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Matters

Retail Supplier Exiting Market, Dropping Customers to Default Service

May 14, 2015

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Copyright 2010-15 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

Blue Pilot Energy, LLC is exiting the retail electric market, and will drop its Maryland customers to default service if they have not chosen another electric supplier.

At the time it made its decision to exit the market, Blue Pilot was serving 25 customers in Maryland, all at Baltimore Gas & Electric. Blue Pilot informed these customers in a letter dated April 28 notifying them of its market exit that they would be switched to SOS to the extent they did not choose an alternative supplier.

As of a May 13 motion filed with the Maryland PSC, Blue Pilot was serving 13 customers in Maryland. It was unclear if the reduction resulted from customers switching in response to the Blue Pilot letter, or if the drops to SOS had already begun.

Blue Pilot had not enrolled any new Maryland customers since mid-March 2014, when it ceased new marketing in the state in response to the polar vortex.

The only other states in which Blue Pilot held a license to supply electric were Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Blue Pilot is in the process of surrendering its Connecticut license and notified the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission that it surrendered its license there on May 4, 2015.

Blue Pilot is currently subject to a show cause proceeding in Maryland related to polar vortex complaints.

"The expense and resources incurred by Blue Pilot in responding to the Order and litigating the issues that it has been presented with in this proceeding have forced Blue Pilot to shut down its business," Blue Pilot said.

Blue Pilot said that independent of the show cause proceeding, "Blue Pilot has resolved every complaint that it received from a Maryland customer, whether they were complaints that Blue Pilot received directly from a customer or those that were referred to Blue Pilot through a Maryland state agency."

"The only complaints that Blue Pilot has not resolved are the seven complaints that were filed directly with the Commission, all of which are still pending and which involve issues relating to rates that were raised during the extreme weather events of last year," Blue Pilot said.

Given its exit from the market, Blue Pilot asked that the show cause proceeding against it be dismissed, citing the PSC's dismissal of a similar show cause proceeding against American Power Partners after American Power Partners surrendered its license.

Though the American Power Partners' customer book was acquired by another supplier (as opposed to a market exit), Blue pilot said that, "the net effect is the same -- both suppliers ceased doing business in Maryland, had no remaining customers in Maryland and both surrendered their electricity supplier license."

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