Utilities File New Minimum Stay Provisions, Impact On Retail Customer Choice

December 12, 2022

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

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The Ohio electric distribution utilities have filed new minimum stay provisions, applicable to large municipal aggregation loads returning to standard offer service

As first reported by EnergyChoiceMatters.com, PUCO had directed the EDCs to propose minimum stay provisions after NOPEC returned the vast majority of its electric customers to SSO. However, PUCO did not prescribe the specifics of any minimum stay or its applicability

Notably, the FirstEnergy utilities (Ohio Edison Company, The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, and Toledo Edison) propose a minimum stay applicable to government aggregators that would prevent the municipal aggregator from re-enrolling the customer during the stay, but would not prevent an affected customer from individually choosing a competitive retail electric supplier

As noted below, the FirstEnergy EDCs' new tariff language on minimum stays provides that, "This section does not limit customers who were returned to SSO by the Governmental Aggregator from shopping with a Competitive Retail Electric Supplier during the stay."

The FirstEnergy EDCs' tariff is the only tariff to explicitly provide this language concerning a former aggregation customer's retained ability to shop with competitive suppliers. However, the language of the other EDCs' tariffs apply the minimum stay to the government aggregator (not the customer), and therefore, the customer should not be subject to a minimum stay under the new provisions, except as part of any new governmental aggregation

Specifically, the FirstEnergy EDCs propose language as follows:

If more than 25,000 customers or 25 MW of a Governmental Aggregator’s load, whichever is less, is returned to the Standard Service Offer (“SSO”) by a Governmental Aggregator from an opt-out aggregation program before the end of the aggregation term:

1. In advance of the return, the Governmental Aggregator shall provide notice to the Company of the name, service address, and account number of all customers who are being returned to the SSO, as well as 36 months of energy consumption data, or the maximum amount of such data that is available up to 36 months, for the returning customers, by customer class;

2. At the same time, the Governmental Aggregator shall docket a notice of the customer return in the EL-GAG docket before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio created for that aggregation program; and

3. The Governmental Aggregator, or any affiliate or successor of the Governmental Aggregator, may not offer an opt-out aggregation program to the customers returned to the SSO for a minimum period of at least twelve months following that return. The Governmental Aggregator may reinitiate its opt-out aggregation program beginning on the 1st of June following the completion of the minimum stay twelve-month term or at a later date as may be ordered by the Commission.

This section does not limit customers who were returned to SSO by the Governmental Aggregator from shopping with a Competitive Retail Electric Supplier during the stay.

As noted in the other EDCs' language below, the FirstEnergy EDCs are also unique in proposing a 25,000 customer / 25 MW threshold, rather than 5,000 customers

Duke Energy Ohio, Inc. stated that its proposed tariff language institutes a 12-month stay-out [or longer to coincide with a new PJM delivery year] of new opt-out aggregations by an aggregator which drops more than 5,000 customers before the end of the aggregation term, "thereby helping to avoid the practice of dropping and re-enrolling customers back and forth from the SSO to an aggregation program."

In a timing consideration also proposed by other utilities [as noted in the FirstEnergy language above and the other EDCs below], Duke said that, "The stay-out period will be equal to 12 months, plus whatever additional amount of time is necessary to reach May 31st, corresponding to the planning periods of PJM."

Duke's proposed language states, "If more than 5,000 customers are returned to the Standard Service Offer by a governmental aggregation program from an opt-out aggregation before the end of the aggregation term, the governmental aggregator may not offer an opt-out aggregation program for a minimum stay of at least twelve months following that return. This stay shall extend to May 31st following the end of the minimum stay period, or to a later date as may be ordered by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio."

Dayton Power and Light Company d/b/a AES Ohio similarly proposed to establish a minimum stay period that would prohibit governmental aggregators that return more than 5,000 customers from an opt-out aggregation program to AES Ohio’s Standard Service Offer before the aggregation term ends from offering any opt-out aggregation program for at least twelve months following that return. The stay would continue until May 31 following the end of that twelve-month period.

DP&L's proposed language states, "...if more than 5,000 customers are returned to the Standard Offer Rate from an opt-out governmental aggregation program before the end of the aggregation term, then that Governmental Aggregator shall not offer any opt-out governmental aggregation program for a minimum stay of 12 months. That stay shall continue until May 31 following the end of that minimum stay period or a later date as may be ordered by the Commission."

Likewise, Ohio Power Company (AEP Ohio) proposed language stating that, "If more than 5,000 customers are returned to the Standard Service Offer by a Governmental Aggregator from an opt-out aggregation program before the end of the aggregation term, the Governmental Aggregator may not offer an opt-out aggregation program for a minimum stay of at least twelve months following that return. This stay shall extend to May 31st following the end of the minimum stay period or to a later date as may be ordered by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio."

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