PUC Staff: Retail Suppliers Appear to Have "Little Interest" in Providing Dynamic Pricing in Near Term

"[T]here appears to be little interest by competitive retail electric suppliers in providing [time-differentiated] rates in the near term," Staff of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has observed in comments on AEP Ohio's smart grid plan.

"Advanced meters facilitate time differentiated rates that reflect wholesale energy prices and other programs that empower customers to save money on their bills. While Staff generally agrees that the retail market should eventually provide this option, there appears to be little interest by competitive retail electric suppliers in providing such rates in the near term," Staff said.

"Until these rate offerings are available in the competitive marketplace, Staff recommends that utilities with advanced metering capabilities offer at least one such rate to SSO customers," Staff said.

"Unless rates that send signals about the underlying wholesale costs are available, Staff is concerned that customers will have no opportunity to respond to better price signals and capture savings for themselves and systemic efficiencies that benefit everyone. Staff also observes that Phase 1 of the Company's gridSMART project included a number of innovative initiatives that empowered customers to save money and consume energy wisely. It would be wasteful to not leverage that knowledge as part of Phase 2 of the gridSMART project," Staff said