On April 3, 2014, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (“PUC”) adopted a final rulemaking order to revise its switching regulations in 52 Pa. Code §§ 57.171-57.179. These regulations would accelerate the process for switching to an electric generation supplier (“EGS”) while maintaining safeguards to protect customers against unauthorized switching. Specifically, the final regulations would allow consumers to switch EGSs within three days.
Under existing regulations, it takes customers up to 30 days or even longer to switch to an EGS due to waiting periods designed to avoid unauthorized switches and legacy systems of electric distribution companies (EDCs) that do not easily accommodate switches between meter reads. With the record-breaking recent wave of informal and formal complaints filed by consumers with the PUC about variable price increases this Winter, the PUC said that it is time to find a way to allow customers to quickly switch to another EGS or back to the EDC for default service.
Under the final regulations, the PUC would allow customers to waive the normal 3 business-day rescission period provided under state consumer protection laws and would completely eliminate the waiting period during which consumers are now able to tell their EDCs that a switch was not authorized. In addition, the PUC would require EDCs to implement the change within 3 days of receiving a notification from an EGS, even if that means using estimated or customer-provided meter reads to allow the switch between normally scheduled meter reads.
In adopting this order, the PUC used a “final-omitted” approach that is permitted under Pennsylvania’s regulatory review process when there is good cause to omit the proposed rulemaking stage that solicits public comment. The final-omitted regulations now must be transmitted through the Regulatory Review process pursuant to the Regulatory Review Act to the Office of Attorney General, the House Consumer Affairs Committee, the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee and the Independent Regulatory Review Commission for consideration. If approved, the regulations will become final upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and become effective 6 months thereafter.
For more information or if you have questions about the PUC’s final rulemaking order, please contact Karen Moury at karen.moury@bipc.com.