The Commission opened an investigation into WGL's implementation of a new billing system and, "its impact on customers, on the approval process for natural gas suppliers, and on competition in the natural gas retail market in the District of Columbia." WGL will launch a new billing system in the fourth quarter of 2016. The Commission noted that a new billing system can offer increased functionalities and billing options as well as the incorporation of suppliers onto the system in a more timely fashion. However, "the initial testing and implementation process can also adversely impact a company’s ability to timely and accurately distribute customers’ bills," in the required format.

Interventions are due ten days from the date of the Order. The full text of the Order is available on the NEM Website.

A law passed this spring, An Act Relative to Solar Energy, requires the Department to revise its rules regarding net metering. The Department issued an Order adopting emergency regulations to implement the Act. Prior to the Act becoming effective, the net metering limits for public and private projects, referred to as public and private caps, had been or were nearing being met by the utilities. The Act increased the public and private caps, and the Department ordered those new caps become effective as of the date of the Order. The private cap is raised to seven percent of each utility's historical peak load, and the public cap is raised to eight percent of each utility's historical peak load. The emergency regulations include a process for utilities to seek a "monthly minimum reliability contribution" on electric bills for customers receiving Net Metering Credits.

The Department is requesting comments on the emergency net metering regulations, including the following topics:
"1. The process for Distribution Companies to calculate Net Metering Credits for Solar Net Metering Facilities that are interconnected prior to the Notification Date and seek to expand such facilities after the Notification Date;
2. Whether the Act permits Distribution Companies to provide payment to Class III Solar Net Metering Facilities receiving Market Net Metering Credits in lieu of a Net Metering Credit on an electric bill;
3. Whether the term “government entity” as used in the Act, Section 3, which states that “credits shall only be allocated to an account of a municipality or government entity,” should be interpreted to have the same meaning as “other
governmental entity” as used in G.L. c. 164, § 139;
4. Whether including in the definitions of Class I Net Metering Facility and Class I Solar Net Metering Facility the phrase “is not a transmission facility” is appropriate; and if so, whether the definitions of Class II Net Metering Facility, Class II Solar Net Metering Facility, Class III Net Metering Facility, and Class III Solar Net Metering Facility also should reference that the facility is not a transmission facility;
5. At what time and under what circumstances the Department may consider proposals for a monthly minimum reliability contribution;
6. What process should the Department use to consider the monthly minimum reliability contribution;
7. Whether the Department should exempt or modify a monthly minimum reliability contribution for low-income ratepayers;
8. Whether the Department should exempt any class or sub-class of net metering facilities that were in service before December 31, 2016;
9. What would be a reasonable amount of time between (a) the Department of Energy Resource’s (“DOER”) determination that the aggregate nameplate capacity of Solar Net Metering Facilities qualified under G.L. c. 25A, § 11F(g), is equal to or greater than 1,600 MW direct current and (b) the Notification Date to be established pursuant to Department Order following receipt of the DOER’s determination; and
10. In defining the process for calculating Net Metering Credits in 220 C.M.R. § 18.04, should the term 'Basic Service' be used rather than the term 'Default Service.'"

Comments are due June 15, 2016, and reply comments are due June 20, 2016. The full text of the Order is available on the NEM Website.

The Board is proposing the readoption of Third Party Supplier (TPS) advertising and marketing regulations adopted to implement statutory requirements enacted through P.L. 2013, c. 263. The regulations proposed to be readopted prohibit, "electric power suppliers, gas suppliers, brokers, energy agents, marketers, private aggregators, sales representatives, and telemarketers," from making false or misleading advertising and marketing claims to potential residential customers. The regulations also prohibit those entities from contacting a potential residential customer by telephone for the purpose of making an unsolicited advertisement or marketing of their services if the entities do not have a preexisting business relationship with the customer and the customer's phone number appears on the "no telemarketing" list maintained by the Division of Consumer Affairs or the FTC's national "do not call" registry. If an entity violates these provisions it must pay to the residential customer, "an amount equal to all charges paid by the residential customer after such violation occurs." Violations of these requirements will also subject these entities to liability for a civil penalty. The Board also has authority to revoke an entity's license for violation of these provisions. Comments on the rule readoption are due by July 1, 2016. The full text of the Proposed Rule Readoption is available on the NEM Website.