506163 Formal Case No. 945In the Matter of the Investigation into Electric Services Market Competition and Regulatory Practices
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PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING
FORMAL CASE NO. 945, IN THE MATTER OF THE INVESTIGATION INTO ELECTRIC SERVICES MARKET COMPETITION AND REGULATORY PRACTICES
1. The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia (Commission) hereby gives notice, 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) in not less than 30 days from the date of publication of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) in the D.C. Register.
2. On March 12, 2009, in Order No. 15219, the Commission approved the following five energy efficiency and conservation programs proposed by Pepco: (1) Residential Lighting & Appliances: (2) Non-Residential Prescriptive Rebate; (3) Non-Residential Custom Incentive; (4) Non-Residential HCAC Efficiency; and (5) Non-Residential Building Commissioning.[2] The programs have been operated by the Company and funded at a maximum annual level of $6 million through the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund (SETF).[3] On June 15, 2010, the District of Columbia City Council voted to eliminate the funding of the Company’s energy efficiency programs effective September 30, 2010. As a result, Pepco is unable to continue to operate the existing energy efficiency and conservation programs in the District of Columbia in Fiscal Year (FY) 2011.
3. On August 19, 2010, the Company filed its Application seeking Commission authorization to establish a Rider “DSM”-Demand Side Management Surcharge to continue operations of its five (5) existing energy efficiency and conservation programs for FY 2011.[4] The Company proposes that the Rider DSM Surcharge become effective with the billing month of October 2010.[5] Pepco made the filing under the Commission’s expedited review process outlined in 15 DCMR § 3500 et seq. On August 24, 2010, Pepco Amended its Tariff Application.[6]
4. In its Application, the Company proposes that the program funding be maintained at the existing annual funding level of $6 million with $5 million allocated to the non-residential programs and $1 million allocated to the residential programs for FY 2011.[7] Also, Pepco proposes that Rider “DSM” be designed to recover program costs over a five-year period.[8] The Company states that if the Commission approves Rider “DSM”, the Company proposes to file annual true-up filings that would seek Commission authorization to adjust the surcharge amount beginning with the billing month of October.[9] The Company submits that the surcharge (in dollars per kilowatt hour) will be computed by dividing the total amount to be recovered for each class by forecasted District of Columbia retail sales (in kilowatt hours) for that class.[10] According to the Company, the currently proposed surcharge amount for the residential classes of service is $0.00010/kWh and $0.00013/kWh for the non-residential classes of service.[11] Finally, Pepco states that the resulting monthly bill impact for a typical residential customer is estimated to be $0.08 or $0.96 per year.[12]
5. Accordingly, Pepco seeks authority to revise and put into service the following tariff pages:
POTOMAC ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY, P.S.C. of D.C. No. 1
55th Revised Page No. R-1
55th Revised Page No. R-2
48th Revised Page No. R-2.1
24th Revised Page No. R-2.2
12th Revised Page No. R-3
12th Revised Page No. R-3.1
12th Revised Page No. R-4
12th Revised Page No. R-4.1
10th Revised Page No. R-5
10th Revised Page No. R-5.1
9th Revised Page No. R-6
9th Revised Page No. R-6.1
8th Revised Page No. R-6.2
8th Revised Page No. R-6.3
9th Revised Page No. R-6.4
9th Revised Page No. R-6.5
7th Revised Page No. R-7
7th Revised Page No. R-7.1
10th Revised Page No. R-8
10th Revised Page No. R-8.1
10th Revised Page No. R-8.2
10th Revised Page No. R-8.3
10th Revised Page No. R-8.4
10th Revised Page No. R-8.5
7th Revised Page No. R-9
7th Revised Page No. R-9.1
Original Page No. R-50
Original Page No. R-50.1
6. 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.
7. Any person desiring to comment on the Application should do so in writing and direct those comments to Dorothy Wideman, Commission Secretary, at the above address, and shall set forth therein the specific grounds for each comment. The Commission welcomes all comments including suggestions as to alternate funding options. Comments must be submitted on or before 30 days after publication of this notice in the D.C. Register. Any replies to such comments shall be made no later than 35 days after publication of this Notice, after which time the Commission will take final rulemaking action on Pepco’s Application.
[1] D. C. Code, § 2-505 (2001).
[2] F.C. 945, Order No. 15219, rel. March 12, 2009.
[3] Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008 (“CAEA”) §§ 207 (c) and 210 (c) (9) (2008).
[4] Formal Case No. 945, In the Matter of the Investigation into Electric Services Market Competition and Regulatory Practices (F.C. 945), The Potomac Electric Company, Rider “DSM”-Demand Side Management Surcharge Request, filed August 19, 2010, (“Pepco’s Rider DSM Surcharge Application”). As noted in the Application, the legislative authority for the funding for Pepco’s five energy efficiency and conservation programs via a surcharge has been revoked by the District of Columbia City Council thus; this filing suggests that a Commission-created surcharge be implemented for this purpose. Parties are advised that the Commission will be assessing the implication of this issue.
[5] Id. at 1.
[6] F.C. 945, The Potomac Electric Power Company, Corrected Version of Tariff Page No. 50, filed August 24, 2010 (“Pepco’s Amended Tariff Application”).
[7] Id. at 2.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] F.C. 945, Pepco’s Amended Tariff Application.
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
