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Niagara Mohawk Seeking to Offer Customers Flat Monthly Electric Bill, Menu of Value-Added Tiers and Bundles

August 5, 2015

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

As part of its proposed Reforming the Energy Vision demonstration projects in New York, Niagara Mohawk (National Grid) has proposed to bundle distributed energy resource (DER) services and products on customers' energy bills, while offering customers a flat bill per month, for customers residing in Clifton Park, N.Y. (about 15,000 customers).

Specifically, National Grid would establish varying tiers of usage that customers would be provided each month, with a level charge for such usage. Customers exceeding their allocated usage would be subject to an overage charge.

In addition to a Base tier, National Grid would provide customers with the ability to opt-in to three other plans (Silver, Gold, and Platinum), each with an increasing amount of value-added energy management or efficiency services (such as LED bulbs, smart thermostat, new appliances, weatherization, solar).

More specifically, National Grid describes the plans as follows:

Base Energy Plan

Eligible participating customers who are on the Base Energy Plan will receive a levelized bill over a-twelve-month period. The levelized bill will be calculated using customer’s historic electric and gas usage levels, forecasted electric and gas consumption, and projected energy prices to predetermine the monetary bill amount. These customers will have access through the internet to their interval electric usage and their monthly gas usage. Additionally these customers will receive notifications, either through emails or text messages, when they approach their predetermined monthly bill amount along with recommendations on how they can avoid exceeding their predetermined amount.

Silver Energy Plan

Eligible participating customers who voluntarily select the Silver Energy Plan will receive the same benefits as the customers who are on the Base Energy Plan plus all or some of the following items as applicable:

a) A reduced levelized bill that is lower than the levelized bill offered in the Base Energy Plan.

b) An installed smart thermostat that is capable of being controlled and programmed remotely

c) Five LED light bulbs

d) An energy audit

Gold Energy Plan

Eligible participating customers who voluntarily select the Gold Energy plan will receive all of the benefits listed under the Silver Energy Plan plus all or some of the following items, as applicable:

a) Energy efficient appliances such as an energy efficient heat pump water heater, and energy efficient washing machine and clothes dryer, all of which have the ability to be controlled and programmed remotely.

b) A second installed smart thermostat that is capable of being controlled and programmed remotely and through the internet

c) Five more LED light bulbs

d) Two hard wired load control devices and two plugged in load control devices that are capable of accepting control signals remotely

Platinum Energy Plan

Eligible participating customers who voluntarily select to this Plan receive all of the benefits listed under the Gold Energy Plan plus all or some of the following items as applicable:

a) the opportunity to install a solar PV system on their roof through an approved partner

b) the opportunity to perform home weatherization through an approved partner.

For each plan above the Base plan, the customers’ energy data and audit results will be shared with partners to allow partners to develop and recommend targeted services and products that could add comfort, convenience, home valuation, and strategies for efficient use of energy.

National Grid's filing states that Gold and Platinum customers would incur an additional monthly fixed charge each month in addition to their level bill to finance a portion of the cost of the added items, but, in response to a request last week, the company declined to provide more specific details regarding the specific usage levels and monthly plan costs.

National Grid would not directly bill customers under the program. Instead, National Grid selected Sealed, Inc., a New York-based start-up that guarantees energy bill savings to customers who pursue home efficiency improvements, to bill the customer.

This Clifton Park demonstration project was not among a set of initial demonstration projects which received approval from PSC Staff this week.

Of the Clifton Park project, PSC Staff said that while the project, "represent[s] potential, relevant and innovative REV demonstration projects, further development is required in order to determine compliance with the Commission's Order. During the upcoming meeting, Staff will provide details regarding the basis of its assessment, and the additional information needed to complete its review. Staff will also work with the company's team to establish a mutually agreeable schedule for the submission of addendums to the projects' July 1, 2015 filing."

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