New York may get millions more energy shoppers

A proposed settlement of Consolidated Edison's distribution rate case includes changes in retail access rules that could make another 1 million to 3 million customers in New York economic for marketers to serve.
So says Craig Goodman, NEMA president, who was active in seeking the kinds of shopping benefits the settlement delivers and that the New York PSC under Chair William Flynn has been introducing over the past year.  
     The settlement, Goodman told RT, is the "desired model" NEMA has been hoping to see in New York and hoping to see other states in the Northeast adopt.
     ConEd and stakeholders came up with a Christmas stocking full of goodies for marketers and their customers, including:
     • ConEd would buy receivables from marketers at a tiny discount of 0.97% that would be adjusted at the beginning of 2006 through 2008;
     • Costs of buying receivables would be deferred for future recovery;
     • ConEd would set up a residential shopping program where residential customers would be offered a 7% discount for the first two months they shop -- cloning the Orange & Rockland Utilities program;
     • Breaks on systems benefit charges offered now only to commercial gas customers would be expanded to commercial power customers;
     • Customer outreach and education efforts would get $7.8 million over three years;
     • ConEd could earn incentives of up to $12 million over three years for boosting customer migration and retention;
     • ConEd is to survey customer and marketer satisfaction, and
     • The utility would work with stakeholders on bill format changes and launching a retail auction pilot.
     That last item -- auctioning retail customers to the lowest bidder -- is "one of the most innovative ideas that's surfaced in the last few years," Goodman noted, and is a concept the industry should get comfortable with.
     Under the three-year rate plan, ConEd would get a $105 million delivery revenue rise in April and another $220 million two years later, promote demand management initiatives building to 300 mw of peak load and propose a green marketing program.
     The PSC will be seeking comments on the proposal and posted a summary of its terms (http://www.dps.state.ny.us/04E0572_
Dec_2_04_Summary.pdf).
     Originally published in Restructuring Today on December 6, 2004