PUCO Approves AES-DPL Merger With Retail Market Enhancements

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved this morning, through adoption of several stipulations, the acquisition of DPL Inc., and its subsidiary, The Dayton Power and Light Company, by the AES Corporation.

Among other things, a stipulation among merging parties and Staff requires the following retail market enhancements:

• DP&L will add utility consolidated bill ready billing capability to its existing billing system within six months of the Commission order approving the merger. If the Commission deadline is missed, DP&L will issue a refund to its customers in the amount of $5 million minus the costs DP&L has incurred as of the deadline to design, develop, and implement bill ready capability.

• Within three months of the Commission order approving the merger, DP&L will implement process changes that will allow it to make customer capacity and transmission peak load contribution data accessible to competitive retail electric service (CRES) providers via electronic data interchange.

• Within one week of the Commission order approving the merger, DP&L will amend its application in Case No. 11-4504-EL-ATA to reduce its charge for 12 months of interval meter data from $300 to $150.

• Within one week of the Commission order approving the merger, for customers receiving competitive services from an alternate generation supplier (AGS) and who are required under DP&L's applicable AGS tariff to have interval meters, DP&L will reduce its charge for the incremental costs of upgrading the present meter plus all incremental costs associated with the installation of an interval meter from $905 to $570.

• Within one week of the Commission order approving the merger, DP&L will amend its application in Case No. 11-4504-EL-ATA to permit CRES providers, under normal circumstances, to enroll a customer more than 30 days prior to the customer's next meter read, with the enrollment defaulting to the following month

• Within one week of the Commission order approving the merger, DP&L will provide percentage off billing if the CRES provider provides to DP&L updated rate factor changes to effectuate this pricing option.