Sylvester Turner Seeks Additional Data Related to Switch Holds

State Representative Sylvester Turner has requested that the PUCT collect more information regarding switch holds placed on customers by REPs, including the length of any disconnection for a customer subject to a switch hold.

In an August 25 letter filed yesterday in Project 39140, Turner said that, "it is inexcusable that Texas now has over two months of experience with switch-holds and no disconnection-specific reporting and analysis has been done."

Current TDU switch hold reports include the number of customers subject to a switch hold, and the number of switch holds removed during the month. REPs will also be required to disclose, in their March 2012 reports, the number of customers who had a switch-hold applied during the year.

"It is deeply troubling to me that the PUC's switch-hold reporting requirements in Project 39410 collect no data that can confirm or deny that dangerously long disconnections are justified. The project's most recent data [as of Turner's August 25 letter] simply shows that over 13,000 Texas electric customers are subject to a switch-hold. To be clear, I (and others) have identified a serious concern for the health and well-being of Texans that flows from the switch-hold policy," Turner said.

"The new switch-hold policy is holding over 13,000 Texas electric customers captive and may be exacerbating death and illness by preventing Texans from reconnecting with new providers," Turner added.

Turner asked the Commission to collect and report the following information:

1) How many of the current switch-hold customers have been disconnected and what are the geographical locations of these disconnections?

2) What is the average length of time a residential household subject to a switch-hold is disconnected? How does that compare to the average length of time a residential household not subject to a switch-hold is disconnected?

3) How many of the switch-hold customers are presently receiving a discount under Lite-Up Texas?

4) What percentage of switch-hold customers are senior citizens? In, addition, are seniors more subject to the switch-hold than other populations?

"I would like to request that the PUC reassess its switch-hold policy and at the very minimum hold on its implementation during the months of May through October," Turner requested.

Responding in a letter made public yesterday, PUCT Chair Donna Nelson noted that Commission rules protect electric customers from disconnection on any day when the National Weather Service issues a heat advisory in a county and on the following two days. "Furthermore, payment assistance programs are available for low-income customers, and designations are available that protect customers with certain health conditions," Nelson added.

Referring to the order adopting a switch hold, Nelson noted that the Commission found it appropriate, "to balance the need for additional customer protections for vulnerable customers when they most need it with the concerns that the additional protections would increase bad debt that would increase rates for all customers."

"The Commission adopted the switch-hold to help mitigate the potential increase in bad debt arising from expanded payment plan eligibility," Nelson said.

"I take the health and welfare of Texans very seriously. While I understand your concerns with allowing a REP to impose a switch-hold when a customer enters into certain deferred payment plans, I continue to believe that the Commission struck the appropriate balance when it adopted the amendments to its rule," Nelson said.

As previously reported by Matters (10/17), Nelson noted that switch holds remain less than 1% of residential ESI IDs

"The Commission does not collect information regarding the average disconnection time of customers subject to a switch-hold or the number of customers subject to a switch-hold that are enrolled in the LITE-UP program. Furthermore, Commission rules do not require REPs to collect information regarding customers' ages, and the Commission does not have information regarding the number of customers subject to a switch-hold that are senior citizens. As I mentioned, Commission rules do protect customers from disconnection during extreme weather events, provide payment assistance to low-income customers, and make available special designations that protect customers with certain health conditions," Nelson said.