PSC Staff Seeks To Pause Supplier Consolidated Billing Workgroup, Staff Will Develop Strawman

Staff of the Maryland PSC have requested PSC authorization for a temporary pause in the supplier consolidated billing (SCB) working group, citing what Staff alleged was the lack of formal expressions of interest or commitments from retail suppliers to resume active participation in the work group.

Staff further said that, to facilitate resumption of the work group when, "the retail supplier community is ready to reengage," Staff intends to independently create a draft "strawman" framework for both the SCB utility tariffs and the customer educational materials for SCB

Staff said that, "Staff understands that retail suppliers have lacked the administrative and technical capacity to dedicate sufficient resources to the SCB Working Group due to the extensive compliance and operational overhauls required under Senate Bill 1 (Chapter 114 of the 2024 Acts of the Maryland General Assembly). Because active and meaningful supplier participation is vital to developing functional final tariffs and effective customer education materials, Staff informally paused working group meetings in the late spring and early summer of 2025. This informal recess was intended to give the supplier community time to assess their internal capacity and long-term interest in the working group's objectives."

However, Staff said that, "As of the date of this filing [7/22], Staff has received no formal expressions of interest or commitments from retail suppliers to resume active participation in the SCB Working Group."

Staff said, "Consequently, due to this ongoing resource constraint within the supplier community, Staff believes it is administrative and operationally prudent to formally pause the SCB Working Group process until retail suppliers are positioned to dedicate the necessary technical resources to tariff and customer education development."

Staff reported that it is Staff’s understanding that Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, Potomac Electric Power Company, Delmarva Power & Light Company (collectively, the "Exelon Utilities"), The Potomac Edison Company ("PE"), and Washington Gas Light Company ("WGL") support a formal pause in SCB working group activities, "until such time as the retail supplier community is ready to reengage."

Staff further reported that, "While recommending a temporary pause of the collective working groups, Staff recognizes that when the supplier community is prepared to resume discussions, having established draft materials will facilitate a more efficient process. To that end, Staff intends to work independently on developing a draft 'strawman' framework for both the SCB utility tariffs and the customer educational materials."

Staff said, "This independent drafting process will allow Staff to maintain steady administrative momentum on the underlying issues."

Staff proposes to provide, no later than January 1, 2027, a "comprehensive" status update to the PSC regarding the progress of these independent drafts and the feasibility of reconvening the full SCB Working Group

Case 9461