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Regulator To Develop Straw Proposal For Time-Varying Default Service Rates, Explains Case Procedure
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The Massachusetts DPU will develop a straw proposal for implementation of time-varying rates (TVR) for electricity basic service (default service), the DPU said in addressing a request form Nstar, National Grid, and Unitil, who had asked that the TVR investigation use an evidentiary process
As previously reported by ECM, the DPU opened an inquiry into the design and implementation of time-varying rates (TVR) for default service (aka basic service) in response to a petition from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources which proposes the implementation of a default, opt-out time-of-use (TOU) rate for basic electricity service (default service) customers
See background here
Nstar, National Grid, and Unitil (each an electric utility "Company"] have requested that the Massachusetts DPU use an evidentiary process, including discovery, testimony, and hearings, to adjudicate proposals for implementation of time-varying default service electric rates
In response, the DPU said that, "the Department intends to
conduct this inquiry as a 'generic proceeding' that will set forth principles to be refined in
future, Company-specific [utility-specific] adjudications."
The DPU said, "The instant investigation can be understood to renew
the investigation in D.P.U. 14-04, updating its findings to account for changes in the economy,
the law, and other circumstances, as well as the latest information about optimal methods for
designing TVR. As the Department observed in D.P.U. 14-04-D, and as we have noted several
times since, '[a] generic proceeding is the appropriate forum when it permits consideration of
issues across all distribution companies and would lead to a fair and consistent treatment of all
the distribution companies in the Commonwealth.'"
The DPU said that the data and comments filed in the TVR investigation, including
stakeholders’ input provided at forthcoming technical sessions, and the EDCs’ responses to the
DPU's information requests, "will inform a straw proposal."
"We anticipate soliciting at
least one more round of stakeholder comments on the Department’s straw proposal and the
EDCs’ joint MEO [marketing, education, and outreach] plans, as well as other policy issues that may arise during this investigation,
before making any policy determinations," the DPU said
"The policies determined in this investigation will be
applied later in separate, company-specific proceedings," the DPU said
The DPU said, "The Department welcomes the Companies’ active participation in this docket, including
information about their customers’ needs and opinions."
The DPU also noted that, "The Companies claim that their
personnel understand their customers’ expectations regarding TVR and that they 'have
conducted preliminary customer research' on this topic. The Department already has solicited
comments from the Companies, and there is no apparent reason why the Companies should have
delayed providing this research and information about their customers."
The DPU did grant the EDCs an extension for the filing of proposed marketing, education, and outreach (MEO) plans for dynamically priced default service rates
The EDCs had noted that the DPU in another proceeding has been considering the development of MEO plans related to tiered rates and other low-income assistance programs, and had asked for an extension to incorporate any best practices concerning MEOs which are adopted in such other proceeding. The DPU issued an order on the low-income MEOs on Sept. 25
The DPU suspended the deadline for the utilities to propose an MEO for TVR default service, to allow consideration of the MEO directives in the other proceeding
However, the DPU stressed that, "the Department reiterates that the Companies must consider the other sources for MEO guidance
noted in the Vote and Order Opening Inquiry at 12."
The DPU also said that a final TVR design is not needed prior to the development of a draft MEO plan for review and stakeholder input
The DPU also said that, "Further, the MEO Motion [from the EDCs] gives
no indication that the Companies have even initiated conversations with stakeholders, as directed
in the Vote and Order Opening Inquiry. Ignoring a Department directive cannot serve as good
cause to justify an extension."
The DPU directed that a procedural conference be held, and also directed that the EDCs shall confer
with the Attorney General and DOER on a proposed process that will facilitate the development
of a joint MEO plan in collaboration with stakeholders.
Docket 26-62
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September 28, 2026
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Copyright 2026 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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