-
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING
FORMAL CASE NO. 1086, IN THE MATTER OF THE INVESTIGATION INTO THE POTOMAC ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY’S Residential Air Conditioner Direct Load Control Program
1. The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia (Commission) hereby gives notice, pursuant to section 34-802 of the District of Columbia Official Code and pursuant to section 2-505 of the District of Columbia Official Code,[1] of its intent to act upon the Application of the Potomac Electric Power Company (“Pepco” or “Company”)[2] in not less than thirty (30) days from the date of publication of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) in the D.C. Register.
2. On June 15, 2011, Pepco filed a Revised Residential Air Conditioner Direct Load Control Program (DLC Program) with updated tariff pages, including a new Rider “R-DLC” – Residential Direct Load Control.[3] The Company states that the DLC Program updates its earlier filing to respond to the Commission’s “request to establish a regulatory asset to cover the costs for the proposed program.”[4] Further, the Company states the DLC Program “has been designed to be deployed in an environment where [Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)] meters are in place for all distribution customers.”[5]
3. Specifically, Pepco proposes to establish a revised voluntary residential air conditioner DLC Program.[6] Pepco states that it will encourage customer participation through a one-time program enrollment credit and annual customer billing credits.[7] To achieve maximum DLC Program participation “Pepco proposes to offer all District of Columbia residential distribution customers with central air conditioners or central heat pumps the choice of the installation of an outdoor cycling switch or an indoor smart programmable thermostat (‘[DLC equipment’)”.[8] Pepco states that it “anticipates that the deployed AMI System will provide the communication link to the deployed [DLC] equipment by using the communication capabilities of the new meters after this functionality is enabled.”[9] According to the Company, “[t]he installation of this equipment will permit the Company to reduce high summer electric demand through the remote cycling of residential central electric air conditioner and heat pump compressors.”[10] Finally, the Company “proposes to recover program costs through a newly established regulatory asset.”[11]
4. Accordingly, Pepco seeks authority to revise and put into service the following tariff pages contained in its June 15, 2011, tariff filing:
POTOMAC ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY, P.S.C. of D.C. No. 1
62nd Revised Page No. R-1
62nd Revised Page No. R-2
55th Revised Page No. R-2.1
31st Revised Page No. 2.2
Original Page No. R-50
5. The Application is on file with the Commission and may be reviewed at the Office of the Commission Secretary, 1333 H Street, N.W., Second Floor, West Tower, Washington, D.C. 20005, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday or may be viewed on the Commission’s website at www.dcpsc.org. Copies of the tariff pages are also available upon request, at a per-page reproduction cost.
6. All persons interested in commenting on Pepco’s Tariff Application may submit written comments and reply comments no later than thirty (30) and forty-five (45) days, respectively, after publication of this NOPR in the D.C. Register with Jesse P. Clay, Acting Commission Secretary, at the above address. After the comment period has expired, the Commission will take final action on Pepco’s Tariff Application.
[1] D.C. Code, § 2-505 (2006 Repl.); D.C. Code, § 34-802 (2010 Repl.).
[2] Pepco’s filing was initially docketed in Formal Case No. 1070, In the Matter of the Investigation into the Potomac Electric Power Company’s Non-AMI Demand Response Program Plan (“F.C. 1070”), Response of the Potomac Electric Power Company to Order No. 16109, Issued on December 20, 2010 in Formal Case No. 1070, filed June 15, 2011. The filing was subsequently transferred to Formal Case No. 1086, In the Matter of the Investigation into the Potomac Electric Power Company’s Residential Air Conditioner Direct Load Control Program (“F.C. 1086”), in this document, Pepco’s filing will be referred to as “Pepco’s Tariff Application”.
[3] F.C. 1086, Pepco’s Tariff Application, at 1.
[4] Id.
[5] Id. at 3.
[6] Id. at 1.
[7] Id. at 8.
[8] Id. at 4.
[9] Id. at 3. (Pepco “anticipates that its AMI meter deployment will be substantially completed by year-end 2011.”)
[10] Id. at 4.
[11] Id. at 16.
