Texas REPs, TDSPs File MOU on Meter Tampering Rebills

Several Texas retail electric providers and Transmission and Distribution Service Providers have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to address the REPs' concerns of waiting until the next cycle billing date to receive meter tampering discretionary charges and rebills.

While waiting until the next cycle billing date to invoice the charges does comply with Subst. R. 25.126, which requires the charges and rebills to be sent concurrently, REPs are concerned that waiting could delay billing the customer and the removal of any switch-hold on the customer's account.

The purpose of the MOU is only to set out the general understanding of the parties of the process to be used on an interim basis until new transactions can be implemented in TX SET 4.0, which is expected to go-live sometime in or after the second quarter of 2012.

After discussions with Commission Staff, the MOU among parties provides that:

1. Parties agree to the following interim solution

a. If tampering-related discretionary charges apply with no consumption impact, the TDSP will generate cancel/rebill transactions that have a zero usage impact but which add the tampering-related discretionary charges to the prior billing period immediately preceding the tampering determination.

b. If tampering-related discretionary charges apply and a rebill is required due to a change in consumption as a result of tampering, a consumption cancel/rebill would be invoiced concurrently with the tampering-related discretionary charges to the prior billing period. No tampering-related transactions will be sent before the consumption rebill is prepared

2. Parties agree that this interim solution will be in effect until the release of TX SET 4.0, when a new market transaction to address invoicing of out of cycle meter tampering only charges is implemented.

3. Parties agree that the new market transaction would be a stand alone transaction that would allow the invoicing of meter tampering only discretionary charges out of cycle to REPs. The new transaction would be similar to the type 26 currently used.

4. Parties understand that if a rebill is required due to a change in consumption as a result of tampering, a consumption cancel/rebill would be invoiced concurrently with the discretionary charges after the consumption rebill is calculated and prepared.

5. Parties agree to develop the change control requirements necessary to implement the new market transaction code in TX SET 4.0

The MOU was filed in PUCT Project 37291.