Workgroup Reports On Seamless Moves Consensus Model In Wake Of New State Law

January 21, 2022

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Copyright 2010-21 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

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The Maryland Public Conference 44 (PC44) Competitive Markets and Customer Choice (CMCC) Work Group Leader submitted to the Maryland PSC a status report on the implementation of a requirement under Senate Bill 79 (SB79), enacted by the Maryland General Assembly during the 2021 legislative session, which allows a residential customer to maintain their competitive electric supply contract following a change of address to a new service location (also known as Seamless Moves).

SB79 affects those electric utilities, including electric cooperatives and municipal utilities that currently offer retail electric choice in their service territories. The law will take effect on July 1, 2022.

Under the law, the Seamless Moves requirement authorizes a residential electric customer who has a change in the service address associated with their electricity account to maintain their electricity supply contract so long as the new address is within the same electric service territory. The electric utility may not terminate the customer’s supply contract due to the change of address. The law requires the utility to make any changes necessary to effectuate the change of address on notification by the customer.

The Work Group reached consensus on the core elements of the business process plan to implement seamless moves

Notably, Seamless Moves will be made available to all eligible residential and small commercial customers within the utility’s service territory with competitive electric supply contracts (the law had only referenced residential customers)

Under the consensus model, the Customer initiates the Seamless Move process by contacting the Utility and providing the Utility with his/her/its current and new service addresses with move-out and move-in dates

If the Customer is currently enrolled with an electric supplier, the Utility shall first determine whether the Customer is eligible for a Seamless Move. Among other things, a meter must be installed at the Customer’s new premise at the time the Seamless Move is initiated in order for the Customer to be eligible for a Seamless Move

The Utility will then advise the Customer of their eligibility for Seamless Moves.

If Customer is eligible for a Seamless Move, the Utility will generate an 814 Move transaction (814M) to Customer’s active electric supplier

The Utility will establish the new customer account and schedule the move/transfer. The Utility will transfer summary data or interval data indicator to the new account, subject to the meter configuration at the new premise.

To implement Seamless Moves, the affected Utilities plan to submit revised tariffs incorporating core elements described above, further tailored to their system requirements, for Commission approval. The Work Group requested that the Commission note the consensus report and direct the Utilities to file revised tariffs consistent with the report.

PC44, RM62

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