Pennsylvania Issues Tentative Order to Provide Eligible Customer Lists to Retail Gas Suppliers

The Pennsylvania PUC has issued a Tentative Order (Docket No. M-2012-2324075) establishing interim guidelines for the provision of eligible customer lists (ECL) in the retail natural gas market to retail suppliers, which largely mirror the guidelines established for the electric market.

The adjudication of eligible gas customer list issues in a generic proceeding had been first reported by Matters.

The following are to be included in the natural gas customer lists, under the Tentative Order:

1. Customer Account Number

2. Customer Name

3. Service Address

4. Billing Address

5. Tariff Rate Class and Schedule

6. Rate Subclass/Rate Subcode (if available)

7. Meter Read Cycle

8. SOLR/Shopping Status (Y or N)

9. Monthly Consumption (each of 12 months)(Mcf)

10. Monthly Peak Demand (each of 12 months) (Mcf/d) (if available)

Information on a customer shall be included in the list unless the customer affirmatively opts out. The customer may prohibit the release of all of their account data or just the historical data.

"We assume that all information not restricted by the customer will be provided to the NGS [natural gas supplier] as part of the ECL or access to a secure website. This means that a NGDC [natural gas distribution company] will not withhold part of any data point such as an account number to act as a check on the veracity of a NGS's claim to serve a customer. The Commission and NGDCs have sufficient mechanisms in place to address claims of slamming," the PUC said.

Customer telephone numbers are not part of the customer lists for the electric industry and, similarly, will not be part of the customer lists for the natural gas industry, the PUC said.

"Nonetheless, we will caution NGSs, other marketers and agents that they remain subject to the provisions of the state and federal 'do not call' laws as well as our consumer protection regulations at 52 Pa. Code § 56, et seq. (Standards and billing practices for residential utility service)," the PUC said.

The PUC issued the Tentative Order as it concluded that its prior orders did not require the natural gas distribution companies to continue to provide customer lists after January 1, 2004. The PUC reached this conclusion in denying a declaratory order sought by Dominion Retail, Interstate Gas Supply, and Shipley Energy concerning whether distribution companies had a continuing obligation to supply customer lists (see background on proceeding)