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ESCOs: REV Demonstration Projects Convey "Distinct And Discriminatory Competitive Advantage" To Utility Partners Over Competitors

July 27, 2015

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Copyright 2010-15 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Karen Abbott • kabbott@energychoicematters.com

Certain of the Reforming the Energy Vision proposed demonstration projects -- particularly Consolidated Edison's CONnectED Homes Platform -- would provide to selected utility partners, "a distinct and discriminatory competitive advantage," the Retail Energy Supply Association said in comments to the New York PSC

As first reported by EnergyChoiceMatters.com, ConEd's CONnectED Homes Platform essentially offers through ConEd bundled services from selected ConEd partners -- namely solar systems, to be offered by SunPower; energy efficiency audits/retrofits and energy appliance installations and repairs, offered by HomeServe USA; and an "exclusive" bundle of a smart thermostat with energy savings services, offered in conjunction with Nest, including Nest seasonal savings

Under the program, ConEdison will reach out to customers with personalized offers for these energy products/services via direct mail, email, and bill inserts, using customers data to develop these personalized offers

"The application of such an anti-competitive model creates no distinct benefits for anyone," RESA said.

"[T]hree companies would be provided with a distinct and discriminatory competitive advantage over all of their competitors. It is most unfair to expect non-utility retailers to compete with the utility selling the same things through their selected vendors under these discriminatory practices," RESA said

"[T]here are already numerous competitive vendors that sell these products and services in the Con Edison service territory. Given the plethora and wide diffusion of competitive participants, there exists no rational justification for conferring the benefit of customer data only upon a few chosen partners of the utility," RESA said.

"[T]he utility should not be allowed under the guise of a demonstration project to undermine the competitive retail energy market by conferring competitive advantages on any individual vendor," RESA said

"The [CONnectED Homes] submittal does not specifically indicate whether the utility offerings will also be made to customers currently served by ESCOs and thus compete directly with ESCOs acting as independent DER providers. In any event, the utility should be prohibited from leveraging its monopoly position and control over valuable assets to undermine the customer's existing relationship with its ESCO and provide the utility and its hand-picked partners an unfair competitive advantage," RESA said

RESA also noted that several of the demonstration projects propose in the way of "new thinking" online energy marketplaces along with analytics and tools to help customers manage their energy usage. "Ironically, competitive energy services companies have for years been providing such products to customers in other markets - - without subsidization by ratepayers. The distribution companies should not be allowed to replicate at ratepayer expense the same consumer-focused capabilities that many companies have already developed and are eagerly willing to rapidly deploy in New York," RESA said

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