier(s) or impediment(s) to ESCOs seeking to use CEB? What are the costs and benefits of any proposed modifications to the Commission's policies to further facilitate CEB?
5. Under consolidated utility billing (CUB), what are the benefits and costs of requiring utilities to increase the space on bills to be used for ESCOs to provide information regarding energy-related value-added products and services, to approximately 1000 characters?
6. Under CUB, what are the benefits and costs of requiring utilities to modify their billing systems to enable ESCOs to provide tailored customer-specific billing messages regarding energy related value-added services?
7. What specific changes to utility billing systems are required to facilitate the ability of ESCOs to offer time-of-use products for mass market customers? What are the benefits and costs of any proposed changes?
8. What other modifications to CUB should be considered to facilitate development of energy related value-added services, and what are the benefits and costs of such modifications?
9. To what extent do current enrollment requirements limit the ability of ESCOs to offer value-added services?
10. What specific actions could be taken to reduce the period between when a customer enrolls with an ESCO and when service commences? What are the benefits and costs of those actions?
11. Do existing rules governing net metering, particularly concerning billing, allocation of credit and the settlement of outstanding balances, impose undue costs or burdens on ESCOs? If so, explain those concerns and the impact on ESCO operations and the ability of ESCOs to offer value-added services requiring net metering.
12. What specific data might be available to assist ESCOs in developing innovative energy-related value added services?
13. Who currently owns or maintains that data, and what are the barriers to making that data available to ESCOs and other parties? What are the costs and benefits of removing or reducing those barriers?
14. How can this data be made generally available? Are there specific standards and protocols that should be adopted to ensure statewide consistency and ensure customer privacy?
15. What other specific barriers to offering energy-related value-added services do ESCOs face? What action(s) could the Commission take to address those barriers? What are the costs and benefits of those actions?
16. What other specific regulatory changes to enhance the ability of ESCOs to offer energy-related value-added services to mass market customers should be considered by the Commission? What are the benefits and costs of those proposals?
17. Consistent with the Commission's efforts to encourage energy-related value-added services as well as compliance with the UBP, what changes to ESCO eligibility requirements should the Commission consider?
18. Consistent with efforts to encourage ESCO compliance with the UBP and other Commission rules, what changes to ESCO eligibility requirements should be considered? For example, should the Commission consider requiring ESCOs to pay application or annual fees?
Should the Commission require that the annual and tri-annual filings required by the UBP be accompanied by a letter from the ESCO's Chief Executive Officer certifying that the filing is in full compliance with the UBP and that the ESCO has the resources and practices in place to ensure compliance with the UBP and other Commission Orders related to retail supply service?
Related New York Stories Today:
Black Tuesday: New York Adds Recourse to Purchase of Receivables; Will Adopt ESCO-Specific Discounts
Here's What ESCOs Will Be Required to File, and What New York Will Disclose, in Reporting ESCO Historic Pricing
New York Bans Teaser Rates from Power to Choose; Requires ESCOs to "Guarantee" Customers Pay No More Than Power to Choose Pricing, Expands Site to Small Commercial
State Ends Retail Supplier Customer Referral Programs
Here's How All ESCO Mass Market Sales Pitches Must Start in New York, and What TPVs Must Cover
State: Large Number of Retail Suppliers, "Generating Revenues By Offering Consumers Little More Than Higher Prices"
New York Asks If ESCOs Should Pay Annual Fee, Whether Eligibility Requirements Should Be Changed
Case 12-M-0476
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February 26, 2014
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Copyright 2010-13 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Karen Abbott • kabbott@energychoicematters.com
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