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Pennsylvania ALJ Directs Municipalities, Seeking Pa. PUC Order That Opt-out Aggregation Is Permissible, To Show Cause Why Petition Should Not Be Dismissed
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A Pennsylvania PUC ALJ has directed a group of Pennsylvania municipalities, who are seeking a declaration from the PUC that opt-out aggregation of electricity supply customers by the municipalities would not constitute slamming, to show cause why the municipalities' petition should not be dismissed
Click here for background on the petition from eight Pennsylvania boroughs for a PUC finding that opt-out CCAs do not constitute unlawful slamming
The ALJ noted that the PUC's authority to issue a declaratory order is discretionary
As such, the ALJ directed the eight boroughs who are seeking the declaratory order to show cause why the PUC should exercise its discretion to consider the requested declaratory judgment
In particular, the ALJ directed the boroughs to explain why the policy of municipal opt-out aggregation is not better addressed through rulemaking or legislation.
The ALJ directed that the boroughs shall address how the sought declaratory order would remove "uncertainty" (quotes by ALJ) concerning PUC rules and statute.
The boroughs, the ALJ ordered, shall also address how their sought relief, "does not abuse the due process rights of municipalities, utilities, energy suppliers and other stakeholders who are not parties to this proceeding."
The relief sought by the municipalities has been opposed by a variety of parties including several utilities and the Office of Consumer Advocate
Utilities who are opposed to the municipalities' requested relief generally raised concerns about the impact on default service pricing and non-shopping customers due to the creation of opt-out aggregations. Utilities also raised customer privacy issues related to the boroughs' request for certain customer information from the EDCs as part of implementing opt-out aggregation.
The impact on low-income customers, who generally are not authorized to shop for a retail supplier due to rate concerns, has also been raised by opponents of the municipalities' petition and the creation of an opt-out CCA
The Coalition for Affordable Utility Services and Energy Efficiency in
Pennsylvania (CAUSE-PA), while suggesting that the legal question of opt-out aggregation be addressed first, raised concerns with the operation of the proposed CCA to the extent it is deemed lawful, citing a lack of customer protections
P-2024-3049623
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October 30, 2024
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Copyright 2024 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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