ESCOs To Identify Supplier Consolidated Billing Models With Potential To Be Compliant With N.Y. Regs

Staff of the New York PSC filed an update concerning discussions of supplier consolidated billing, or consolidated ESCO billing (CEB) as known in New York, as well as efforts to make bills more useful to customers.

Regarding supplier consolidated billing, during the collaborative ESCOs have presented overviews of supplier consolidated billing in other states, as well as its practice at National Fuel Gas Distribution.

Collaborative participants agreed that the next collaborative meeting should focus on how operational issues can be addressed by one or perhaps two specific CEB models which ESCOs support for consideration in New York.

Such model(s) may be based on models in other jurisdictions, the NFG model, or hybrids. By the end of September 2015, ESCOs will identify one or perhaps two specific CEB models which have the potential to be consistent with New York rules and regulations. That model(s) will be discussed at the next collaborative meeting, planned for early October.

"It is expected that approximately two additional collaborative meetings will be required to conclude discussions and develop a report that reflects the work of the collaborative. The report will include a list and evaluation of the operational barriers associated with CEB. It will also identify one or more CEB models that might be implemented in New York, as well as the rules and/or regulations that might have to be modified in order to implement CEB in New York. The report is also expected to include recommendations for further investigation by the Commission of CEB and/or other billing models," Staff's report said

Separately, Staff also reported on efforts to improve and potentially standardize utility bills, conducting customer outreach to determine what components of the utility bill are or are not important to customers; how to increase access to energy usage and billing information; what are customer preferences for different billing and payment options; how to effectively provide information on energy management programs and energy efficiency services; and what information would be of value to customers in bill messages.