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PUC Staff Addresses Question Concerning Potential Minimum Stay On SOS, Choice Under Straw Default Service Changes
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The Maine PUC has posted answers from PUC Staff, and the PUC's consultant, to questions from the electric utilities concerning various straw proposals for the implementation of time of use electric rates, including potentially TOU supply rates for Standard Offer (non-shopping) customers
See background on the PUC's investigation of TOU default service rates here
The Maine utilities had posed the questions to Staff to assist in developing cost estimates for implementing TOU rates
Among other queries, Central Maine Power had asked the following:
[Initial quoted text is CMP quoting from a prior procedural order concerning a straw proposal] "Customers have a 12-month stay requirement after active choice." Does this requirement pertain to the delivery TOU, supply TOU, or both? If both, does that mean that customers enrolled in the SOP [Standard Offer Provider] TOU option would be prohibited, for a 12-month period, from participating in the Competitive Electricity market once they elect SOP TOU?
Staff answered as follows:
Both (consistent with other states).
While Staff's "both" reply indicates that a minimum stay would apply to supply under the straw proposal, Staff did not explicitly state whether the minimum stay would require a customer to remain on SOS, or whether the stay only applies to the type of SOS that the customer is eligible for (flat vs TOU), but does not prevent the customer from leaving SOS for retail supply
Staff did direct that CMP should, in developing cost estimates, design any system such that the system could implement a stay requirement (again, with the Staff response not explicit as to the type of stay)
Specifically, Staff stated as follows in response to the CMP question below:
CMP Question:
"Residential customers are not currently required to stay with a SOP or a CEP [retail provider] for a minimum period of time. Would CMP be required to code its billing system and/or develop a process to prohibit customers from switching between SOP TOU, CEP, and SOP over a continuous 12-month period?"
Staff Answer:
"For the purposes of developing cost estimates, assume that CMP will develop a process to implement the stay requirement."
Staff also said in an answer that, "Neither Straw proposal includes support for CEP TOU rates. Customers electing CEP supply will be treated as 'opting out' of TOU supply. The changes contemplated in Straw #1 apply only to Standard Offer Service."
Staff said that, under the straw proposals, customers served by CEPs [retail suppliers] are to be able to participate in distribution-side TOU
Docket 2025-00176
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April 6, 2026
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Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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