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Stipulation In Default Service Case Would Require Audit of Purchase Of Receivables Program, Suppliers' Compliance With Limitation On Eligible Receivables

Utility To Heavily Rely On 36-Month Contracts For Default Service

Utility Withdraws Proposal To Offer Energy Management, Analytics Services

April 16, 2018

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

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A stipulation among several parties would establish the process for Duke Energy Ohio to obtain Standard Service Offer (SSO) supplies for the period from June 1, 2018, through May 31, 2024 and would address other retail market issues, including the continuation of the current purchase of receivables program, which currently has zero discount

As only reported by EnergyChoiceMatters.com (see story here), Staff of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio had in the proceeding proposed that a discount be applied to Duke's Purchase of Accounts Receivable (PAR, or POR) program, because, as Staff said, "[t]he lack of a discount rate for CRES suppliers prevents CRES suppliers from performing their due diligence regarding their customers’ credit."

The stipulation provides that Duke Energy Ohio shall continue its Purchase of Accounts Receivable (PAR) Program, with the current zero discount rate, and related nonbypassable Rider UE-GEN, which recovers generation-related uncollectibles from both SSO and POR customers.

However, the stipulation requires that, within six months of an order approving the stipulation, PUCO Staff shall issue an RFP, subject to Commission approval, to hire an independent auditor to audit the PAR program. The scope of the audit shall be determined by Staff and shall include without limitation, the sufficiency of Duke Energy Ohio's internal processes and controls for ensuring that Duke Energy Ohio is purchasing only those receivables it is authorized to purchase and recover through the PAR Program; the sufficiency of internal processes and controls for monitoring CRES [retail] providers' compliance with Duke Energy Ohio's PAR Program agreement

The stipulation would continue a competitive bidding process to obtain Duke Energy Ohio SSO supplies, with a heavy reliance on 36-month contracts.

For the initial and final years of the electricity security plan period, the SSO portfolio would consist of a mix of contracts of varying term lengths including 12 months (only 2018-19 and 2023-2024), 24 months, and 36 months. However, for the delivery years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, the portfolio would consist entirely of 36-month contracts, procured over a laddered period.

See a schedule of the proposed procurements and term lengths here

The stipulated competitive bid plan would rely on a descending clock auction obtaining laddered, full requirements, load following slice-of-system products to serve SSO load. Full requirements service consists of energy, capacity, ancillary services, and market-based firm transmission services. It does not include renewable energy compliance

Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP) load would be served by a retail supplier selected via a competitive RFP for a one-year term prior to each delivery year.

Duke Energy Ohio would continue to recover SSO generation supply costs via the existing bypassable riders Rider RE (Energy), Rider RC (Capacity), Rider AER-R (Alternative Energy Recovery Rider) and Rider SCR (Supplier Cost Reconciliation), with Rider SCR subject to a circuit breaker provision allowing the charge, upon application and PUCO approval, to become nonbypassable if Rider SCR balance is more than 10 percent of Duke Energy Ohio's overall actual SSO revenue. Notably, Rider SCR will also now recover costs incurred pursuant to net metering Riders NM and NM-H. Riders NM and NM-H shall be available to customers electing to shop with a CRES provider Duke shall compensate customers for excess generation, only at the applicable prevailing Rider RE rates.

Under the stipulation, Duke Energy Ohio agrees to withdraw from the proceedings its proposal that would allow it to offer certain products and services other than retail electric service as proposed in Duke's original application, including, "providing whole-house surge protection," and, "providing energy consumption analysis services, tools and reports," as well as services designed to achieve energy efficiency and peak load reductions.

Nothing in the settlement prohibits Duke Energy Ohio from seeking, in a subsequent proceeding, a revision to its Corporate Separation Plan and tariffs to enable the provision of such additional services

The stipulation would approve the following changes to Duke's supplier tariff: adding to the End-use Customer list a supplier indicator, providing a customer's electronic mail address, and provide future meter reading dates; Bulk indicator, account identifier (which is not the customer account number); PLC values for current and future periods with start and end dates; and NSPL values for current and future periods with start and end dates. In addition, Duke Energy Ohio added new language for including supplier logos on its consolidated bills and language regarding unauthorized action to its default section.

The stipulation also provides for enhancements to the provision and usage of AMI billing data, including the provision of such data to retail suppliers

The stipulation provides that Duke shall modify the CRES portal to allow CRES to upload customer information release consent forms for residential customers in bulk and allow customers to self-authorize the release of AMI data through the authenticated Duke Energy website

The stipulation provides that Duke shall modify the company's systems for billing to increase ability for larger volumes of interval AMI CEUD [customer energy usage data] to flow through electronic data interchange (EDI) transactions and for CRES providers to receive interval AMI CEUD (within 12 months).

The stipulation provides that Duke shall enable CRES providers to calculate charges associated with interval AMI data and provide the billing amount to the company, so it can be placed on the bill using "Bill Ready" billing (within 24 months).

The stipulation provides that Duke shall enhance the systems needed to accommodate the increased data from AMI meters that will now through electronic data interchange (EDI) transactions for billing purposes and allow CRES providers to access interval AMI CEUD via EDI transactions. Interval (hourly, 'bill-quality") AMI CEUD will be made available to CRES providers the day after it is delivered, i.e. "Next Day" usage, via EDI transaction (within 12 months following the above change).

The stipulation would approve nonbypassable Rider PSR to recover costs/credits from all customers related to the sale of OVEC products into the wholesale market.

Signatories to the stipulation included Duke Energy Ohio, PUCO Staff, Ohio Energy Group, and Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy, among others. Industrial Energy Users-Ohio and several other large customers do not oppose the stipulation

Case 17-1263-EL-SSO

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