VCharge Seeks Pa. Retail Supplier License to Market Thermal Storage Solution

VCharge Inc. applied for a Pennsylvania electric generation supplier license as an aggregator to serve all customer classes at PPL.

VCharge offers customers technology and hardware to provide real-time control of electric thermal storage heaters, and to respond to electric prices to draw electricity when most affordable, for later use when more expensive.

Such storage could also be used for balancing and receive compensation for various ancillaries, VCharge noted.

"As a small company with limited financial resources," VCharge sought a reduction in the size of the financial security requirements in order to be able to deliver its services to a limited number of PPL customers in 2012, particularly those formerly on the Residential Thermal Storage schedule.

Specifically, VCharge sought a reduction in security to an amount of $50,000.

"VCharge's system for controlling RTS heaters requires that hardware be installed in each customer's home. For this reason, it is inconceivable that more than 500 customers could be using our system by year-end 2012, and thus impossible for us to generate more than $500,000 in gross receipts as a Pennsylvania EGS during 2012. We are prepared to make this revenue limitation a condition of our EGS permit. We request that the security requirement be reduced to $50,000: this is consistent with the Commission's standard of 10% of gross receipts. As VCharge builds its business over the coming years to serve more of these customers we will increase the size of our security commitment with the PA PUC," VCharge said.

VCharge has been offering its storage service for over two years, working with two municipal electric companies, Fox Islands Electric Cooperative and Concord Municipal Light Plant.