Staff will convene a technical conference on May 20-21, 2010, to discuss the Uniform Business Practices Phase II, EDI practices and procedures, and the Commission's revised Power to Choose website. Specifically, with respect to the UBP Phase II process, the discussion will focus on: working group reports, applicability of marketing standards to C&I customers, requiring independent third party verification, contract renewal notifications, customer rescission of request to return to full utility service. The discussion will also include potential additional filing requirements for migration data.

The Commission also announced that it is requesting comments on the UBP Phase II reports (esco referral at service initiation, reverse slamming, customer complaint rate, provision of tax data, and customer lists). Comments are also requested on a potential independent third party verification requirement, contract renewal processes, and rescinding customer requests to return to full utility service. Comments are due July 6, 2010. The full texts of the Notice of Technical Conference, Notice Soliciting Comments and UBP Phase II Reports are available on the NEM Website.

The Commission issued for comment proposed revisions to its default service regulations and policy statement to incorporate the requirements of Act 129. In particular, Act 129 requires that the electric utilities' procurements be conducted to ensure "adequate and reliable service at the least cost to consumers over time." Utility procurements may be in the form of auctions, RFPs, or bilateral agreements. The procurements are to include a prudent mix of spot market, short term and long term contracts (capped at 25% of the mix). Long-term contracts are defined as more than four but not more than twenty years in duration.

In addition to proposed revisions to regulatory language to incorporate these requirements, the Commission posed specific questions for comment as follows:

1. What is meant by ''least cost to customers over time?''
2. What time frame should the Commission use when evaluating whether a DSP's procurement plan produces least cost to customers over time?
3. To comply with the requirement that the Commission ensure that default service is adequate and reliable, should the Commission's default service regulations incorporate provisions to ensure the construction of needed generation capacity in Pennsylvania?
4. If the Commission should adopt a provision to ensure the construction of needed generation capacity, how should the default service regulations be revised?
5. Which approach to supply procurement—a managed portfolio approach or a full requirements approach—is more likely to produce the least cost to customers over time?
6. What is a ''prudent mix'' of spot, long-term, and short-term contracts?
7. Does a ''prudent mix'' mean that the contracts are diversified and accumulated over time?
8. Should there be qualified parameters on the prudent mix? For instance, should the regulations preclude a DSP from entering into all of its long-term contracts in one year?
9. Should the DSP be restricted to entering into a certain percentage of contracts per year?
10. Should there be a requirement that on a total-DSP basis, the ''prudent mix'' means that some quantity of the total-DSP default service load must be served through spot market purchases, some quantity must be served through short-term contracts, and some quantity must be served through long-term contracts?
11. Should there be a requirement that some quantity of each rate class procurement group's load be served by spot market purchases, some quantity through short-term contracts, and some quantity through long-term contracts? In contrast, should a DSP be permitted to rely on only one or two of those product categories with the choice depending on what would be the prudent mix and would yield the least cost to customers over time for that specific DSP?
12. Should the DSP be required to hedge its positions with futures including natural gas futures because of the link between prices of natural gas and the prices of electricity?
13. Is the ''prudent mix'' standard a different standard for each different customer class?
14. What will be the effects of bankruptcies of wholesale supplier to default service suppliers on the short- and long-term contracts?
15. Does Act 129 allow for an after-the-fact review of the ''cost reasonableness standard'' in those cases where the approved default service plan gives the EDC substantial discretion regarding when to make purchases and how much electricity to buy in each purchase?
16. How should the requirement that ''this section shall apply'' to the purchase of AECs be implemented. Section 2807(e)(3.5) states that '' . . . the provisions of this section shall apply to any type of energy purchased by a default service provider to provide electric generation supply service, including energy or alternative energy portfolio standards credits required to be purchased, etc.''

Comments are due May 31, 2010. The full text of the Proposed Default Service Regulations and Policy Statement are available on the NEM Website.