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Regulators Rule in Favor of Automatic Sign-up Program for Utility Discounts  8/14

Massachusetts Electric Requests Standard Offer Increase 8/7

Regulators Rule in Favor of Automatic Sign-up Program for Utility Discounts

(August 14) Tens of thousands of welfare and food-stamp recipients could save hundreds of dollars a year on their electric and natural gas bills under a new state program that will automatically sign them up for subsidized utility discounts. But the automatic sign-up program - approved August 8 by three of five commissioners of the state Department of Telecommunications and Energy - drew harsh criticism from DTE Commissioner James Connelly.

In a dissenting opinion released August 11, he described DTE's ruling as a "precipitate and unripe action" that didn't follow proper procedures or address how much it will cost utility companies and ineligible customers down the road.

Connelly warned the ruling, which fell on the same day that DTE Chairman Paul Vasington officially retired as a commissioner, is probably "subject to appeal."

But Commissioner Deirdre Manning, who supported the ruling, said the automatic sign-up program is "long overdue" and a "terrific thing" designed to help low-income residents pay for their electric and natural gas bills.

The utility discount program, made mandatory by the state in the late 1980s, has been hobbled in the past by a cumbersome sign-up process, leading to only 27 percent participation by eligible low-income residents, Manning said.

The new DTE-approved plan allows the state - via a computer-match review of its welfare rolls - to flag low-income residents who qualify for the discounts. The state Executive Office of Health and Human Services will then alert electric and natural gas companies about who is eligible for the 20 percent discounts on their utility bills. But, there is an "opt out" provision for those who choose not to participate.

Source: Boston Herald

Massachusetts Electric Requests Standard Offer Increase

(August 7) On August 4, Massachusetts Electric Company requested that the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy allow an increase in the Standard Offer power supply rate from 5.602 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) to 6.124 cents per kWh, an increase of 0.522 cents per kWh. The request is related to increased costs for natural gas and oil, fuels that are used to generate electricity.