Texas Staff Proposes Review of Competitive Retail Rates in Sharyland Utilities Area As Part of High Bill Investigation

Staff of the Public Utility Commission of Texas have proposed a three-pronged approach to investigate high bill complaints in the Sharyland Utilities, LP service area.

One of these three prongs is research of competitive retail rates

Staff proposes that, "Staff will research and provide information on retail electric providers (REPs) and their rates at the beginning of competition in the Sharyland area (May 2014), and compare that to the present. Specifically, this will include the number of REPs in the area, the average advertised residential rates offered (based on 1,000 kWh of usage), the average rates for non-residential customers (based on 2,500 kWh of usage) as offered by the three largest REPs, and delivery charges for residential and other types of non-residential customers."

Staff's other two proposed prongs for the review are:

Examination of Customer Usage and Bill Variability

Staff will gather customer-usage information covering a recent 24-month period (or possibly longer if information is available) for sample groups of Sharyland's residential and nonresidential customers. As part of this process, Staff will seek information related to the impact on customer bills of estimated meter readings and any significant variability in bills resulting from such estimates. Staff will evaluate this information in the context of any circumstances specific to Sharyland and compare the results to comparable data for other TDUs.

Review of Key Elements in Sharyland's Last Rate Proceeding

Staff will review the terms of the settlement in Sharyland's most recent rate case (Docket No. 41474), examine the key factors forming the basis for the agreement, and develop an explanatory discussion of the resulting rates. This review will take into account factors such as Sharyland's general level of operating costs, unique aspects of Sharyland's service territory, and Sharyland's history and operating practices. Additionally, using information gathered on customer usage, Staff will develop comparisons of customer bills based on Sharyland's current delivery rates

Project 44592