New York PSC Grants ESCO Extension Of Time For Filing New Application To Serve Mass Market Customers

November 16, 2020

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Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

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The Secretary of the New York PSC granted ABC Energy, LLC an extension, until January 15, 2021, to comply with Ordering Clause 6 of the Order on Rehearing, Reconsideration and Providing Clarification, issued September 18, 2020 (2020 Order), in the New York PSC's retail market reset proceeding

Ordering Clause 6 established a November 17, 2020 filing deadline for Energy Services Companies (ESCOs) that intend to enroll new customers or renew contracts with mass market customers in New York, upon the reset order's product limits taking effect, to submit a new retail access application form with the PSC

In seeking the extension, ABC had stated, "In that application, ABC Energy will need to provide information submitted in its previous applications, a significant amount of additional information, and a description of how ABC Energy will comply with the new limitations on product offerings for new and existing mass market customers."

Noting that the PSC has limited mass market service to certain products, ABC said, "Going forward, the only way for ABC Energy to make any other product pricing offer to mass market customers will be for ABC Energy to obtain a separate prior approval of the Commission before making such product offering. In any separate proceeding seeking such approval, ABC Energy would have to make a showing that the product offering provides measurable benefits to customers. In its December 12, 2019 order, the Commission stated that whether ESCO products that include energy related services are beneficial to customers 'would require both consideration of whether and how ESCOs could and would be willing to provide those services and of whether the tethering of those services with energy supply by ESCOs would create benefits,'"

"ABC Energy is a small ESCO with a limited staff, serving only approximately 250 mass market customers. Unless ABC Energy simply abandons its mass market customers and ceases to provide such service, ABC Energy must now determine how it will serve these limited mass market customers going forward, whether it can do so in compliance with the three remaining permissible price offerings, and whether it will need (or can justify) a filing with this Commission to approve some other appropriate price offering to those mass market customers. ABC Energy must also compile all of the information required in the new application requirements, draft its application and file it, all of this by November 17, 2020," ABC said

"ABC Energy has been greatly affected by the business disruptions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, ABC Energy has been unable to work efficiently and quickly with local vendors and service suppliers to determine how it could best provide value-added services going forward. ABC Energy has also been affected by staffing and office issues as crucial staff members working on vendor accounts have remained on voluntary furlough and the office has been relatively vacant during the pandemic. Further, the vendors that ABC Energy needs to work with on developing and implementing value-added services and helping to analyze the advantages of serving mass market customers and how to do so in the new price cap regulated environment have also been affected by the pandemic, just like ABC Energy," ABC said

"The requested extension will give ABC Energy the additional time necessary to determine how to proceed with its mass market customers, develop new marketing offers if required, gather the support for its decision to be able to explain it to the Commission in a meaningful way, collect all the application information and prepare the application," ABC said

The Secretary stated that the extension does not alter the February 15, 2021 implementation date for Ordering Clauses 3, 4, and 5 of the Commission’s 2020 Order (relating to the previously reported product limitations for mass market customers).

"In addition, the granting of this extension should not be construed as requiring Staff to complete its review of ABC’s application prior to the February 15, 2021 implementation date," the Secretary stated in addressing the extension request

Separately, on November 14, Pay Less Energy, LLC also requested an extension, until November 30, 2020, to file the same new RAAF to continue serving mass market customers

Case 98-M-1343 et al.

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