PUC Requires Triennial Solicitation to Make Customers Aware of Ability to Opt-Out from Eligible Customer List

The Pennsylvania PUC in a final order is requiring electric distribution companies to conduct triennial solicitations informing customers of their ability to opt-out of inclusion on the eligible customer list (ECL) provided to retail electric suppliers.

Customers who opt-out of inclusion on the customer list must reaffirm that decision in each triennial solicitation

EDCs are to perform their next company-wide solicitation by the end of the first quarter of 2015, with solicitations occurring on a three-year basis after that.

The Commission directed the EDCs to include the following information in their solicitations: (1) what the ECL is; (2) what information is to be included on the ECL; (3) what the more detailed information represents; (4) how this information is to be used by EGSs; (5) how the information is to be safeguarded by EDCs; (6) how widely the information will be disseminated; and (7) the potential benefits to the customers of having their information included on the ECL.

"The Commission agrees with FirstEnergy that it may be beneficial to include language within the solicitation informing customers that, while they may have previously opted to exclude some, or all, of their information in previous iterations of the ECL, they must again affirm their preferences. We strongly encourage the EDCs to include such language," the PUC said.

EDCs shall allow customers to opt out via direct mail, but also through website processes, electronic mail and/or telephone contacts with the EDC customer service representatives.

The PUC said that the eligible customer list benefits all customers, shopping and non-shopping, and declined requests to recover costs of the ECLs solely from retail suppliers. "Instead, we will allow the EDCs to seek recovery of their costs in their next base rate case," the PUC said.

Docket No. M-2010-2183412