Baltimore Gas & Electric Seeks Authorization To Offer Prepay Pilot

Baltimore Gas & Electric has petitioned the Maryland PSC to offer a prepaid pilot to 1,000 residential dual fuel and electricity-only customers.

Customers choosing either BGE Standard Offer Service or service from a competitive gas or electric supplier may enroll in the pilot, with their prepayment applying to the customer’s total bill, BGE said in its application

"Experience of other utilities offering prepaid programs shows a very high customer satisfaction. It also shows a typical reduction in energy consumption ranging from 5% to 15%, with lower monthly energy bills. BGE consistently strives to bring new, innovative programs to assist customers in matching their utility payments with their personal preferences, and prepaid aligns well with that goal. Furthermore, BGE customers increasingly expect to interact with their utility online and receive real-time feedback about their energy usage, and prepaid meets that customer expectation," BGE said

Under the one-year pilot, as proposed, BGE will use daily AMI meter data to calculate the rate at which the customer’s account balance is used, based upon historical and projected usage at the customer’s premise, the customer’s tariff prices, and weather forecasts. Monthly customer charges and other non-commodity taxes and fees will be allocated daily. Based upon these calculations each customer’s estimated days of usage remaining will be updated daily.

BGE will provide regular notifications to customers via their chosen method – by email, text or phone calls, or any combination of these – with current prepaid account balances and the estimated remaining days of usage before the funds would be depleted. Participants will receive notifications when the account balance is sufficient to cover an estimated five, three, and one days’ worth of usage, though customers will be permitted to set any additional notifications they choose.

In addition to the regularly scheduled notifications, participants will have ongoing access to their prepaid account information, including historical usage and payment data, either by calling BGE or on a website that will be accessible by desktop, laptop, tablet or mobile computing devices.

When a customer exhausts their prepaid balance, a payment sufficient to bring the prepaid account balance to a minimum of $15 is all that would be required to restore service. No reconnection or late fees would be charged

BGE proposes to launch the pilot in the first quarter of 2018.

Apart from various waivers applicable to BGE's own billing requirements that the utility sought in its petition, BGE noted that, since choice customers would be eligible for BGE's prepay billing, a waiver of certain requirements regarding BGE's obligations to suppliers are also necessary. "There is one supplier-related COMAR provision that is incompatible with prepaid necessitating a waiver under COMAR 20.53.01.05 and COMAR 20.59.01.05," BGE said.

Specifically, COMAR 20.53.05.04 and COMAR 20.59.05.04 require that a utility make budget billing available to suppliers.