PUCO Approves Adjustment To Duke Energy Ohio Default Service Auction Schedule Due To Pending ESP Case

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has approved an adjustment to Duke Energy Ohio's competitive procurement of default service supplies due to the pendency of an ESP case which would establish the future auction schedule for service beyond May 31, 2017

In a prior ESP, the SSO (default service) auction schedule that was approved included a requirement that the first auction should occur in advance of the end of the previous ESP on May 31, 2015. The second and third auctions were to occur in November 2015 and March 2016, and the fourth and fifth auctions were to occur in November 2016 and March 2017. The Commission directed Duke Energy Ohio to file its next Standard Service Offer (SSO) application no later than June 1, 2017. Duke Energy Ohio filed the application on June 1, 2017.

Based on such proposal, the utility's next SSO auction would typically have been held in November 2017, but was not held as the instant SSO proceedings were not yet concluded.

In order to maintain an adequate supply of energy for SSO customers, Duke proposed to retain a third-party auction manager, in a manner consistent with its testimony in the instant SSO proceeding, to manage two auctions, to be held on February 20 and February 27, 2018, for SSO supplies for the period starting June 1, 2018

PUCO approved this request.

"We note, however, that our approval of Duke's request to conduct an SSO auction should not be construed as pre-approval of the Company's application," PUCO said

The product to be procured in such wholesale energy auctions will be hourly, load-following, full requirements tranches of the utility's entire SSO load, which now excludes the load of percentage of income payment plan (PIPP) customers.

While not explicit, Duke said that such auctions would be consistent with its SSO case testimony, in which case each of the two February auctions would procure 50% of Duke's SSO requirement for the period starting June 1, 2018, with one-third of the requirements purchased via 12-month contracts, one-third via 24-month contracts, and one-third via 36-month contracts, all with June 1, 2018 delivery dates.