PSC Grants New York Utility 'Discretion' in Collection of Default Service Reconciliations

The New York PSC approved without modification the petition of Niagara Mohawk (National Grid) to implement tariff changes that provide NiMo with discretion regarding the period over which it must reconcile electric default service costs.

The former NiMo tariff required that all commodity related rate mechanisms for mass market customers shall be fully reconciled in one month, with the costs or credits collected from or credited to customers on a two month lag, meaning that they are reflected in customers' bills two months after the costs are incurred.

The PSC has now granted NiMo authority to, as described by NiMo, "spread out the monthly supply cost reconciliations over two or more months, where appropriate."

NiMo's new tariff language provides that, "Any reconciliation balance, whether positive or negative, shall be included in the adjustment of subsequent periods."

The PSC said that objections from retail suppliers regarding NiMo's proposal, "must be balanced against mass market customer supply price mitigation objectives."

The PSC also approved NiMo tariff changes to allow the allocation of the New Hedge Adjustment at the NYISO zonal level and the reconciliation of the Mass Market Adjustment at the zonal level.

Case 14-E-0180