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Regulatory

CA Commission Proposes Reforms to Utility Exit Fee Calculation. May Lead to Lower Rates.

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On August 23rd, the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC” or “Commission”) issued a Proposed Decision on a recent effort mounted by a broad coalition of customers and retail suppliers. The coalition wants the CPUC to reform the methodology used to determine an Exit Fee (known as the Power Cost Indifference Adjustment or PCIA) customers pay their native utility when they move to Direct Access service.

According to the CPUC, the purpose of the Exit Fee is to ensure that customers that remain with their utility for their electricity service do not absorb additional costs when other customers leave utility…
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Criticism Mounting In Opposition to AEP Ohio’s Rate Increase

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Pictured here is the west side of the Ohio Statehouse, where a House committee is expected to conduct hearings regarding the status of its electricity market in the coming months.

It’s been gratifying the past few days to see important voices weigh in with a critical eye regarding American Electric Power Ohio’s proposed rate increase and the future prospects for electric competition in central Ohio. On Aug. 5, news media reported that the staff of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio had filed testimony…
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EPA’s Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) Rule Will Impact Coal Generators

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In December 2008 federal courts struck down the EPA’s Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) due to flaws in the law.  The courts directed EPA to rewrite the rule; on July 7 EPA released its finalized rule, the Cross State Air Pollution Rule or “Casper” (CSAPR).  

This law will require 27 states to significantly reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from plants in the eastern half of the United States. This rule is intended to help states reduce ground level ozone and other pollutants. The impact for power markets will be increased costs for running coal fired generation…
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Update on California Direct Access Expansion Bill

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We recently reported that Senate Bill 855 had been introduced by California State Senator Christine Kehoe to expand the Direct Access reopening cap that had been put in place in 2009. 

We had expected that the bill would be heard in the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee on July 5.  Unfortunately, that hearing did not occur, but the bill remains eligible for further action later on in the summer. We plan to work closely with Senator Kehoe and her staff to resolve any outstanding issues so that the bill can be passed and enacted during the current two-year legislative…
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California Direct Access Expansion Bill Introduced

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We commend Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) for introducing legislation on June 23 to expand the Direct Access cap. The new legislation, Senate Bill 855, if enacted, will expand the Direct Access cap by the same amount, approximately 1000 to 1500 MWs that had been provided during the transitional reopening enacted in October 2009 under SB 695.  That reopening is 95% to 100% subscribed statewide.

This will provide the opportunity for more California businesses and organizations to see competitive retail service and the competitive energy prices, improved customer service, and technological and product innovations that come with it…
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Opportunity for some SCE customers to switch to Direct Access before January 2012

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Interesting news for businesses with locations in the Southern California Edison (SCE) utility service area! Up to 279 GWh of load under the Direct Access cap is now available for SCE customers in 2011.

Last week, the utility notified some customers who were accepted into Phase 3 of Direct Access (with an expected start of January 2012), of an opportunity to transfer to Direct Access early as provided in SCE Rule 22.1 Section C.6.b[4]. The notifications are being sent to customers in the same order that customers were accepted into Phase 3, up to the point…
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