Nstar, WMECO File Consensus Purchase of Receivables Terms and Conditions

Nstar and Western Massachusetts Electric Co. have filed with the Massachusetts DPU revised purchase of receivables compliance plans which, with the exception of the commencement date at Nstar, are represented to reflect consensus among the utility and retail suppliers.

Notable revisions since the prior compliance plans include a change in the discount applied to existing receivables. Under the consensus Nstar and WMECO compliance plans, the utilities will purchase all existing Accounts Receivable on the effective date of POR using the same discount rates by customer class calculated for revenues billed in the first year of the program.

The consensus compliance plans also revise the definition of Uncollectible Percentage applicable to a customer class to be defined as, during the first year of program operation, "the uncollectible expense for the participating Customer Class based on actual data, excluding uncollectible expenses related to amounts billed by the Company for Generation Service purchased from Competitive Suppliers, divided by the total amounts billed by the Company, including late payment fees if included in uncollectible expense and excluding amounts billed by the Company for Generation Service purchased from Competitive Suppliers, to that participating Customer Class."

The period used to calculate the first year Uncollectible Percentage will be the same period as that used/reflected in the calculation of the utility's uncollectible costs associated with the amounts the utility bills for Basic Service supply.

The only issue remaining in dispute, according to Nstar's filing, is the start date for POR.

"During the course of finalizing the terms of the agreement with the Competitive Suppliers, NSTAR Electric evaluated the time necessary to implement the POR program and determined that an 8-month implementation period for NSTAR Electric would be a more reasonable and achievable time period. As set forth in the Company's May 1, 2013 compliance filing, an 8-month implementation period could result in lower administrative costs than would a 6-month implementation period. Accordingly, and for the reasons stated above and in the Company's May 1, 2013 compliance filing, NSTAR Electric requests that the Department direct the Company to implement its POR program within 8 months of the date of a final order in this proceeding. Because RESA opposes this request, the Company requests that the Department resolve this issue between the Company and RESA as part of the Department's overall review of the agreement on all other issues between the Company and the Competitive Suppliers."

The filings do not appear to include specific discount percentages under the consensus tariff.

Docket: 10-53