PSC Rules On Whether Retail Supplier Volumes, Average Rate Entitled To Trade Secret Status

The Michigan PSC, in an order concerning changes to the natural gas reservation charge at DTE Gas (see related story today here) has ruled on whether retail supplier volumes and average customer rate data is entitled to trade secret status

As part of the reservation charge proceeding, DTE Gas in its rebuttal testimony included the following data

• the total volume of gas that DTE Gas billed to IGS Energy’s GCC [choice] customers under the GCC program for 2014-15;

• the total dollar amount that DTE Gas billed to IGS’s GCC customers under the GCC program for 2014-15; and

• the annual average rate per Mcf that DTE Gas billed to IGS’s customers under the GCC program for 2014-15

IGS Energy and the Retail Energy Supply Association objected to the public release of such data, calling the information confidential financial data and trade secret information

DTE argued that the information was obtained from its own billing system and is not entitled to trade secret status, as DTE "owns" the data

An ALJ ordered the IGS data sealed, pending a further ruling. DTE Gas filed exceptions to make the data public

In its final order in the proceeding, the PSC said the data should remain sealed; however the PSC's ruling was based more on the specifics of the case, and the lack of probative value unsealing the data would provide in this instance, versus a more generic ruling on supplier trade secret data.

"The Commission finds that the ALJ did not abuse his discretion when he ordered the documents [concerning IGS data] sealed in this case," the PSC said

"Here, the ALJ made the initial determination that the record should be sealed based on his conclusion that neither the public nor DTE Gas would be harmed by the decision, whereas IGS would be harmed by the release of information to competitors regarding the quantity of gas sold and the price for which it was sold. Indeed, the record reveals that the rebuttal testimony was not particularly relevant to any contested issue germane to this proceeding. The quantity of gas sold to IGS’s GCC customers, the price those customers paid, and the average rate billed to IGS’s GCC customers under the GCC program make no difference. The Commission concludes that the ALJ did not abuse his discretion in sealing the record in this case, and that, regardless of whether the information at issue here constitutes a trade secret or confidential information, any error in sealing the record was, at best, harmless error," the PSC said

Case No. U-17691