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PUC Removes Barriers To PPL Competition, Allows Purchase Of Energy Credits
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The Public Utility Commission this week finalized measures designed to remove barriers to a competitive retail electric market in the PPL service territory. Also approved was a settlement of PPL plan to offer its customers a Voluntary Alternative Energy Program and allow them to purchase Alternative Energy Credits to support the development of alternative energy.
Barriers To Competition The Commission voted 4-1 to direct actions intended to achieve a fully competitive retail market in the PPL service territory, given the scheduled expiration of PPL's rate caps on December 31, 2009. Vice Chairman Tyrone J. Christy issued a dissenting statement. The PUC directed changes to certain standards, rules and operational protocols in order to make the retail market more viable for electric generation suppliers that wish to offer retail generation service to PPL customers. PPL is one of the largest electric distribution companies in the Commonwealth. With that, the Commission felt it was important that its market contain competitive alternatives, that its customers are aware of these competitive alternatives and that no barriers exist to prevent EGS entry into the market.
In finalizing the measure, the Commission recognized that each EDC is unique and may require different operating directives. The Commission does not believe a one-size-fits-all approach will work in removing the barriers to competition and anticipates that the directives will serve as the starting point in proceedings regarding other companies. The Commission directives address: customer information databases; data access through standardized EDI transactions for post validation, estimation and editing data, which, among other items, provide necessary customer account information such as interval usage, transmission and capacity peak load contribution, and meter read cycle information; bill ready and rate ready options; timely EDI testing; purchase of receivables; customer awareness and education programs; commitments to a process for development of a uniform supplier tariff; an ombudsman for supplier issues; and PPL costs of competition related activities. The Commission also directed that issues such as customer referral programs, provisions for billing services not covered by purchase of receivables programs, and customer shopping education efforts by EDCs and the Commission be referred to the Retail Market Working Group for further consideration. Alternative Energy Credits The Commission also voted 4-1to approve the voluntary plan saying that programs such as this provide incentives for the early development of alternative energy generation and enable customers to directly support renewable energy projects. Vice Chairman Tyrone J. Christy dissented. AECs place a value on the generation of alternative energy. An AEC is created each time a qualified alternative energy facility produces 1000 kWh of electricity. The AEC is then sold or traded separately from the power. Money collected from the purchase of AECs is used toward the development of alternative energy generation projects such as wind. Under the program, residential and small commercial and industrial customers will be able to purchase AECs on a voluntary basis to support the development of alternative energy sources. The AECs for the program will come from wind sources and from large scale hydropower sources. Under the plan, customers may voluntarily purchase one or more blocks of 100 kWh of AECs per month. The rate per block would be $2.50, which would be in addition to the regular monthly cost per kilowatt hour of electricity consumed by the customer.
The program will be capped at 3.3 million blocks over the term of the program, which expires on May 31, 2013. The company will begin informing customers of the program through bill inserts, direct mail and email. The Commission said the PPL plan furthers the goals of the state's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act of 2004. The AEPS Act requires that a certain percentage of all electric energy sold to retail customers within the Commonwealth be derived from alternative energy sources. By 2021, electric distribution companies and electric generation suppliers must supply 18.5 percent of electricity using alternative energy resources. Since the passage of the AEPS Act, the PUC has moved expeditiously to develop the rules and regulations necessary for fostering Pennsylvania's alternative energy market and has implemented a website to make information about AEPS available to the public in a user-friendly manner. Visit the PUC website for a link to the AEPS Report. Details On PPL's New Alternative Energy Rate PPL Electric Utilities’ residential and small-business customers have a new option allowing them to support the development of clean, renewable energy. The company’s new Green Power option gives customers the choice of paying a little extra each month to support the creation of renewable energy projects. The new option will be offered in partnership with Pennsylvania-based Community Energy Inc., a leading marketer and developer of renewable energy. Through the program, customers voluntarily may purchase 100 kilowatt-hour blocks of renewable energy credits, which are the result of energy generated by renewable sources. For each block of renewable energy credits purchased, $2.50 would be added to the customer’s monthly PPL Electric Utilities bill. Customer payments for renewable energy credits would go to Community Energy. PPL Electric Utilities would not earn a profit from the purchases. Renewable energy credits serve as official verification that power has been produced from renewable sources. When demand for those credits increases, it provides developers an incentive to build new renewable energy projects such as wind farms and solar projects. Details on how to sign up for the Green Power option will be communicated to customers in the near future at the PPL Utilities website. |
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8/10/2009 |
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