State To Open Proceeding on Status of Energy Choice, Consider Improvements

The Delaware Public Service Commission and the Division of the Public Advocate are to establish a joint process to examine the structural aspects of energy supplier choice in Delaware and to look for ways to improve awareness and participation in customer choice.

"The two agencies will look for ways to enhance the visibility of customer choice, either product specific or generically, and to examine what, if any, options might be available to enhance customer choice that may not have been considered," according to a filing assigning PSC Docket # 15-1458 to the proceeding

The review of energy choice comes as the state considers creating an opt-in affinity program under which the state would select and endorse a specific retail supplier to offer savings under an "energy affordability program" (click here for related story today).

At an initial meeting of a committee reviewing the energy affordability program, the committee directed the PSC and Public Advocate to begin a process to examine the structural aspects of energy supplier choice in Delaware and to look for ways to improve awareness and participation in customer choice. "The Secretary asked that the two agencies look for ways to enhance the visibility of customer choice, either product specific or generically, and to examine what, if any, options might be available to enhance customer choice that may not have been considered," according to draft minutes of the committee meeting

At the committee meeting, NRG Energy offered suggestions to improve the retail market, including purchase of receivables, requiring Delmarva to provide an account lookup ability for ease of processing supplier changes, and making supplier changes more seamless for customers.