Utility Recommends Fee for Suppliers Listing Offers on State Rate Board, Limit on Termination Fees

Massachusetts should impose a fee on competitive retail electric suppliers who seek to use a forthcoming state-administered electricity shopping website and rate board, Nstar and WMECO (Eversource) said in comments to the DPU

Eversource suggested that in order to fund the construction and maintenance of the shopping website, "the Department determine and impose a fair fee on competitive suppliers who wish to participate in the Website."

"To the extent the Department does not intend to pay for the Website, Eversource believes that the costs of the Website should be borne by the competitive suppliers because the purpose of the Website is to, among other things, 'allow[] customers to effectively and efficiently shop for competitive retail electric supply products.' D.P.U. 14-140, at 4; see also Order Adopting Model Terms and Conditions, D.P.U. 09-46-A at 20-22 (August 28, 2009) (approving imposition of fees on competitive suppliers who elect to participate in program to disseminate offer information). The competitive suppliers are the primary beneficiary of the Website. Any increase in customer awareness of the competitive supply market provides important benefits to the market generally and to competitive suppliers in particular. See D.P.U. 09-46-A at 22, n.17. Thus, it is reasonable for competitive suppliers to bear the costs of the Website," Eversource said.

Eversource also said that with respect to early termination fees, "Eversource suggests that such fees should be explicitly capped and that the scenarios in which early termination fees would be imposed should be clearly explained."

D.P.U. 14-140