Missouri legislation to open retail choice now in committee. House Bill HB417 in the Missouri legislature, sponsored by Rep. Mayhew, has been introduced and referred to the House General Laws Committee. The bill would open Missouri’s electricity market to competitive retail choice by August 2027 for C&I customers and January 2029 for residential customers. The proposed legislation: (1) specifies that electric utilities, as defined in the bill, must provide open and nondiscriminatory access over their transmission and distribution systems to all retail electric suppliers to sell electricity directly to customers; (2) requires electric utilities to unbundle the rates charged for generation, transmission, and distribution services; and (3) authorizes the MOPSC to establish a separate process for supply to energy assistance customers which must include the grouping of low income customers into an aggregation program. A Senate companion, SB487, has also been introduced but not yet referred to committee.
New York fines retail supplier for non-compliant products. On January 23, the New York issued a press release outlining actions against several energy companies for regulatory violations Notably, the NYPSC penalized retail supplier Atlantic Energy $100,000 for violating the NYPSC’s Uniform Business Practices and Atlantic Energy agreed to refund customers impacted by its non-compliance. Specifically, Atlantic Energy acknowledge that it “enrolled more than 250 customers on non-compliant products that offered inappropriate inducements, and that it transferred 25 expired customers to renewable energy products without those customers’ affirmative consent.”
Annual report in Michigan shows capped retail choice program fully subscribed. The Michigan Public Service Commission’s annual Status of Electric Competition report, issued on January 31, shows the retail choice program for primarily C&I customers at each eligible electric utility “remain[ed] at or near the 10% statutory cap in 2024.” Electric choice is limited to 10% of a utility’s average weather-adjusted retail sales for the preceding calendar year, under state law. According to the report, the number of shopping customers declined slightly in 2024 to 5,514 from 5,539 in 2023. The report said the number of licensed suppliers in Michigan remains at 21 total, and as of December 2024, about 5,899 customers remain in the queue of those interested in participating in the program if space becomes available under the 10% cap.
Maryland delays new renewal deadlines for retail supplier licenses. The Maryland PSC issued a determination on January 15 that the previously-set retail supplier license renewal deadline for the same time is suspended pending further consideration. The MDPSC had issued a notice before Christmas on the SB1 license renewal and supplier education provisions, but suppliers raised concerns with the implementation. RESA, NRG, and Clean Choice made a joint filing on December 24, 2024 stating, “Unfortunately, the Supplier Coalition was not involved in the Staff presentation referenced in the Notice and did not have a chance to comment on the proposed dates and timelines before the Notice was issued. As a result, the Notice added to the existing confusion and uncertainty regarding SB 1 implementation. For the reasons explained below, RESA requests that the filing dates be modified to ensure a smoother transition to the new three-year renewal cycle.”
Pennsylvania upholds retail choice Standard Offer Referral Program. PAPUC issued an order on January 8 that denied the petitions for reconsideration filed by CAUSE-PA and OCA regarding the earlier PAPUC decision to modify the PECO DSP 6 settlement, by rejecting their proposal to modify the Standard Offer referral program (SOP) to allow for participants to be automatically returned to default service at the end of the SOP contract unless the participant took affirmative action to stay with the supplier. Chairman DeFrank issued a statement in support of the SOP in PECO’s service territory, saying that the “SOP is a good savings program but, first, the SOP needs to be supported by the voluntary participation of competitive suppliers. Revisions to the design of the SOP that would effectively eliminate supplier participation should be avoided.” On the other side of the coin, Vice Chair Kimberly Barrow issued a statement outlining why the petitions should have been granted. Barrow stated that to be successful in the competitive retail market a customer must be actively shopping. She also stated that PAPUC “made the wrong call” and that customers should be returned to default service at the time they sign the SOP contract.
Bill to modify retail choice for electricity in Virginia introduced. House Bill HB2528 was introduced in the Virginia legislature on January 8 and was assigned to a House Labor & Commerce subcommittee on January 21. This bill would alter or remove a number of restrictions on retail choice, including: lowering the previous-year demand required to purchase electricity from a supplier from 5 MW to 1 MW and permitting multiple customers to aggregate load to meet this requirement but also removing existing statutory language permitting any customer to opt for a 100% renewable energy from a supplier if such a plan is not provided by their utility.
Maine files long-term energy plan with legislature. The Maine Governor’s Energy Office submitted the Maine Energy Plan to the legislature on January 17 with an accompanying press release. Of note, the plan identifies the following objectives: (1)“Deliver affordable energy for Maine people and businesses,” with a key strategy being reduction in dependence on heating oil; (2) “Ensure Maine’s energy systems are reliable and resilient in the face of growing challenges,” including through grid modernization, renewable-powered microgrids, and increased energy storage; (3) “Responsibly advance clean energy,” including: (i) establishing a new, emissions-based clean energy standard to complement Maine’s RPS; (ii) pursue policies and market structures to promote “emerging resources such as long-duration energy storage”; (iii) establishing “a regular schedule of competitive energy purchases”; and (iv) procuring 3 GW of offshore wind energy by 2040; (4) “Deploy efficient technologies to reduce energy costs,” including by: (i) advancing electrification and weatherization; (ii) support activities enabling “smart technology such as managed charging or demand response”; (ii) expand demand-management initiatives; and (iii) expand the EV charging network; and (5) “Expand clean energy career opportunities for Maine people and advance innovation.”
In Brief: The Illinois Commerce Commission has launched a process to develop an energy storage procurement proposal as directed by new state legislation which is still pending on Gov. Pritzker’s desk. Staff held on an initial workshop on January 31 (Meeting Agenda, Staff Presentation, and Workshop Plan)… In Virginia, with its short 60-day legislative session already moving quickly towards the back nine, House Bill HB2528 and Senate Bill SB1485, which would have loosened the considerable restrictions on C&I choice in the state, were left in committee and are unlikely to be brought to the floor of either house…former Pennsylvania PUC commissioners Powelson, Cawley, and Thomas wrote a joint op-ed in the Lehigh Valley News on February 3, slamming electric utility PPL’s proposal to turn back wholesale and retail competition in the state by allowing utilities to own generation again…inTexas the ERCOT Board Selection Committee announced the selection of two new members, Alejandro “Alex” Hernandez and Sigmund “Sig” Cornelius, to serve on the Board of Directors. Hernandez’ and Cornelius’ three-year terms began January 27…the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) announced that Chief Executive Officer Susanna Zagar will leave the organization following the appointment of her replacement later this year.Gov. Janet Mills announced on January 8 that she will propose elevating the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) to a cabinet-level department as part of her upcoming biennial budget proposal… Maryland PSC Staff filed a draft “Application for License to Operate as a Distributed Energy Resource in the State of Maryland” for MDPSC consideration on January 16. Commentson the proposed draft DER license application are due by February 20.
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