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ALJ Provides Temporary Waiver Of New Billing Rule Applicable To Retail Suppliers
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An ALJ at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has issued a temporary waiver of new billing rules applicable to retail natural gas suppliers
Specifically, as stated in the body of an order, the ALJ waived, until January 1,
2025, revisions to Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-29-12(B) that had been adopted in February 2024.
As discussed further below, these revisions require that, on any bills issued by retail natural gas suppliers (both dual and supplier consolidated), retail suppliers shall highlight and provide a clear explanation of any changes in the rates, terms, and conditions of service, for two consecutive billing periods
The identification of Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-29-12(B) as the provision being waived is based on the specific text listed in a paragraph in the ALJ's order, and the part of the code cited in such paragraph
EnergyChoiceMatters.com does note that the ALJ's order does inconsistently refer to the rule provision being waived, by describing it as "Ohio Adm.Code 4901-29-12" [sic] in an ordering paragraph (no such rule exists)
A docketing summary page, which is unofficial, also lists the rule which is subject to the waiver as "4901:1-12" [sic], a section of the code which was not addressed in the proceeding and which was not part of the February 2024 order adopting the rule revisions
A corrected ALJ order has not been issued as of publication time
The waiver of Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-29-12(B) was issued, "in order to allow the companies sufficient time to work with Staff to address any
implementation issues that may arise," the ALJ said
In this context, "companies" means natural gas distribution companies
The cited rule, Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-29-12, relates to the issuance of bills by retail natural gas suppliers, both dual bills and supplier consolidated bills.
As previously reported, the only change to this rule adopted in February, at Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-29-12(B), was the addition of language stating that a bill issued by a retail natural gas supplier (dual or supplier consolidated), "should highlight and provide a clear explanation of any changes in the rates, terms, and conditions of service, for two consecutive billing periods."
See a full description of the rule changes under the February order in our prior story here
Although the retail supplier billing rules at Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-29-12(B) do require the interaction and exchange of information between retail suppliers and the LDC, such provisions and requirements were part of the existing billing rule and were not changed in PUCO's February order. The only change, noted above, was expressly requiring that bills issued by retail suppliers (dual and supplier consolidated), "should highlight and provide a clear explanation of any changes in the rates, terms, and conditions of service, for two consecutive billing periods."
Under the unchanged existing requirements, a retail supplier's bill must be rendered at intervals consistent with those of the customer's utility, and contain sufficient information for customers to compute and compare the total cost of competitive retail natural gas service, with required information including, among other things, consumption data, beginning and ending meter readings, utility account number, etc.
A similar retail supplier billing provision requiring the highlighting of any changes, on multiple bills, was already present in the electric retail supplier rules
Other rule changes adopted in the same February 2024 PUCO order -- specifically amendments to the rules in Ohio Adm.Code Chapters 4901:1-21, 4901:1-23, 4901:1-24, 4901:1-27, 4901:1-28, 4901:1-29 (aside from the specific subpart noted above), 4901:1-30, 4901:1-33, and 4901:1-34 -- will become effective on July 15, 2024, the ALJ ordered
Case 17-1843-EL-ORD et. al.
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July 9, 2024
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Copyright 2024 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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