California Draft Would Adopt Code of Conduct for Utility Interaction with Community Choice Aggregators

The California PUC has posted a proposed decision which would adopt rules governing the treatment of Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) by electrical corporations (utilities), and establishing an expedited complaint procedure for use by Community Choice Aggregators (R. 12-02-009).

Among other things, a Code of Conduct applicable to utilities under the draft order would provide that no electrical corporation shall market or lobby against a community choice aggregation program, except through an independent marketing division that is funded exclusively by the electrical corporation's shareholders and that is functionally and physically separate from the electrical corporation's ratepayer-funded divisions. The draft provides definitions for various terms, including "market" and "lobby."

Under the draft Code of Conduct, an electrical corporation shall refrain from: 1) speaking on behalf of CCA a program; 2) giving any appearance of speaking on behalf of any CCA program; or 3) making any statement relating to the community choice aggregator's rates or terms and conditions of service that is untrue or misleading, and that is known, or that, by the exercise of reasonable care, should be known, to be untrue or misleading.

Not later than July 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, the draft would require each electrical corporation and any CCA or CCAs within its service territory to prepare and distribute jointly to the customers within the CCA boundaries a neutral, complete, and accurate written comparison of their average tariffs for each customer class, sample bills for a mutually agreed amount of usage under residential tariffs, and generation portfolio contents. This comparison shall be distributed to all customers within the CCA boundaries, and also posted online.

Per the draft, an electric corporation shall provide access to utility information, rates and services to community choice aggregators on the same terms as it does for its independent marketing division.

An electrical corporation shall not provide access to market analysis reports or any other types of proprietary or non-publicly available reports, including but not limited to market, forecast, planning or strategic reports, to its independent marketing division, the draft provides.

The draft Code of Conduct further sets forth the required separation between a utility's marketing division and its other functional divisions, such as billing and customer service, for any utility that intends to market against actual or potential CCAs within its territory.

Additionally, the Code of Conduct would incorporate previously adopted rules, such as the prohibition against a utility offering an opt-out mechanism to CCA customers before the commencement of the statutorily mandated notification period.

As previously ordered, neither electrical corporations nor their marketing divisions can offer to provide, or provide, any goods, services, or programs to a local government on the condition that the local government not participate in a community choice aggregation program, or for the purpose of inducing the local government not to participate in a community choice aggregation program.

This restriction applies regardless of whether the goods, services, or programs are funded by ratepayers or shareholders

The proposed order would further establish a complaint procedure for use by CCAs in the event that they believe a utility is not meeting its obligations under the Code.

The proposed decision would deny a request from Gas and Power Technologies, Inc. to allow CCAs to use dual billing or CCA-consolidated billing, as the draft notes that statute requires electrical corporations to continue to provide all, "billing, collection, and customer service to retail customers that participate in community choice aggregation programs."

The complete Code of Conduct may be found on page 41 of the proposed decision (link)