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Pennsylvania Proposes All Retail Electric Offers Be Disclosed In Terms Of Price Per kWh, As Part Of Proposed Changes To Retail Electric Marketing, Disclosure Rules

Retail Suppliers Must Disclose EGS’s "Specific" Prescribed Variable Pricing Methodology, PUC Proposes

PUC Would Prohibit Termination Fees After Renewal Notice Sent

Disclosure Statement Would Now List Right Of Rescission

December 7, 2017

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

The Pennsylvania PUC proposed today a host of changes to the retail electric marketing and disclosure standards

Chief among the changes in the PUC's notice of proposed rulemaking is that, under the proposal, generation charges shall now be disclosed according to the actual prices, "per kilowatt-hour." (adding 'per kWh' to the current rule language)

"This requirement is ... intended to ensure that the prices presented to consumers are bundled appropriately to make 'apples-to-apples' comparisons possible," the PUC said

"We recognize that as we move forward to an electric market with advanced metering technology, new products and pricing structures are possible. We invite parties to comment on the need for this regulation to accommodate these possibilities; or at the least, not to obstruct or be an obstacle to future innovations," the PUC said

Additionally, generation charges in the disclosure statement must now include an estimate of all applicable taxes except for State sales tax and county tax, the proposal further revises

Furthermore, the proposal provides that the disclosure statement shall disclose that, "If the unit price changes based on customer usage or if the product includes fees in addition to the unit price, the price per kWh shall factor in all costs associated with the rate charged to the customer and show the average price per kWh for usages of 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh of electricity in a table format." [emphasis added]. This provision further emphasizes a currently required disclosure under other rules but which is not emphasized in the disclosure statement requirements (and therefore is often overlooked)

The PUC's proposal further provides that, "If the price is introductory, the pricing statement must include a statement that the price is an introductory price, the duration of the introductory period and the price for the first billing cycle after the introductory period."

A variable rate disclosure statement is also proposed to now include the disclosure of, "Conditions of variability (state on what basis prices will vary) including the EGS’s specific prescribed variable pricing methodology." (proposed added text bolded, emphasis added)

The PUC also proposes a new requirement at 52 Pa. Code § 54.3(2) that would in effect ban the imposition of early termination fees (ETFs) once a supplier has provided the initial contract expiration notice required by 52 Pa. Code § 54.10.

"We are proposing this requirement on all supplier contracts entered into after the effective date of this regulation. We are proposing this requirement in response to consumers who object to having an ETF assessed upon them simply because they acted on the expiration notices sent by the supplier," the PUC said

"We note that this requirement would be in effect only during the final 45-60 days of the customer’s contract with the EGS (once the initial notice has gone out)," the PUC said

"We also note that we are targeting this requirement only to the residential and small business segment of the market. We acknowledge that this kind of requirement may not be appropriate for large commercial/industrial customers – where early exits can result in significant financial loss for the EGS and where the customer is more sophisticated and more able to manage such transitions due to the costs involved," the PUC said

The PUC also proposes to add to the disclosure statement concerning the right of rescission, proposing to add a new row to highlight the customer’s 3-day right of rescission as found in 52 Pa. Code § 54.5(d).

"We believe this is a key consumer protection and needs to be visible and understandable to the customer," the PUC said

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