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Regulator Removes Proposed Rule Language Requiring Retail Suppliers To Publicly Post All Rates
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Language concerning obligations for retail electric suppliers to post publicly their generally available rates has been removed from the latest proposed revisions to electric supplier licensing rules in Connecticut
The Connecticut PURA has revised the proposed new rules applicable to retail electric supplier licensing in response to a review by the state's Legislative Regulation Review Committee (LRRC), which recently rejected without prejudice the as-filed rules
See background on PURA's proposed new retail supplier licensing rules here
Among other things, the LRRC took issue with the proposed regulations as filed because of the varying use of the terms "generally available generation offers", "generally available rate", "generation rate", "rate", and "offer". Only some of these terms were specifically defined under the originally proposed rule.
The LRRC suggested that these terms should be clarified
However, in a revised proposed rule, PURA has instead removed from the rule the obligations which had relied on such terms
Generally, PURA has removed from the proposed rule the obligations for retail suppliers to post generally available offers to the state's rate board, and to include generally available offers on the supplier's own website
Note that while such an obligation may be removed from inclusion in the proposed rule, suppliers may continue to be subject to certain posting requirements for generally available offers under various PURA orders and directives.
PURA's latest proposed rule omits the following language:
All electric suppliers shall abide
by the following when posting to the Rate Board:
(1) An electric supplier shall honor all generation rates the electric supplier has posted to the Rate Board;
(2) An electric supplier shall self-report all generally available generation offers to the Rate Board
following a process established by the Authority;
(3) All generally available rates shall be all-inclusive rates;
(4) An electric supplier shall follow standardized language issued by the Authority when self-reporting;
(5) Rates that appear on an electric supplier’s internet website shall be posted to the Rate Board, thereby
aligning these resources;
(6) Rates entered into the Rate Board database cannot exceed five decimal places, e.g., $0.00000, but
will be displayed on the Rate Board in cents per kWh, rounded to two decimal places; and
(7) Each offer that is self-reported to the Rate Board database is considered a regulatory compliance
filing
[...]
Regarding rates or offers posted to an electric supplier’s internet website:
(1) All electric suppliers shall honor all rates and offers posted to their respective internet websites; and
(2) All rates and offers posted to an electric supplier’s internet website including a claim of savings shall
include a clear and conspicuous disclosure of how the savings will be calculated and what the electric
supplier will do if the savings are not realized, together with any time or other limitations the electric
supplier may impose
Furthermore, the latest proposed rule omits, from a section addressing the requirements for retail supplier websites, a specific obligation to post, "Information concerning all generally available offers, renewable products, and information about the
source of renewable energy (e.g., renewable energy certificates), standard contracts, and enrollment forms[.]"
However, the proposed rule still provides, for electric supplier websites, that suppliers remain obligated to post, "Any other information which the Authority deems necessary."
The revised proposed rule also omits definitions for the terms "Generally available rate", "Offer", "Rate Board", "Rate Board database", and "Self-reporting" (which in this context meant self-posting rates to the state's rate board)
The revised proposal also modifies the definitions for "All-inclusive" and "Rate" as follows:
"All-inclusive"
Prior definition: "means all generation-related costs or charges, such that no other charges can be
added"
New definition: "means inclusive of all generation-related costs or charges, such that no other costs
or charges can be added"
"Rate"
Prior definition: "means the all-inclusive cost per kWh for each generation offer"
New definition: "means the all-inclusive cost per kWh"
The other significant change under PURA's latest proposed rule concerns its ability, in the future, to adjust the security required from suppliers under standard volumetric tiers
The latest revision contains the prior proposal that, for purposes of licensing, an electric supplier shall maintain an amount of security based on its forecast year load in
accordance with the following schedule:
(i) Up to 100,000 MWh: $250,000;
(ii) 100,001 MWh to 499,999 MWh: $500,000;
(iii) 500,000 MWh to 999,999 MWh: $1 million; and
(iv) 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 MWh: $2 million.
Notably, the originally proposed rule would have ostensibly granted PURA the ability, through a decision and not a future rulemaking, to adjust the dollar amount of security required under each tier listed above
Specifically, the originally proposed rule had stated, "The Authority shall update the schedule of security set forth in
subsection (a) [i.e. the schedule listed above] of this section as necessary and shall issue any updates in a decision."
The LRRC objected to such language, opining that, "such a provision would seem to allow the Authority
to modify the security set forth in the schedule under subsection (a) of said section
without formally amending its regulations in accordance with the Uniform
Administrative Procedure Act, which appears to be beyond the scope of the statutory
authorization for such regulation."
The LRRC also observed that it was "ambiguous" as to what circumstances would constitute those "necessary" to require a change in the dollar amounts of the standard security schedule
The revised proposal removes the language stating that, "The Authority shall update the schedule of security set forth in
subsection (a) [i.e. the schedule listed above] of this section as necessary and shall issue any updates in a decision."
While the revised proposal removes PURA's ability, outside of a rulemaking, to adjust the amount of security under the standard schedule listed above, the revised proposal still allows PURA to adjust the security amount required from an individual supplier
Specifically, the following language is retained in the revised proposal: "Notwithstanding such schedule, the
Authority shall have discretion to increase an electric supplier’s security as indicated by a decision in the
electric supplier’s licensing docket to accommodate an electric supplier’s forecast year load in excess of
1,500,000 MWh, in increments of one million dollars per each additional 500,000 MWh of annual load."
The revised proposal also provides clarity on what PURA will review in new biennial supplier licensing review proceedings, which will begin April 15, 2025, as LRRC called the earlier language ambiguous
The earlier language only specified that PURA shall review "certain
aspects" of all electric supplier licenses in the biennial proceedings
The revised proposal specifies that the biennial proceedings shall review all
electric supplier licenses, "to ensure electric suppliers continue to have the technical, managerial and financial
capability to provide electric generation services to customers."
The revised rule omits language stating that, "The Authority shall respond to a license review compliance filing not more
than ninety days after notifying the electric supplier that the license review compliance filing is complete."
The revised rule omits language stating that suppliers shall provide, "Responses to customer inquiries or complaints provided by the Authority within five business days
of receipt or within a time period prescribed by the Authority in a decision."
Omission of any language from the rule may not necessarily mean the associated obligation ceases to exist, as various requirements may be imposed through PURA order and not rule
PURA Docket 19-10-41
Connecticut eRegulations Tracking Number: PR2020-007
LRRC Docket #2024-008
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Proposal Strikes Authority To Change Stated Amount Of Financial Security Generally Required From Suppliers Under Standard Tiers
June 13, 2024
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Copyright 2024 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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