NiMo Files Draft Materials for On-Bill Comparison of ESCO, Default Service Costs

Niagara Mohawk has filed with the New York PSC draft materials concerning an online ESCO versus default service cost comparison tool, as well as for on-bill comparisons of ESCO versus default service costs.

As previously reported, the PSC has ordered implementation of the online cost comparison tool, but withheld approval of the on-bill comparisons pending further review in a collaborative and potentially other proceedings (the generic retail market investigation).

The cost comparisons would show customers what they paid for the currently billed month, plus over the last 12 months (and for the online tool only, all individual 12 months), for ESCO service, and what the customer would have paid for NiMo default service for the same period.

The drafts were discussed at a collaborative meeting yesterday.

The draft materials presented by NiMo included examples of online cost comparison and proposed on-bill cost comparisons. A draft disclaimer, which would only appear on the online cost comparison, is attached as well.

Link to draft examples of online tool, on-bill comparisons

Link to draft disclaimer

The draft disclaimer informs customers:

• "A comparison of a bill that includes marketer charges with a utility bill in any single period may be affected by one-time charges or very short‐term changes in energy and natural gas prices. It is therefore recommended that comparisons be made over a longer period of time and, if possible, over an entire year."

• "If the supply service purchased from an ESCO includes a value-added feature such as a price that is fixed for a period of time, green energy, a furnace repair package or airline miles, the costs of this value-added feature may be reflected in the charges from your ESCO. The supply service provided by National Grid, however, does not include such value added services. Keep this in mind when interpreting the results of this bill comparison."

• "National Grid's energy and natural gas prices vary from month to month in response to market forces. Some ESCOs offer a supply service at a fixed price per unit (kilowatt hour of electricity or therm of gas) for the duration of a contract. A fixed price contract may be an attractive choice for consumers who want to lock in a certain price. Fixed price contracts, however, do not and cannot guarantee that the customer will save money, in any given month or over a longer comparison period. In some months, the contract's fixed price could be lower than the variable price offered for supply service by National Grid. In other months, the contract's fixed price may be higher than the National Grid price. Please keep that in mind when interpreting the results of this bill comparison."

• "Some ESCOs guarantee savings. Generally, the savings are guaranteed over a twelve‐month period. If you have an agreement that guarantees savings, but the results of the bill comparison do not reflect a savings over what you would have paid National Grid, you may wish to contact your ESCO to discuss."