NOTICES
PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC
UTILITY COMMISSION
License Application of Enerwise Global Technologies, LLC, d/b/a CPower for Approval to Offer, Render, Furnish or Supply Electricity or Electric Generation Services
[51 Pa.B. 3214]
[Saturday, June 5, 2021]Public Meeting held
May 6, 2021Commissioners Present: Gladys Brown Dutrieuille, Chairperson; David W. Sweet, Vice Chairperson, Dissenting; John F. Coleman, Jr.; Ralph V. Yanora
License Application of Enerwise Global Technologies, LLC d/b/a CPower for Approval to Offer, Render, Furnish, or Supply Electricity or Electric Generation Services; A-2019-3009271
Tentative Order By the Commission:
On April 16, 2019, Enerwise Global Technologies, LLC d/b/a CPower (Enerwise or Applicant), Utility Code 1122099, applied to become a licensed electric generation supplier (EGS) throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. On April 18, 2019, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (Commission) accepted Enerwise's application. The application was filed under the Commission's regulations at 52 Pa. Code §§ 54.31—54.43, which became effective on August 8, 1998, and which were established under Section 2809 of the Public Utility Code, 66 Pa.C.S. § 2809. For the reasons expressed in this Tentative Order, Enerwise's application is tentatively approved, consistent with this Tentative Order.
Section 2809 provides in pertinent part that:
License Requirement.—No person or corporation, including municipal corporations which choose to provide service outside their municipal limits except to the extent provided prior to the effective date of this chapter, brokers and marketers, aggregators, and other entities, shall engage in the business of an electric generation supplier in this Commonwealth unless the person or corporation holds a license issued by the commission.66 Pa.C.S. § 2809.
An electric generation supplier is defined as:
A person or corporation, including municipal corporations which choose to provide service outside their municipal limits except to the extent provided prior to the effective date of this chapter, brokers and marketers, aggregators or any other entities, that sells to end-use customers electricity or related services utilizing the jurisdictional transmission or distribution facilities of an electric distribution company or that purchases, brokers, arranges or markets electricity or related services for sale to end-use customers utilizing the jurisdictional transmission and distribution facilities of an electric distribution company.66 Pa.C.S. § 2803.
Enerwise's EGS Application
In its EGS application, Enerwise details its current business practices, which includes operating as a Conservation Service Provider (CSP) and an energy management company which caters to its customers energy needs through usage management, demand response, and sustainability goals. EGS application Section 4.f.
Enerwise states that it is not going to market power in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. EGS application Section 4.f. Rather, the Company submits that it is seeking an EGS license in order to obtain utility data on behalf of its customers so that it can verify customer performance in demand response programs and assist customers in analyzing their usage and capabilities.
Within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, CSPs were created under Act 129 of 2008 (Act 129), which became effective on October 15, 2008, and added Sections 2806.1 and 2806.2 to the Public Utility Code. 66 Pa.C.S. §§ 2806.1, 2806.2. Act 129 mandates that EDCs with at least 100,000 customers must adopt and implement energy efficiency and conservation programs designed to reduce customer demand of electricity by pre-determined amounts. 66 Pa.C.S. §§ 2806.1(a) and 2806.1(l).
A Conservation Service Provider is ''An entity that provides information and technical assistance on measures to enable a person to increase energy efficiency or reduce energy consumption and that has no direct or indirect ownership, partnership or other affiliated interest with an electric distribution company.'' 66 Pa.C.S. § 2806.1(m). An EGS is defined as a ''person or corporation. . .that sells to end-use customers utilizing the jurisdictional transmission and distribution facilities of an electric distribution company, or that purchases, brokers, arranges or markets electricity or related services to end-use customers utilizing the jurisdictional transmission and distribution facilities of an electric distribution company.'' 66 Pa.C.S. § 2803.
In the Commonwealth, electric distribution companies (EDCs) maintain systems containing the account, billing, and usage data for customers within their service territories (i.e., billing and metering systems). EGSs are provided access to these systems and corresponding information so that they may tailor their products and bills. EGSs may access this information through utilization of an electronic data interchange (EDI)1 or via a web portal.2
While access to EDC's data systems is available to licensed EGSs, customer privacy protections still maintain paramount importance to the Commission. Consequently, third-party entities, i.e., entities not licensed as an EGS, are not offered access to EDCs' EDI or web portals. Further, EGSs, as licensed entities, must abide by all relevant statute and regulations and are subject to enforcement actions from the Commission for non-compliance. For example, the Commission's regulations at 52 Pa. Code § 54.8 detail the standard to be followed by EGSs and EDCs regarding the confidentiality of customer information while the statute at 66 Pa.C.S. § 3301 enables the Commission to levy a civil penalty for non-compliance with any pertinent statute, regulation, or order. The Commission highlights this to note the balance that currently is struck by the policy permitting EGSs to access EDC billing and metering systems while refraining from permitting third-party entities from such access. EGS licensure comes with, amongst other things, the benefits of EDC billing and metering system access while it is measured and enforced by PUC oversight and the concomitant responsibilities, obligations, and potential enforcement associated with said oversight.
