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Regulator Seeks To Require Municipal Aggregations To File Specific Start Date When Seeking Needed State Approval; Intent Is To Lower Default Service Prices
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The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities has opened an investigation to (1) establish guidelines governing
the filing requirements and the process by which the Department reviews and evaluates
municipal aggregation plans, as well as the rules governing operation of a municipal aggregation
program (Guidelines), and (2) set forth a template plan (Template Plan).
Notable among the proposed requirements are draft requirements related to establishing a fixed program launch date for opt-out aggregations, which the DPU said, "are designed to balance
(1) the municipality’s need for flexibility in determining when to launch its program with (2) the
impact on the risk borne by the suppliers of basic service associated with the uncertainty of load migration resulting from municipal aggregation program commencement."
"Given the increasing impact of the uncertainty municipal aggregation commencements are having on basic service rates and procurement, the
Department finds that it is necessary to institute a requirement that each municipal aggregation
plan determine its program launch date in advance to reduce the uncertainty of customer
migration for basic service suppliers caused by municipal aggregation program commencements," the DPU said
"The Department finds that the designation of a program launch date should continue to
rest with the municipality. Under the Department’s proposed requirement, a proposed municipal
aggregation plan must include an intended launch date, assuming Department approval within
specified timeframes. In the event the Department does not approve the municipal aggregation
plan within the specified timeframe, the municipal aggregation will be able to update the
proposed launch date," the DPU said
"After Department approval, however, if a municipality determines it will
not launch its program on the designated date in its plan, the municipality must (1) notify the
Department and the relevant electric distribution company, at least 60 days prior to the
designated date, that it does not intend to launch on the selected date, and (2) propose a new
launch date no sooner than six months after the original proposed date," the DPU said
"The inclusion of a fixed
date in a municipality’s proposed plan is intended to provide basic service suppliers some
advance notice and increased certainty regarding customer migration resulting from the launch of
the municipal aggregation – and thereby minimize the risk of price increases for basic
service – while preserving the flexibility of a municipality to designate the desired launch date for its aggregation program," the DPU said
"If the program will not launch on the date designated, municipal
aggregation programs must launch within two years of the date of final Department approval of
the municipality’s plan so long as the new launch date is at least six months after the original
proposed date," the DPU said
D.P.U. 23-67
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August 22, 2023
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Copyright 2010-23 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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