Ohio Revises Allocation of Customers to Retail Suppliers Under Triggered Merchant Function Exit at Columbia

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, in an order on rehearing, has modified the allocation of non-shopping customers to retail suppliers at Columbia Gas of Ohio, should a merchant function exit occur as a result of reaching previously adopted milestones.

See prior story for background on triggers for non-residential merchant function exit at Columbia

Specifically, PUCO modified the initial allocation of non-shopping customers such that:

• The initial allocation will be implemented based on a Monthly Variable Rate (MVR) supplier's market share of nonresidential Choice enrollment at the time of Columbia's nonresidential exit and that MVR supplier's average historical share of SSO/SCO tranche ownership.

• A supplier's average historical share of SSO/SCO tranche ownership for nonresidential customers shall be measured for the period beginning on the date of the Commission's January 9, 2013, order, which includes the combined SSO/SCO auctions for the 2012/2013 program year, and ending on the date of nonresidential exit, and is based on dividing the number of tranches served by the SCO supplier by the total number of tranches beginning with the current program year, 2012/2013, and ending at the time of exit.

• For the initial allocation, each MVR supplier shall be assigned a number of customers based on the above steps rounded to the nearest whole customer account. Staff shall work with Columbia and the stakeholders to develop an algorithm designed to carry out the allocation.

The initial allocation methodology no longer explicitly requires that a minimum of one percent shall be assigned to an MVR supplier with equal to, or less than, one percent Choice enrollment.

On rehearing, the Commission said that it recognizes that the following details regarding the initial allocation methodology must be discussed amongst the parties prior to implementation:

(a) The methodology that should be used to allocate residual customers who were not initially allocated because their SCO or Choice suppliers chose not to be an MVR supplier.

(b) The algorithm that should be used to carry out the allocation methodologies, which shall include:

(i) A formula to calculate each MVR Choice supplier's market share of nonresidential Choice customers, as described above;

(ii) A formula to calculate each MVR SCO supplier's market share of nonresidential Choice customers, as described above; and

(iii) A formula to calculate how the residual customers will be allocated

To address these details, the Commission directed Staff to meet with Columbia and the stakeholders to discuss and work out these details of the allocation process. Staff is directed to file, within 90 days, the detailed allocation methodology, including the resolution of the issues in (a) and (b) above, for Commission review and approval.