PUC Holds June 14 En Banc Hearing On Supplier Consolidated Billing By Electricity Suppliers

The Public Utility Commission Monday announced it will hold an en banc hearing on June 14 to hear testimony and gather additional information on customer billing practices by competitive electric generation suppliers, specifically on the legality, merits and potential implementation of supplier consolidated billing.

Currently, a shopping customer may either receive a separate bill from his or her supplier or may receive a bill from his or her utility that includes the supplier’s charges.

The PUC’s Office of Administrative Law Judge will facilitate the en banc hearing, which will begin at 1 p.m. in Hearing Room 1 of the Commonwealth Keystone Building, 400 North Street, Harrisburg, PA.

The purpose of this hearing is to permit participants to inform the Commission on the following issues:

-- Whether SCB is legal under the Public Utility Code and Commission regulations;

-- Whether SCB is appropriate and in the public interest as a matter of policy;

-- Whether the benefits of implementing SCB outweigh the costs associated with implementation; and

-- Potential alternatives to SCB.

Consistent with the Commission’s Secretarial Letter of March 27, 2018, interested parties may submit written comments on any listed topics by May 4, referencing Docket Number M-2018-2645254.

Comments can be mailed to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Attn: Secretary, P.O. Box 3265, Harrisburg, PA 17105-3265. Comments may also be filed electronically through the Commission’s e-File System. Parties should note in their comments if they are interested in testifying at the en banc hearing.

Upon review and consideration of the comments filed, the Commission will then select participants representing a diverse set of perspectives to present testimony and answer questions at the hearing.

On Jan. 18, 2018, the Commission approved a joint motion by Chairman Gladys M. Brown and Commissioner Norman J. Kennard to further explore the legality, merits and potential implementation of SCB, as well as the appropriateness of possible alternatives to SCB.

Under SCB, customers would receive a single, consolidated bill from their chosen EGS that would include both their electric distribution company’s (EDC) distribution charges and their EGS’s generation and transmission charges.

Documents related to this inquiry can be found at PUC Docket Number M-2018-2645254.