ComEd submitted testimony in support of its proposed Rider PORCB. Rider PORCB sets forth the terms under which ComEd will purchase receivables from marketers and reflect those charges on customers’ bills whose receivables have been purchased by ComEd. Rider PORCB also addresses ComEd cost recovery.

ComEd will recover its costs through a discount rate charged to marketers as well as through an adjustment to its monthly Customer Charge billed to all customers with demands under 400 kW. Notably, if POR "is sufficiently utilized, the RESs using PORCB service will reimburse customers with demands under 400 kW for the costs they have borne." The discount rate will incorporate: "(1) a percentage reduction for the recovery of uncollectible costs associated with the purchased receivables that is based on ComEd’s historic bad debt rate and (2) a fixed, $0.50 per bill charge for the recovery of start-up and administrative costs associated with ComEd’s purchase of receivables." Marketers could begin enrolling customers in POR beginning December 1, 2010, with the first purchase of receivable and billings under Rider PORCB possibly occuring by the January 2011 monthly billing period. The full text of ComEd's Testimony is available on the NEM Website.

BGE made a filing with the Commission to explain its planned process for addressing outstanding electric supplier charges once it starts purchasing receivables. When the POR program begins, BGE will only purchase the receivables for new electricity charges.

"All prior electric supplier arrearages, regardless of the age, will remain on BGE’s bill for 120 days. During that time they will be subject to the current payment posting priority and partial payments will get posted to those accounts in accordance with that posting priority. If application of these partial payments results in supplier charges becoming in arrears, customer payments made on the account will be applied prior to the current utility charges in accordance with the payment posting priority. BGE will not take collection or termination action on any supplier arrearages prior to the implementation of POR.

After 120 days, any electricity supplier charges billed by BGE prior to the implementation of POR will no longer be billed by BGE and will be returned to the suppliers at the time that customer’s bill group is being processed."

The full text of the BGE Filing is available on the NEM Website.

OPC filed a Motion with the Commission requesting that it expand the scope of the Pepco/Delmarva proceeding on the SOS-related cash working capital (CWC) revenue requirement. OPC suggests the proceeding examine all of the components of the SOS Administrative Charge including the incremental costs and rate of return charged by Pepco and Delmarva in connection with their rendering of SOS. Pepco and Delmarva had filed to increase their respective SOS CWC revenue requirements for all rate classes. Pepco is seeking to recover $0.00094 per kWh in residential SOS rates, and Delmarva is seeking to recover $0.000595 per kWh. OPC says the examination is appropriate because of the experience the stakeholders have gained with the SOS procurement process; availability of actual cost and other data; and that to examine only the issue of the CWC requirement would constitute single issue ratemaking. The full text of the OPC Motion is available on the NEM Website.

Separate from the Pepco/Delmarva proceeding, the Commission recently also initiated a proceeding to examine the Price to Compare that appears on the electric utilities' monthly customer bills and websites. The Commission decided the review was appropriate in view of its recent adoption of new Competitive Electric Supply regulations. Specifically, the Commission will, "investigate whether the 'price to compare' as calculated by the IOUs and set forth on a customer's monthly bill, is an effective tool that facilitates or influences a customer's decision regarding whether to select a competitive electric supplier and provides sufficient and accurate information to make the comparison between the competitive offers and Standard Offer Service (SOS) provided by the customer's IOU." The full text of the Notice Initiating Proceeding is available on the NEM Website.

Upon review of a stakeholder report on Rate Ready Billing, the Commission directed PPL to implement its Rate Ready Billing proposal by September 30, 2010. The Commission directed that the Retail Markets Working Group (RMWG) should examine the issue of using the stakeholder report as a statewide business model. The RMWG should consider electric supplier business needs for a uniform approach to Rate Ready billing as well as electric utility billing system capabilities to respond to this approach. The RMWG must report back to the Commission within 90 days. Staff must submit an independent recommendation upon review of the RMWG report. The full texts of the PPL Order and the Rate Ready Billing Report are available on the NEM Website.