Energy Choice
                            

Matters

Pa. PUC Sets Default Service Design, Procurement For PPL For Period Starting June 1, 2017

October 27, 2016

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

The Pennsylvania PUC adopted, without modification, a partial settlement addressing the design and procurement of PPL Electric Utilities default service for the period June 1, 2017 to May 31, 2021, barring any petition for a mid-course adjustment, and also addressed the issue of PPL's obligation to offer a Time of Use generation rate as part of the default service plan.

Under the adopted settlement, residential default service will consist of supply procured via laddered, fixed-price, full-requirements, load-following contracts, except for an existing 50 MW block which expires in May 2021

The settlement retains the use of six and 12-month contracts exclusively for the full requirements portion of residential default service, but changes the ratio between the two contract term lengths, as a result of shifting the amount of load bid in any single procurement.

Specifically, under the settlement, 80% of the residential full requirements portfolio will be 12-month contracts, and 20% will be six-month contracts.

Click here for the specific procurement dates, amounts, and term lengths for residential default service under the settlement

For Small C&I customers (under 100 kW), PPL will procure layered six-month and 12-month full requirements products twice per year, in April and October, with the first procurement occurring in April 2017 for default service beginning June 1, 2017.

About 45% of the Small C&I portfolio will be served under six-month contracts, and about 55% will be served under 12-month contracts. More specifically, each semi-annual procurement will obtain 45% of supplies via six-month contract, and, depending on the specific procurement, 25% or 30% via 12-month contract.

The Residential and Small C&I Price to Compare will be fixed for six months, and will be reconciled every six months. PTCs will be posted 30 days in advance of the effective date

For Large C&I customers (over 100 kW), PPL will obtain default service supply on a real-time hourly basis through the PJM spot market. PPL Electric will issue a single annual solicitation to obtain competitive offers from suppliers to provide the default service spot market supply to the Large C&I customer class. These annual procurements will coincide with the PJM planning period. Annual solicitations will be held in April for the upcoming PJM planning period.

PUC Chair Gladys Brown, as she has done in several recent default service proceedings, noted that the new default service plan does not include any new long-term contracts (only a legacy block purchase), and said that it, "will be incumbent upon electric distribution companies and this Commission to carefully consider long-term contracts of four to twenty year terms," to comply with the statutory prudent mix standard.

The PUC also addressed whether PPL's default service plan proposal is required to include a Time of Use generation option

While PPL had previously used retail suppliers to fulfill its obligation as default service provider to offer a TOU option, such mechanism was stricken by the Commonwealth Court because it shifted the default service provider’s duty to EGSs, and the issue was remanded to the PUC.

The PUC held that "it is reasonable and appropriate for the Company to defer the development of the TOU plan pending the outcome of the remanded TOU proceeding presently before the Commission."

As noted in our related story today, the PUC also adopted rate caps and other restrictions on certain low income customers' ability to shop at PPL as part of the case

See Related Story Today: Pennsylvania PUC Adopts Rate Cap On Retail Suppliers' Service To Low-Income Customers

Docket P-2016-2526627

ADVERTISEMENT
NEW Jobs on RetailEnergyJobs.com:
• NEW! -- Indirect Sales Manager -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
• NEW! -- Manager of Strategic Financial Planning & Analysis -- Retail Provider -- Houston
• NEW! -- Manager, Mass Marketing Operations -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
• NEW! -- Digital Marketing Analyst -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
• NEW! -- Credit Manager -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
• NEW! -- Gas Scheduler II -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
• NEW! -- Senior Financial Analyst -- Retail Provider -- Houston
• NEW! -- Senior Financial Reporting Analyst -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
• NEW! -- Senior Internal Auditor -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
• NEW! -- Analyst, Training & Quality -- Retail Supplier -- Houston