Calif. PUC President Wants To Require Competitive Suppliers To Report Pricing, Create Comparison Website

During a California legislative hearing this week, California PUC President Michael Picker made comments in favor of the creation of a website that would allow the comparison of prices among various LSEs in the state, with such comments suggesting that the reporting of such prices be mandatory

Regardless of the LSE type (utility, community choice aggregator, or electric service provider), Picker said that, "We need better tools that show people the rates they can choose from."

"We would like to actually get that information and be able to provide it to people, as they do in Texas and New York, so people can see and compare," Picker said

Note that the listing of prices on the Texas Power to Choose site is voluntary for retail electric providers. New York does require the posting of certain prices by ESCOs on its Power to Choose site.

"There are many parties who are 'nominally' under the oversight of the CPUC who don't have to report to us what their prices are," Picker said

"We need to have [a] website ... there has to be some way that people can actually see the prices," Picker said

"Everybody has to put their cards on the table," Picker said

Picker is indifferent as to whether the PUC or another state agency (such as the CEC) administers the website

Picker also suggested that the website should compare actual performance of LSEs in terms of decarbonizing and greening