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Revised Settlement Addressing Utility's Billing Errors Requires Credits To Offset Default Service Rider
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A newly revised stipulation among certain parties -- now including the Ohio Consumers' Counsel -- addressing billing errors at Duke Energy Ohio would require certain offsets to Duke's cost of natural gas default service
The updated settlement, whose signatories include Duke, OCC, Staff of the PUC of Ohio and certain other consumer advocates, would resolve alleged violations resulting from allegations that Duke, while implementing a new CIS, provided to customers, "inaccurate bills, untimely billing, and unusually high bills resulting from Duke
estimating meter reads for prolonged periods of time."
Notably, Staff alleged that bills were not generated for natural gas customers in Duke's "soft-close" program -- a mechanism in which natural gas is not disconnected for gas customers seeking to cease service on a seasonal basis. Staff alleged that billing was not resumed for soft close customers once their seasonal service was re-initiated
Staff said that, as a result of soft close customers not being billed, such customers' usage impacts Gas Cost Recovery customers (default service) that must pay
the difference for gas lost because it was not billed.
Separately, Staff also alleged that, in certain instances over a two-year period, the GCR cost was omitted from bills for about 23,000 customers (though other Duke charges were included on such bills)
Under the revised settlement, Duke will only back-bill active residential customers for unbilled
GCR charges related to gas supply that was provided 365 days prior to the correction of the error by Duke
However, as part of this back-billing, Duke will fund credits to reduce the amount back-billed by $1.2 million, with Duke not permitted to recover such credits through a future GCR or other rates
Most notably, for unbilled GCR costs not back-billed to customers, due to the time limit on back-billing under PUCO rules, Duke shall credit Rider GCR in an amount equal to such unbilled GCR costs, in an amount no less than $2.3 million. Duke is not permitted to recover this credit through a future GCR or other rates.
Generally, rule permits back-billing up to one year for residential customers, but, as noted above, the GCR non-billing occurred for two years. But-for the credit from Duke under the stipulation, Rider GCR would carry a balance reflecting these costs that cannot be back-billed under the rule
The original stipulation, between only Duke and PUCO Staff, did not include any credits to Rider GCR
Case 24-0297-GE-UNC
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January 13, 2025
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Copyright 2025 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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