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Large Customer Group Does Not Support Supplier Consolidated Billing Proposal
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The Ohio Energy Leadership Council (OELC) does not support supplier consolidated billing as it has thus far been proposed in a collaborative at Duke Energy Ohio, OELC said in comments on a post-collaborative report
As first reported by EnergyChoiceMatters.com, Duke recently filed a report on the SCB collaborative in which Duke Energy Ohio recommended to the PUC of Ohio that SCB not be implemented for Duke's customers
Duke, PUCO Staff, the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, and the joint retail suppliers (RESA, NRG, IGS) all submitted recommendations concerning SCB as part of the collaborative report filing in July
Such parties' positions were previously reported in our prior story here
OELC has newly filed comments in response to the post-collaborative report
OELC said that it "does not necessarily oppose" SCB outright, but said that the SCB proposal from retail suppliers in the collaborative, "lacks sufficient oversight and benefits to justify implementing SCB in Duke’s service territory at this time."
Among other things, OELC highlighted the current existence of utility consolidated billing, and Duke's status as a dual fuel utility, under which customers receive one bill for both commodities. OELC noted that the SCB plan proposed in the collaborative could result in customers receiving more bills than they do currently, since the SCB proposal would not mandate that suppliers use SCB, and a customer could still choose one supplier for electricity, and a separate supplier for gas, with such suppliers using different billing methods
"OELC does not understand the value added by SCB. Duke already provides a utility consolidated bill to customers who receive both natural gas and electricity service through Duke. As proposed, however, customers would only continue to receive a single consolidated bill if they selected the same supplier for both natural gas and electric services, and those services voluntarily elected SCB. So, the purported benefit of streamlining multiple bills appears at best equal to the utility consolidated billing that Duke already provides. Further, SCB would create issues with tracking utility costs at large users with multiple meters or locations," OELC said
OELC also expressed concerns with treatment of customer data under SCB, and with cost recovery for SCB implementation
To the extent PUCO approves SCB, OELC said that customers should be required to affirmatively opt into SCB, in a manner separate and distinct from agreeing to SCB as part of a customer's terms of service with a retail supplier
OELC suggested requiring that customers use a "utility form" that would opt the customer out of Duke UCB and opt the customer into SCB
"Any such opt-in should not be part of a supplier agreement or forms, which may be missed by the customer, but a separate form from the utility for that limited purpose with an explanation of the ramifications for the customer," OELC said
Duke, Staff, the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, and the joint retail suppliers all filed supplemental comments, reiterating their previously reported positions
The joint retail suppliers are, as of publication time, the only party to file comments in support of SCB
PUCO Staff, Duke, and OCC oppose SCB
See more details on these parties' positions in our recent story here
Case 23-0867-EL-UNC
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September 6, 2024
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Copyright 2024 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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