Potomac Edison June SOS Procurement Less Competitive Than January Procurement

Potomac Edison's (Allegheny) June 6 procurement of 12-month and 24-month SOS supply in Maryland saw one fewer bidder than the January procurement, but still produced competitive results, bid monitor Boston Pacific said in a procurement report.

The June 6 procurement was chiefly for Type II supplies for all of the investor owned utilities, but under Potomac Edison's unique schedule, the procurement also sought 46.4 MW of Potomac Edison residential supply covering the June 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013 time frame, and 43.0 MW of Potomac Edison residential supply covering the June 1, 2012 to May 31, 2014 time frame.

The Potomac Edison residential products saw four actual bidders, down from five in the January procurement, which was the most recent procurement with comparable products.

The residential blocks saw 4.0 MW bid to every 1 MW needed, down from the 5.0:1 ratio in the January procurement, but still a "healthy level of competition," Boston Pacific said.

As the Potomac Edison products were under the 50 MW tranche size, there was only one winning bidder per product.

Across all products in the RFP, there were 5.5 MW bid for every megawatt needed, which is up from 5.0 MW bid for every megawatt needed in January.

Overall, there were eight actual bidders and six winners across all product types, which is the same as in January.

The Price Anomaly Threshold was not triggered in the procurement.

Actual retail rates resulting from the procurements will be filed at a later date by the utilities, but the new Type II supply rates, for the period beginning September 1, 2011, are projected to be 3-11% lower than current rates, depending on utility.