NYSERDA's Template Opt-Out Letter For Municipal Aggregations Touts Inapplicable, Never-To-Be-Achieved Customer Savings (ESCOs Would Be Banned For The Same Marketing)

NYSERDA's toolkit for opt-out aggregations in New York includes an opt-out letter template that touts the purely theoretical customer savings verses a fictitious average of default service rates -- which obviously has no bearing on whether the customer will save money with the aggregation.

Specifically, the NYSERDA template opt-out letter would include the following price "comparison" table:

Price         Last Year’s     New Fixed-   Savings
Comparison   Utility Price*   Rate Price 
Residential  [$0.0776/kWh]  [$0.07085/kWh]   [9%]
Small Comm.  [$0.0841/kWh]  [$0.07085/kWh]  [16%]

* average utility supply price for 12 months
ending [month year] for customer taking supply 
from [Utility Name]

There is no disclaimer concerning utilities' past prices not being indicative of future prices.

There is a footnote -- not footed to the price comparison above but to an introductory paragraph -- that does state, "We do not guarantee that the CCA will save you money." However, there is no footnote to the price comparison table's heading for "savings" or anyplace near the chart itself, which is where the customer will focus their attention

Moreover, there is no link to a list of specific monthly utility rates, which would help customers understand the range of utility prices over the 12 months.

We can only imagine the reaction if an ESCO sent out a piece of direct mail with a similar price "comparison."

Regardless of how factual the comparison may be, the ESCO would be crucified for a "deceptive" and "misleading" comparison that compares apples to oranges -- first in using an average utility rate, and second for quoting "savings" versus a historic rate with no guarantee such savings will be achieved versus future rates.

Imagine if an ESCO's marketing screamed "savings" only to have a footnote disclaim such declarations.

Opt-out letters so plainly spurious reinforce concerns that municipal aggregations, as well as restrictive policies being placed on ESCOs alone (and not aggregations), are not about informing or protecting customers, but favoring certain market participants.

See the template opt-out letter here

The New York PSC had directed NYSERDA to develop an opt-out municipal aggregation toolkit to provide technical support and assistance to aggregation administrators and municipalities