Pennsylvania Settlement Would Adopt Longer-Term Contracts for Residential, Small C&I Default Service For Price Stability At EDC

A settlement in Duquesne Light's default service plan proceeding (DSP VIII) for the period June 1, 2017 through May 31, 2021 would adopt the use of contracts with longer terms to serve residential and small C&I customers.

The settlement would adopt Duquesne Light's proposed procurements for each customer class without modification

Currently, for residential (and lighting) and small C&I customers (under 25 kW), Duquesne Light exclusively relies on 12-month fixed price full requirements contracts to serve default service load. The contracts are laddered such that 50% of default service load is procured at one time, with 50% of the supply replaced every six months

Under the settlement, Duquesne Light would transition residential (and lighting) and small C&I customers to a laddered portfolio consisting of 12-month fixed price full requirements contracts (50%), and 24-month fixed price full requirements contracts (50%)

Duquesne Light had originally said that the addition of 24-month contracts would provide, "greater price stability."

Residential and small C&I contracts would be procured within three months before the commencement of their delivery periods

For specifics on the laddering and delivery start dates, click here for a chart of the default service products

Residential (and lighting) and small C&I Prices to Compare would be adjusted fixed for six months, with semi-annual reconciliations

For medium C&I customers (initially 25 kW to 300 kW with a future lowering of the high-cutoff to 200 kW), Duquesne Light would continue to serve such customers on non-laddered three-month full requirements supply contracts

Large C&I customers would be served on hourly priced default service.

Duquesne Light would lower the hourly pricing threshold to 200 kW from 300 kW effective June 1, 2019

Duquesne Light would implement changes in the administration of the hourly priced default service program such that it bids out the right to serve hourly priced default service customers to competitive suppliers, under 12-month terms. Hourly priced customers would be charged day-ahead hourly price, plus pass-throughs of capacity and ancillaries and various adders.

The settlement was signed by Duquesne Light, the Office of Consumer Advocate, the Office of Small Business Advocate, the Coalition for Affordable Utility Service and Energy Efficiency in Pennsylvania, the Retail Energy Supply Association, and Exelon Generation Company, LLC