Energy Choice
                            

Matters

Massachusetts Considers Allowing Certain Brokers To Appear on Interim Shopping Website, Also Considers Renewable, Small C&I Listings

November 25, 2015

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

The Massachusetts DPU is considering allowing certain electricity brokers -- namely those who run online shopping sites -- to appear on the DPU's interim retail electricity shopping website.

Currently, the interim website is limited to licensed retail suppliers.

The DPU is considering allowing two types of non-suppliers to appear on the site.

Specifically, the DPU is considering allowing the posting of, "competitive electric supply products offered through electricity broker websites."

The DPU requested that such online brokers state by November 30 whether they seek to display price and/or non-price information on the DPU website. "An electricity broker that falls into [this] category should also provide the website address it would include in the Interim Website," the DPU said

The DPU is also considering allowing REC brokers participating in various utility "retail access" REC add-on programs to post on the interim shopping website

The DPU will consider these changes, as well as the others noted below, at a December 2, 2015 technical session.

Among other changes under consideration is creating a listing of renewable offers on the DPU interim site. Currently, the interim site is limited to two product types: 6 and 12-month fixed products

"The Department anticipates that the usefulness of the Interim Website to electricity consumers in the Commonwealth will be improved by allowing suppliers to display pricing information for renewable energy products ... however, we believe that the renewable composition of the renewable energy products should be uniform (i.e., the products should be composed of the same percentage of renewable resources, and the renewable resources that comprise the products should include the same percentage of RPS Class I resources). This uniformity will allow consumers to make an apples-to-apples comparison of such products, without having to navigate the websites of individual suppliers," the DPU said, in seeking suppliers' proposals by November 30 concerning the specific renewable energy product for which the interim website would display pricing information. In addition, the Department invited stakeholders to submit comments on whether the benefits associated with displaying pricing for renewable energy products may be outweighed by any customer confusion it could cause.

With the successful launch of the interim site for residential service, the DPU is considering expanding the site to small C&I offers, and asked for supplier expressions of interest in listing small C&I offers by November 30

Also under consideration is expanding the current 75-character limit available for suppliers in describing other available non-energy products and services associated with their offers to 150 characters

Docket 14-140

ADVERTISEMENT
NEW Jobs on RetailEnergyJobs.com:
• NEW! -- Customer Account Manager -- Retail Supplier
• NEW! -- Vice President and Regional General Manager -- Retail Supplier
• NEW! -- Director of Commercial Structuring -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
• NEW! -- Program Director - $225K/yr -- Texas
• NEW! -- Staff Accountant, Commissions Analysis -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
• NEW! -- Supplier Services Manager
• NEW! -- Direct Business Development Manager -- Retail Supplier
• NEW! -- Compliance Manager -- Retail Supplier
• NEW! -- Operations Analyst -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
• NEW! -- ERCOT Business Development Manager -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
• NEW! -- Channel Manager -- Retail Supplier
• NEW! -- Marketing/Channel Manager -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
• NEW! -- Supplier Services Account Executive
• NEW! -- Manager, Operations -- Retail Supplier -- Houston