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State Formally Adopts Rules For New Electricity Shopping Website

October 27, 2016

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

The Massachusetts DPU has formally adopted rules for a new electricity shopping website run by the DPU (http://www.energyswitchma.gov).

Participation in the website is voluntary.

Initially, the website will list only fixed-priced supply products. To be listed on the Website as fixed-priced supply product, the contract term must be three months or greater. The Department uses months as a proxy for customer billing cycles (i.e., three months is the same as three billing cycles).

The website will list supply products available to (1) residential electricity consumers, and (2) small commercial and industrial electricity consumers whose monthly demand does not exceed 25 kilowatts. Suppliers must offer the residential and small C&I supply products listed on the website to all residential and small C&I electricity consumers, respectively, within an electric company’s service territory.

Suppliers may list up to eight unique supply products for each customer class within each electric company’s service territory. To be deemed unique, supply products must differ in at least one of the following ways:

1. Length of contract term must differ by at least three months;

2. Percent of renewable energy content must differ by at least 25 percent; or

3. Inclusion of additional products and services.

Two supply products will be deemed unique if one includes an additional product or service, and the other supply product does not. However, two supply products will not be deemed unique if the only difference is that the supply products include different types of additional products or services.

Suppliers must express prices for fixed-price supply products in cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) or dollars per month. Suppliers must express the contract term for fixed-price supply products in months.

For supply products with an introductory price offer, suppliers must (1) express the introductory price in cents per kWh or dollars per month, and (2) identify the number of months the introductory price offer will be in effect. To be listed on the website as a fixed-price supply product with an introductory price offer (1) the contract term must be six months or greater, and (2) the introductory term must be equal to, or less than one-half of the contract term.

For supply products with an enrollment fee, suppliers must express the fee as a fixed dollar amount.

For supply products with an early termination fee, suppliers must express the fee as either (1) a dollar amount per month remaining on the contract, or (2) a fixed dollar amount.

For supply products with an automatic renewal provision, suppliers must identify (1) the pricing structure to which the contract will automatically renew (i.e., fixed or variable), and (2) if renewed to a fixed pricing structure, the term (in months) during which the new fixed price will be in effect. To be listed on the website as a supply product with an automatic renewal provision, the initial contract term must be six months or greater.

To be listed on the Website as a renewable energy supply product, a supply product must be composed of at least 50 percent renewable energy resources (this includes the percentage of renewable energy resources required to meet the Commonwealth’s Renewable Portfolio Standards). For these supply products, suppliers, among other things, must identify the type of renewable energy resource (biomass, hydro, solar, wind, other, or unspecified) that comprise the supply product

The website will list the following types of additional energy-related products or services:

1. smart thermostats

2. photo-voltaic solar installation

3. heating, ventilation, and air conditioning services

4. insurance or home warranty protection

5. energy efficiency services

The website will list the following types of additional non-energy products or services:

1. rewards programs

2. gift cards

3. cash back

4. charitable contributions

5. sponsored promotions

Suppliers may, but are not required to, provide a hyperlink for each supply product listed on the website that takes users directly to a page on the supplier’s website containing information related to the specific supply product (i.e., the unique hyperlink should not bring the user to the supplier’s website homepage). However, at a minimum, suppliers must provide a working hyperlink for display on the website that brings users to the supplier’s website homepage.

For each supply product, the website will (1) calculate the estimated average monthly cost over the supply product’s contract term based on the supply product’s price, and (2) display the month and year through which the estimated average monthly cost applies based on the length of the contract term. The website will calculate the estimated average monthly cost based on an average monthly usage value (in kWh). This value will be 600 kWh and 1,000 kWh for residential and small C&I consumers, respectively, unless a user specifies a different monthly usage value.

For each customer class within each electric company, the Website will list the fixed basic service prices (1) that are currently in effect, and (2) that will be in effect during the upcoming six-month basic service term. The website will display the upcoming basic service prices as "to be determined" when those prices are not yet known

The website will display basic service as the top supply product on the Compare page regardless of (1) a user’s filtering preferences, and (2) whether the user affirmatively selected basic service for comparison. However, the basic service price will not be displayed when a user selects to view renewable products only, or only supply products that include additional products or services.

The website initially will list supply products on a random basis (the randomized listing will change on a daily basis). Users can change the website listing of supply products based on average monthly costs, contract term, and renewable energy content

Customers can also filter products based on, pricing, contract term (including length, termination fee presence, and auto-renewal presence), renewable energy, additional energy-related products and services, additional non-energy products and services, or by specific supplier

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