The Commission ordered the electric utilities to file energy efficiency, conservation and demand reduction plans that would enable them to achieve usage reduction goals consistent with the EmPower Maryland plan announced by Governor O'Malley of a statewide fifteen percent reduction in total electric usage on a per capita basis by 2015. The utilities' plans should address costs, benefits and other issues related to mandatory customer participation (i.e., through time of use or critical peak pricing).

The Commission determined that a statewide standard of minimum technical standards and operational capacity of advanced meters was necessary. Utility proposals to implement an AMI system should meet minimum requirements such as implementation for all customers, non-discriminatory access, and functionality such as a minimum of hourly meter reads delivered one time per day, remote programming capability, two-way communication capability, remote connect and disconnect, time stamp capability, fourteen days data storage capability, and voltage monitoring. Metering and data management would generally continue as an electric company function. However, metering and data management options may be considered for larger non-residential customers.

Utility cost recovery of demand side management programs should be accomplished through a distribution rate surcharge that will be established through an annual utility filing.

The procedural schedule for review of the utility filings is as follows:
Interventions Due - October 12, 2007
Investor-Owned Utilities Plans Due - October 26, 2007
Comments on Investor-Owned Utilities Plans Due - November 2, 2007
Hearings - November 8-9, 2007
All Other Electric Companies Plans Due - January 11, 2008.

The full text of the Order is available on the NEM Website.

The Commission previously ordered that the natural gas utilities implement mandatory capacity assignment programs. Current levels of marketer-owned capacity are to be grandfathered. The mandatory assignment policy is applicable to "those residential and small commercial customers who lack access to alternative fuels and for whom marketers must acquire primary delivery point capacity for the five winter months if they do not accept assignment of LDC capacity." The Commission required that firm utility primary delivery point capacity, utilized by a marketer, must be held by a marketer for twelve months instead of the prior policy which only imposed a winter month requirement.

The utilities have submitted compliance filings to implement the mandatory capacity programs. The filings are to to take effect on November 1, 2007, on a temporary basis, subject to final Commission approval. As part of its filing, Keyspan also proposed to change the prepayment terms for ESCOs that do not meet UBP creditworthiness guidelines (that are required to prepay for winter bundled sales service or virtual storage service). Keyspan wants to change the time requirement for prepayment from two days to three days prior to the start of the month. The full text of Utilities' Compliance Filings is available on the NEM Website.

The ALJ issued a Recommended Decision in NFG's rate case. With respect to NFG's retail access programs, the ALJ noted that there is a generic proceeding that was opened to examine next steps in retail market formation. The ALJ noted that the Commission could potentially render a decision in the generic case that could impact the Commission's final decision in the NFG rate case. That having been said, the ALJ recommended that the POR program should continue for now and that NFG should provide one year's notice of its intent to discontinue it. The ALJ recommended that the Commission refrain from reinstating the marketer referral program. Instead, a collaborative should be convened in 2008 to examine a mass market migration pilot program and modifications to service inception arrangements. The conduct of consumer education, Market Match and Market Expo programs should be implemented in conformance with a Commission decision in the generic retail markets case.

The ALJ recommended that storage gas carrying costs, customer record and collection costs should be included in the Merchant Function Charge. The ALJ found that the billing and payment processing charge should be rolled into the monthly customer charge, and NFG should not be required to separately state the charge on bills rendered for marketers.

In response to NFG's proposal to eliminate the "no harm, no foul" rule with respect to daily balancing requirements, the ALJ suggests that daily balancing requirements should be applied separately to large marketers and smaller marketers, with each group having the benefit of its own "no harm, no foul" rule. NFG will implement a revenue decoupling mechanism to complement energy efficiency activities.

Briefs on exceptions are due October 18, 2007, and briefs opposing exceptions are due November 2, 2007. The full text of the Recommended Decision is available on the NEM Website.

In conformance with the Commission's recent order on its electric rate plan, NYSEG submitted a filing setting forth the tariff revisions for its commodity enrollment program to become effective on November 1, 2007. NYSEG's commodity enrollment program was modified to eliminate the ESCO Option with Supply Adjustment (EOSA); implement a fixed Transition Charge for all customer; accelerate the phase-in of customers served under mandatory Hourly Pricing; change the conversion factor used to calculate the fixed price; and modify the earnings sharing mechanism. Additionally, customers served under the EOSA option that do not select a Supply Service Option during the Enrollment Period will be served under the ESCO Price Option. The full text of NYSEG's Compliance Filing is available on the NEM Website.