New York Municipal Aggregation Opt-Out Letters Still Using Higher July 2017 To July 2018 ConEd Average Rate In Comparison Chart

September 9, 2019

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Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

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Updated opt-out notification letter formats filed with the New York PSC by municipal aggregation Westchester Power include, in a rate chart presented to customers, an average rate from July 2017 to July 2018 when listing the rate for Consolidated Edison

The letter formats are to be used for "new customer" mailings

Although the letters are described as "formats", it is believed that the ConEd rate information is not intended to be updated prior to an upcoming mailing. Notably, while certain fields are left blank to be later filled-in (such as date) or are to be pulled from a database or similar field-filling mechanism (such as customer name, address, etc.), the rate information is not displayed in such a manner. Also, in an FAQ included with the format opt-out letter, there is narrative text stating, "Westchester Power rates are fixed at a price lower than the average utility rate between July 2017 - July 2018."

Furthermore, regardless of any use in the upcoming letters, a Westchester Power member, the City of Peekskill, includes on its website a link to an April 2019 opt-out letter, described as "mailed", which used the same July 2017 to July 2018 average rate when listing the ConEd rate (the document is described as "Westchester Power - City of Peekskill Notification Letter mailed 04.09.19 English". At the time of such mailing, the end date of the average ConEd rate listed in the letter was eight months old

Specifically, for residential (EL1) customers, the newly filed opt-out letters and the April 2019 Peekskill letter both list rates as follows:

                                  100%
12-month Average    Standard    Renewable
Con Ed Rate**        Option      Option

$0.0826             $0.07709    $0.07959


* Rates do not include Gross Receipt Tax (GRT). 
If your municipality collects GRT, it will be 
added to these rates.

** Based on the weighted average Con Edison 
electricity supply rate from July 2017 – July 
2018.

For small commercial (EL2) customers, the newly filed opt-out letters and the April 2019 Peekskill letter both list rates as follows:

                                  100%
12-month Average    Standard    Renewable
Con Ed Rate**        Option      Option

$0.0855             $0.07709    $0.07959


* Rates do not include Gross Receipt Tax (GRT). 
If your municipality collects GRT, it will be 
added to these rates.

** Based on the weighted average Con Edison 
electricity supply rate from July 2017 – July 
2018.

Westchester Power does list on its website updated rates (through July 2019) for ConEd.

For residential customers, the online chart shows that, as pricing is determined and listed for ConEd on the chart, for nine of the 12 months in the 12-month period ending July 2019, the ConEd variable monthly rate was lower than Westchester Power's rate. For the earlier period July 2017 to July 2018, the ConEd variable rate exceeded the Westchester Power rate for eight of the 13 months.

We can only imagine the reaction from the PSC and consumer advocates if an ESCO sent out a mailing to customers with a comparison using an average ConEd rate whose term was, at least, eight months old (if not older as may be the case with any new opt-out mailings)

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