California Customers Press for Increased Direct Access Caps

Several California end-users, along with competitive market trade associations, sent a series of letters to the California General Assembly in support of a bill to increase the current caps on the amount of electric direct access load.

AB 1350 would increase the direct access caps by 3,946 GWh at Pacific Gas & Electric, 3,946 GWh at Southern California Edison and 462 GWh at San Diego Gas & Electric.

Authoring the letters were customers such as Safeway and members of the California Retailers Association, the School Project for Utility Rate Reduction, hospital and health care corporations, manufacturers, and governmental organizations like the Board of Supervisors for the County of Tuolumne. The Retail Energy Supply Association, Alliance for Retail Energy Markets, Compete Coalition, and the California Alliance for Competitive Energy Solutions also supported the campaign.

"We’ve consistently seen customer demand for competitive electricity supply options in California far exceed the extremely limited amount permissible under the statutory cap. California electricity customers are being denied their right to choose competitive retail product offerings due to arbitrary limits that are completely overwhelmed by pent-up demand for choice," said Tim LoCascio, California State Chair for the Retail Energy Supply Association (RESA).

"Demand for electric choice in California is substantial and long-standing," said Andrea Morrison, President of the Alliance for Retail Energy Markets. "The limited access to competitive options is far too low and frustrates thousands of customers in California who demand the right to choose their own electricity provider."