PUCT Staff Proposes Criteria to Determine if Prepaid Rate Less than POLR Rate

Staff of the Public Utility Commission of Texas have filed a draft Proposal for Publication to establish the criteria for determining if prepaid electric service sold to residential customers is less than the price charged by the Provider of Last Resort, as required by the PURA §39.107(g), and to update the language regarding the POLR rate calculation to reflect the current practices and changes in terminology associated with the move to a nodal market in ERCOT (Project 39969).

Under Staff's proposal, Subst. R. 25.498 would be amended to provide that a REP that provides prepaid service to a residential customer shall not charge an amount for electric service that is higher than the price charged by the POLR in the applicable TDU service territory.

Specifically, as proposed, "[t]he price for prepaid service to a residential customer calculated as required by §25.475(g)(2)(A)-(E) of this title (relating to General Electric Provider Requirements and Information Disclosures to Residential and Small Commercial Customers) shall be equal to or lower than at least one of the tests described in subparagraphs (A) to (C) of this paragraph:

"(A) The minimum POLR rate for the residential customer class at the 500 kilowatt-hour (kWh), 1,000 kWh, and 2,000 kWh usage levels as shown on the POLR EFL [Electricity Facts Label] posted on the commission's website for the applicable TDU service territory. When an updated POLR EFL is posted on the commission's website, the REP, at the REP's option, may continue to reference the prior POLR EFL to ensure compliance with this paragraph for prepaid service prices charged during the first 30 days beginning the date that the updated POLR EFL is posted.

"(B) The maximum POLR rate for the residential customer class calculated pursuant to §25.43(l) of this title (relating to Provider of Last Resort).

"(C) The average POLR rate for the residential customer class at the 500 kWh, 1,000 kWh, and 2,000 kWh usage levels using the formula described in §25.43(l) of this title for the applicable TDU service territory, with the LSP [Large Service Provider] energy charge calculated as the simple average of the RSPPs [sic, presumably RTSPPs, or Real-Time Settlement Point Prices, as used in proposed changes to §25.43] over the prior month for the load zone located partially or wholly in the customer's TDU service territory that had the highest simple average price. For prepaid service prices charged by a REP on one of the first ten business days of a month, the test may be met by using the average POLR rate calculation for the month preceding the prior month."

Additionally, Staff proposes to amend Subst. R. 25.43 relating to POLR service to replace references to MCPEs, used in the zonal market, with the term Real-Time Settlement Point Prices (RTSPPs). For small and medium customers, the draft would specify that the RTSPPs would be for the customer's load zone.

Staff would also add language to specify in rule that the level of kWh used in the Large Service Provider rate calculation, if backcasted profile interval usage data is used, shall be, "for the customer's profile type and weather zone."