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N.Y. Munis Seeking to Create New Opt-Out Aggregation File Implementation Plan With PSC (Could Top 400,000 Customers, May Include Albany)

July 8, 2016

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Copyright 2010-16 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

The Municipal Electric and Gas Alliance (MEGA) has filed a "generic" implementation plan for an opt-out municipal aggregation with the New York PSC

Though a cover letter references a contemplated electricity opt-out aggregation, the plan itself covers both electricity and natural gas aggregations

The generic implementation plan does not include any specific municipalities which have yet selected MEGA as their aggregation administrator. However, MEGA asks that the PSC approve the generic implementation plan, which all communities for which it would serve as an administrator would utilize, with communities also developing community-specific opt-out letters and outreach plans

Such opt-out letters and community outreach and education plans would be tailored to each individual town, village or city joining the aggregation. When a municipality enacts the local laws necessary to implement municipal aggregation, it will adopt its own community-specific implementation plan appendices, which would be submitted to the PSC Staff, along with local laws and resolutions authorizing creation of the program, for review and approval. These local approval filings would include all of the community-specific information required to permit a municipality to create and proceed with an aggregation, using MEGA as its administrator.

Though no specific customers were identified in the plan, in previously proposing a pilot (click here) prior to statewide authorization for opt-out municipal aggregation, MEGA had said that, as of January 2016, 31 municipalities had expressed support for a MEGA municipal aggregation, as well as interest in participating in a future municipal aggregation program. The Alliance had collected these letters of interest from a number of county, city, town and village governments throughout the state, representing approximately 380,000 households total.

One such letter of support was from the City of Albany, which stated, "The City of Albany is interested in considering this option in the future and supports the adoption of additional CCA pilot programs within New York State."

MEGA currently manages aggregated procurement of energy products and services for 36 county governments and more than 275 municipal entities throughout New York.

The implementation plan generally parrots requirements set forth in the PSC's order approving opt-out aggregation (click here for details), and does not offer any expanded customer protections. The plan uses the 30-day opt-out period established by the PSC. Additionally, as directed by the PSC's order, the plan provides that customers are permitted by the aggregation's ESCO to opt-out, and return to utility service [emphasis added] any time before the end of the third billing cycle after enrollment without penalty; as the aggregation elected not to expand this time, or expand this right to switching to non-aggregation ESCO service.

One notable provision is that the aggregation supply contract, "shall include a commitment by the ESCO to refrain from contacting customers directly with solicitations or offers unrelated to that customer’s CCA participation or contracted-for energy supply."

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