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PSC Orders Utility To Make Bill Ready Billing Available To Retail Suppliers Within 60 Days

Seeks Info On Incremental Cost of Utility's Billing For Retail Suppliers


July 6, 2017

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Copyright 2010-17 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

The District of Columbia PSC adopted an order concerning a new billing system at Washington Gas Light, ordering WGL to make the bill-ready billing format available to competitive service providers (CSPs) within 60 days

WGL had stated in a prior report that it would modify its Billing Service Agreement and tariff to clarify that CSPs requesting utility consolidated billing will be given an option to choose rate-ready or bill-ready formats.

"But, according to WGL’s DR Response, as of May 1, 2017, 16,438 active customers of CSPs in the District of Columbia were billed as rate-ready service customers,35 and no customers were billed as bill-ready because 'that has not yet been released into production,'" the PSC noted

"The Commission is concerned that the CSPs are not being offered the full range of functionalities provided by the new billing system. In the past, WGL offered solely the rate-ready option to CSPs and the new billing system was expected to add the bill-ready option at the time the system was launched or shortly thereafter. Therefore, we are directing WGL to make the bill-ready format available to CSPs in the District of Columbia within 60 days of the date this Order, communicate in advance to these CSPs when the bill-ready format will be available, and inquire whether the CSPs would like to switch from rate-ready to bill-ready," the PSC directed

Addressing other backoffice issues, the PSC said that, given the technical flexibilities provided by the new billing system, the registration and set-up process CSPs must undergo with WGL to initiate service in its territory could be abridged and the CSPs could be fully incorporated within 90 days. Currently, the process takes three to four months

Washington Gas Light was directed to begin incorporating new CSPs within a 90-day period from the day a CSP files an application with the company.

The PSC also sought further information concerning the incremental costs of producing CSP bills.

"In Formal Case No. 1137 by Order No. 18712, the Commission articulated its intention to 'further investigate whether WGL has removed all incremental costs to providing billing services to WGL’s Default Customers and will move this issue to Formal Case No. 1138.' The Commission is concerned that the commodity supply-related costs may not have been entirely eliminated from the billing costs for WGL’s default customers. In Formal Case No. 1137, WGL Witness Tuoriniemi testified that the $0.50 charge is the incremental cost the Company charges CSPs for adding the gas commodity charges to the bills of their customers. When questioned about whether Default (or sales) customers are charged the same $0.50 per bill for incremental billing costs, Witness Tuoriniemi testified that the cost is 'just embedded in the overall cost of service ... it’s embedded in their distribution.' In response to Staff Data Request No. 2-2, WGL said: '...for Calendar Year 2016 the $0.50 administrative fee is short by approximately $0.17 per customer,' and the $0.67 cost cited appears to be the total billing and payment processing cost per bill, not just the incremental cost of including the supply charges on the CSP customer’s bill. The data provided by WGL shows, for the first quarter of 2017, a total cost per mailed customer of $1.02 compared to $1.04 for CSP customers, which implies an incremental cost of two cents for each mailed CSP bill. Due to the Company’s contradictory explanations of its billing costs, the Commission is unable to determine whether there are any incremental billing costs for CSP customers and if there are, the amount of these costs. Therefore, the Commission is directing WGL and staff to participate in a technical conference within 20 days of the date of this Order to discuss this matter. WGL should file with the Commission a report on the technical conference within 15 days of the conference date," the PSC said

The PSC also directed WGL to provide a side-by-side comparison of its credit requirements for CSPs to those established by the Commission and file with the Commission one sample credit application for a District of Columbia CSP, along with the associated approval and supporting documents.

FC 1138

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