Pennsylvania Rules That Retail Suppliers Won't Need to Provide 8-Month Fixed Price for FirstEnergy EDCs' Opt-In Aggregation at Program Start

Retail suppliers participating in the Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power and West Penn Power opt-in customer aggregation program will not have to provide the rate for their eight-month fixed price offer (delivery under which will start in about October 2013) as early as February 2013, the PUC ruled yesterday.

The opt-in program features a fixed price equal to a 5% discount off the Price to Compare for the initial four months (starting June 2013), then reverts to a supplier-specific eight-month fixed price for the remainder of the 12-month term.

As only reported by Matters, the FirstEnergy EDCs had proposed that retail suppliers be required to provide the rate for the eight-month fixed price portion of the program in initial customer solicitation materials, which are due on February 25 -- or almost eight months prior to the start of delivery.

See prior story for more details on opt-in program proposal

However, the PUC adopted a motion from Commissioner James Cawley to reject such an early determination of a fixed price.

"It is ... unreasonable and unworkable to expect EGSs to provide an 8 month forward price to customers 8 months in advance of delivery, when there are no reasonable means of anticipating with any level of certainty, customer participation levels," Cawley said in his adopted motion. "There is simply no means for EGSs to securely and responsibly hedge such a requirement."

Instead, the PUC ruled that the 8-month price should be provided to the enrolled customer of an EGS at least 45 days prior to taking effect. Furthermore, these prices shall be submitted to the Commission no later than 45 days before offers are extended to customers.

Accordingly, the fixed offer must be determined about 90 days in advance of delivery.

The PUC did not yet publish a final order on other aspects for the FirstEnergy EDCs' retail market enhancement programs.