Consolidated Billing in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has once again declined to grant a competitive electric supplier authority to offer retail electric consumers a consolidated billing service.

Although the supplier, NRG Energy, Inc., had argued that permitting alternative suppliers to provide consolidated bills would further promote viable competition within the state’s electric markets, the commission ruled that NRG had not demonstrated any need for the proposed program and likewise had failed to file sufficient detail about its planned billing practices to assure that they would be cost-effective and in the public interest.

The commission remarked that it has contemplated supplier-provided consolidated billing (SCB) in the past, but has never implemented it, partly because significant questions remain about the legality of SCB under the state’s Public Utility Code. To that end, the commission pointed out that the Code has very specific requirements as to terminations of service for nonpayment of utility bills, the format of bills, the need for payment assistance measures, and the design of any purchase-ofreceivables programs, none of which were adequately addressed in NRG’s proposal.

The commission conceded that SCB could facilitate the offering of new and innovative products and services. It also admitted that SCB could help competitive service providers secure a firmer footing in retail markets by establishing a more easily recognizable “brand identity” with the public. Those benefits notwithstanding, the commission concluded that, at least for the present, regulated utilities should continue to be the only entities able to provide consolidated bills. (P-2016-2579249)