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Choice Utility Agrees To Additional Transparency Regarding Offering, Billing Of Non-Utility Services
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FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Company (FirstEnergy-PA, formerly Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power and West Penn Power individually) has, as part of a delivery rate case settlement, agreed to changes meant to better inform customers regarding the nature of non-basic services offered by the utility, or third parties in partnership with the utility
FirstEnergy-PA currently offers a variety of non-utility, or "non-basic", services, with services provided by the utility itself, or by an unaffiliated third party. Various protection plans are offered by non-affiliate HomeServe, while FirstEnergy-PA also offers, under the "FirstEnergy Products and Services" brand, services including surge protection, security lighting, EV charger installation, and more
Over 200,000 customers were receiving a non-basic service from FirstEnergy-PA as of June 2024
During the rate case, the Office of Consumer Advocate alleged that costs for non-basic service on the FirstEnergy-PA utility bill are not labeled as "non-basic", nor are they differentiated from regulated utility charges. OCA alleged that non-basic charges are billed under a bill section labeled as, for example, "Met-Ed Charges", with no specific total listed that is unique or limited to the non-basic services
FirstEnergy-PA's bill, OCA said, does not explain that non-payment of non-basic charges will not result in termination of utility service
Noting such lack of differentiation between regulated and non-basic charges, and alleging that a similar lack of differentiation exists on the FirstEnergy-PA website, OCA alleged, "The intermingling of regulated and unregulated
and non-basic services in FirstEnergy’s marketing, billing, and customer education activities is a
matter of significant concern in light of the obligation of Pennsylvania’s EDCs to restructure
their operations to eliminate competitively available services and products from their regulated
portfolio of services."
Under the settlement, FirstEnergy-PA will include a "non-basic" services identifier on its customer bills prior to
the listing of the non-basic products and services included on the bill.
Furthermore, FirstEnergy-PA's web portal will identify any relevant product or service as "non-basic", and state that such products or services are not required to be purchased from the utility, and that other companies offer these same services
For customers electing a non-basic product or service, FirstEnergy-PA will also educate customers regarding: (1) the definition of non-basic
service, (2) the relationship between non-basic and basic services, and (3)
relevant customer protections.
Such educational materials shall be provided in
"plain language" through FirstEnergy-PA's web portal, its marketing materials, "or other appropriate delivery channels best suited to ensure transparency,
enhance customer comprehension and considering customer
communication preferences."
The stipulation provides that the settling parties' agreement concerning the above-listed non-basic service provisions, "should not be interpreted as any
party’s agreement to or acceptance of the Company’s provision of non-basic
services or products."
Parties retain the right to challenge FirstEnergy-PA's offering of non-basic products and services in any future proceeding
In another matter, FirstEnergy-PA has, under the settlement, withdrawn its proposed electric vehicle pilot, which had included: (1) a proposed incentive and rebate program for charger installation at homes, and at businesses, government facilities, multi-family homes, etc., and (2) a proposed education and awareness program
Among other things, the pilot would have authorized FirstEnergy-PA to fund kiosks placed at car dealerships within its service area, which would have provided "remote concierge services" to educate customers on EVs, including info on home charging installation, government rebates, utility rates and programs, etc
The pilot would have also included a fleet advisory program aimed at assisting commercial and municipal fleets with electrification
While the EV pilot was withdrawn, the settlement does provide that FirstEnergy-PA shall design a new EV distribution rate
specifically for public-facing EV chargers, similar to PECO's EV-FC Rider, and that FirstEnergy-PA shall seek PUC approval for such a rate in its next rate case
R-2024-3047068
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September 16, 2024
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Copyright 2024 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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