The Applicant before the Commission today submits that it is only seeking an EGS license in order to obtain utility data on behalf of its customers so that it can verify customer performance in demand response programs, and, to assist customers in analyzing their usage and capabilities. As such, the application here represents a case of first impression whereby the Applicant proposes to voluntarily obtain EGS licensure in order to support its existing business model, as opposed to avail itself the opportunity to commence traditional marketing, brokering, aggregating, or selling of electricity services.
Disposition
This application is rather timely, given the Commission has now overseen the relative completion of smart meter roll-out throughout the Commonwealth. The information realized by smart meters is vast. EGSs, CSPs, and potentially other entities have the potential to leverage this information to the betterment of the public at-large. In our first significant step to provide parties access to this data, the Commission directed EDCs to design web portals as a less expensive alternative to traditional EDI. In our June 30, 2016 Final Order approving the design of EDC web portals, the Commission addressed the issue of access. Of importance, in the June 2016 Final Order, we determined that the Commission would not explicitly provide third-party entities, not otherwise licensed as an EGS, an alternative pathway to access utilities' metering and billing systems. This determination leaves us with our current design whereby EGS licensure may be required to access a utility's billing and metering systems through EDI or a web portal.
Understanding this current design for EDI and web portal access is necessary to prudently evaluate the instant proceeding. We submit that entities operating similarly to Enerwise may potentially avail themselves access to voluntary EGS licensure if they meet the technical and financial standards for licensure. Upon review of this application, we note that Enerwise likely retains adequate financial and technical fitness.
Continuing, while Enerwise's business model is non-traditional when compared to other EGS applicants, we believe the Applicant's business proposal may meet the theme of the Statute. The definition of an EGS is provided in 66 Pa.C.S. § 2809. It reads:
A person or corporation, including municipal corporations which choose to provide service outside their municipal limits except to the extent provided prior to the effective date of this chapter, brokers and marketers, aggregators or any other entities, that sells to end-use customers electricity or related services utilizing the jurisdictional transmission or distribution facilities of an electric distribution company or that purchases, brokers, arranges or markets electricity or related services for sale to end-use customers utilizing the jurisdictional transmission and distribution facilities of an electric distribution company.Here, Enerwise seeks to support its provision of offering electricity related services by availing itself access to the billing and metering systems of utilities via EDI and web portals. While not often thought of as traditional 'distribution facilities,' we posit that an electric distribution company's metering and billing system may fall into the nexus of distribution facilities.
For these reasons, we believe that it is in the public interest to tentatively grant Enerwise's application. Before issuing a final decision on the merits, we will provide an opportunity for interested parties to file comments regarding Enerwise's application within thirty (30) days after the date of publication of the Tentative Order issued in this matter in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Reply comments will be due fifteen (15) days thereafter. Therefore, while we tentatively approve Enerwise Global Technologies, LLC d/b/a CPower's application, Enerwise Global Technologies, LLC d/b/a CPower will not be issued a license certificate or the additional EDI or web portal access requested in the application at this time.
We also refer this matter to the Office of Competitive Market Oversight for any further action as may be deemed warranted to modify the Commission's June 2016 Final Order; Therefore,
It Is Ordered That:
1. The license application of Enerwise Global Technologies, LLC d/b/a CPower for approval to offer, render, furnish, or supply electricity or electric generation services is tentatively approved, consistent with this Tentative Order.
2. The Secretary's Bureau shall duly certify the Tentative Order in this matter and deposit it with the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
3. Within thirty (30) days after the date that the Tentative Order is published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, interested parties may file comments concerning the license application of Enerwise Global Technologies, LLC d/b/a CPower. Reply comments will be due fifteen (15) days thereafter.
4. A copy of this Tentative Order be served on all electric distribution companies, the Office of Consumer Advocate, the Office of Small Business Advocate, the Bureau of Investigation & Enforcement, and Enerwise Global Technologies, LLC d/b/a CPower and all parties of record at Docket No. M-2009-2092655.
5. This matter be referred to the Office of Competitive Market Oversight for any further action as may be deemed warranted to modify the Commission's Submission of the Electronic Data Exchange Working Group's Web Portal Working Group's Solution Framework for Historical Interval Usage and Billing Quality Interval Use Final Order, Docket No. M-2009-2092655 (Order entered June 30, 2016).
ROSEMARY CHIAVETTA,
SecretaryORDER ADOPTED: May 6, 2021
ORDER ENTERED: May 24, 2021
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 21-904. Filed for public inspection June 4, 2021, 9:00 a.m.] _______
1 Docket No. M 00960890F.0015.
2 Docket No. M-2009-2092655.
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