In its testimony in the Con Ed electric rate case, Staff's retail access issue panel echoed many of the recommendations from the Commission's recently released Policy Statements. First, the Panel proposed migration incentive payments for every block of 25,000 customers migrated, setting a maximum payment of $7.5 million for 200,000 customers migrated. The Panel endorsed O&R's Switch and Save program and conditioned its approval of $1.5 million for retail choice promotion on Con Ed's institution of a similar program. Likewise, the Panel proposed $1.85 million for outreach and education and Con Ed's "Power Your Way" Campaign. No change was proposed in Con Ed's retail access credits, pending Con Ed's submission of its embedded cost-based rate unbundling filing. Finally, the Panel recommended the adoption of Market Match and Market Expo programs as well as for the company to appoint an ESCO ombudsman and to accelerate its progress in unbundling customer bills. The full text of the Retail Access Panel's testimony is available on the NEM web site.

Staff's metering issues panel testified that only strategic and remote automated meter reading (AMR) initiatives should go forward, but Con Ed's other metering programs should be postponed. The remote and strategic AMR programs replace old equipment as well as use AMR for locations which are dangerous, expensive or otherwise ineffecient for meter reading. The Panel recommended postponing progress on other metering initiatives, stating that metering is a function that could be performed by competitive suppliers and that because metering technology is developing, current equipment could become obsolete in the near future. The full text of the Metering Panel's testimony is available on the NEM web site.

FirstEnergy submitted a plan concerning customers returning to POLR service under its Rate Stabilization Plan. Assuming that MISO Day 2 pricing has been finalized including nodal Locational Marginal Pricing (LMP), the plan provides for prices based on the highest hourly real time LMPs for any Elemental Pricing Node. Losses from providing POLR service will be recovered by either adjusting LMPs or through a separate charge. Billing for C&I customers will utilize actual hourly interval metered data multiplied by the hourly LMPs. If, on the other hand, MISO Day 2 pricing has not yet been implemented, billing will utilize a weighted blend of prices from Cinergy and PJM West, weighted 40% and 60% respectively, plus any real power losses. Weekend and NERC holiday pricing will be the same as published off-peak prices for the preceding weekday/non-holiday. Like the Day 2 scheme, billing will utilize actual hourly interval metered data multiplied by the blended price. Under either scenario, returning customers will be charged under these plans as opposed to FirstEnergy's standard service offer tariff, with the provision that their charges will not be less than those in the Rate Stabilization Plan. The full text of FirstEnergy's plan is available on the NEM web site.

NEM submitted comments encouraging the Commission to clarify its rule, making only the Ohio portion of the Federal Do Not Call (DNC) list applicable to competitive suppliers. Likewise, NEM urges the Commission to increase the effectiveness of customer data by facilitating telephonic enrollment in compliance with DNC rules. The current DNC exceptions prohibit telephone enrollment without a customer's prior consent or invitation or an existing business relationship. Not only does this exclude a large portion of potential customers, who most likely do not readily know the names of competitive suppliers, but it also prevents suppliers from reaching customers in either a time- or cost-effective manner. One solution NEM presented was a customer list of individuals who would like to be contacted by a competitive supplier, compiled by the utility on an opt-out basis. Alternatively, NEM suggested use of bill inserts for customers to indicate their interest in being contacted by a competitive supplier. The full text of NEM's comments is available on the NEM web site.