Update 10-25-2021
The DPU has issued an ORDER ON MITIGATING THE IMPACT OF THE INCREASE OF STANDARD BASIC SERVICE RATES OF FITCHBURG GAS AND ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY
--->The full order is 19 pages. I will summarize below and attach the link to the full report at the button above:
Unitil Basic Service Electric rates through December 1, 2021 through May 31, 2022
Lunenburg Town Administrator Heather Lemieux, Fitchburg City Councilor Marisa Fleming, Fitchburg City Councilor-at-Large Sam Squailia, and approximately 93 of Unitil’s customers filed comments opposing the proposed basic service rate increase.
DPU notes that the cost of Natural Gas and Electric costs have increased dramatically...and the DPU is "deeply concerned" about these increases... and the DPU directed "the companies to guide customers that have difficulty paying their bills towards appropriate assistance programs, such as arrearage management plans and/or
the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program". 🙄
"The companies are also required to increase customer education regarding energy efficiency, particularly for low-income customers, focusing on behaviors and measures to assist customers in reducing their near-term energy bills, as well promote long term energy and demand savings." 😐
Page 7 and 8 get interesting---where Energy supply companies use a lot of specific energy language to argue against Unitil's "cost mitgigation" and "unrecovered costs" plan... noting the proposal "would disrupt the competitive supply market by artificially lowering basic service rates and distorting the rates for competitive supply"
Page 10: "Some of these commenters claim that Unitil’s current rates are among the highest in the country and oppose any proposed increase at this time"
Page 11: Unitil noted it adjusted their cost load for the winter service program because of the 'uncertainty' of the 'start date' for Fitchburg's Municipal Aggregation program.... "Customers in the City of Fitchburg account for about 77 percent of the Company’s basic service customer base."
Page 12 and 13... DPU describes why they are in favor of Unitil's rate proposal
Page 13: About the $3.2 million 'unrecovered costs'... "Some commenters oppose this cost recovery proposal stating that the proposal violates cost causation principles and inappropriately shifts costs to all customers". Page 15 and 16 DPU argues in favor of Unitil's plan for recovering the costs...
Page 17: Order
Unitil’s proposed basic service rates are DENIED
but
Unitil’s Joint Mitigation Proposal is APPROVED
and that
Unitil shall recalculate its basic service rates consistent with directives contained in this Order and submit revised basic service filing, including illustrative tariffs, within two business days of this Order
Comments of The Cape Light Compact JPE
Comments of The Retail Energy Supply Association
Comments by Colonial Power Group, Inc.
Read ALL public comments here: (type: 21-BSF-A4 for docket number)
Unitil has proposed to raise the Electric rates. Deadline Oct 18th to submit comments. See below for the full text, and related documents i downloaded from the DPU page.
(ir al final para la traducción al español)
------>Here is my synopsis of all this legalese:
1. Unitil is asking the Dept of Public Utilities to raise electric rates from 12/21 to 5/22. Their first proposal would have raised the rates approx 38% ($68/month) for the average customer.
2. The MA Atty General negotiated with Unitil to lower the rates for basic service: small/medium customers. The AGO notes the basic service rates are: “dramatically higher than its current rates and are also significantly higher than its rates for last winter.”
The AGO proposes a one-time deferral of 50% of the increase associated with the proposed Basic Service rate charge over last winter’s charge.
This increase, as the AGO acknowledges in its comments, is largely attributable to the fact that Unitil procured 100% of its basic service load for the upcoming six-month period due to uncertainty regarding the implementation of Fitchburg’s pending municipal aggregation proposal.
3. Unitil proposed a new rate structure for those basic service groups. "a fixed basic service rate of $0.15650 / kWh"
However, "unrecovered costs" will be assessed via a "basic service adjustment charge" from 6/22 through 12/22.
( The Company estimates the "unrecovered costs" to be approximately $3.2 million)
4. Written comments on this *must* be filed with the DPU no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, October 18, 2021
--->Email: henry.d.kahn@mass.gov
--->Format: Comments must be in a .pdf attached document
--->Must have the docket number: D.P.U. 21-BSF-A4
--->Must have a brief descriptive title of the attachment.
-------------------
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES
NOTICE OF FILING AND REQUEST FOR COMMENTS
D.P.U. 21-BSF-A4 October 8, 2021
Petition of Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company d/b/a Unitil for approval of Basic Service rates for December 1, 2021 through May 31, 2022, for its small and medium customer groups.
On October 1, 2021, pursuant to Pricing and Procurement of Default Service, D.T.E. 99-60-B (2000), Default Service Procurement, D.T.E. 02-40-C (2003), and G.L. c. 164, § 1B(d), Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company d/b/a Unitil (“Unitil” or “Company”)
requested that the Department of Public Utilities (“Department”) approve the results of the Company’s most recent basic service supply solicitation for December 1, 2021 through May 31,
2022, for its small and medium customer groups. The Department docketed this matter as D.P.U. 21-BSF-A4.
Through this solicitation, the Company sought to procure 100 percent of the basic service load requirements for its small customer (including residential customers) and medium customer
groups for the six-month period beginning December 1, 2021; this approach is a departure from the procurement method approved by the Department in D.T.E. 99-60-B where distribution companies must procure their load requirements through two overlapping twelve-month procurements, each for 50 percent of the load requirements.
The Company also seeks approval of basic service rates designed to collect the costs associated with providing basic service supply under this solicitation. The proposed fixed basic service rate for residential and small commercial and industrial customers is $0.19880 per kilowatt hour (“kWh”). If the Department approves the Company’s basic service rates as proposed, a typical residential (R-1) customer using 600 kWh per month will see an average monthly bill increase of $61.96 (or 37.9 percent). For specific bill impacts, please contact the Company as shown below.
On October 6, 2021, the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (“Attorney General”) submitted comments with a proposal to mitigate the rate impact of Unitil’s basic service solicitation for small and medium customer groups.
On October 8, 2021, Unitil submitted, after consultation with the Attorney General, an alternative proposal designed to lower the rate charged to the Company’s basic service customers for the upcoming basic service pricing period.
The Company represents that the Attorney General supports the Company’s October 8, 2021 proposal. Under the October 8, 2021 proposal, unrecovered costs would be collected through the Company’s basic service adjustment charge from all distribution customers over the period of June 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022.
The Department seeks written comments addressing the mitigation proposal submitted by the Company on October 8, 2021. The Department encourages interested stakeholders to provide joint comments on the October 8, 2021 proposal, as well as other possible means to mitigate the effect on customers of the proposed basic service rate increase. The Company is required to provide 30-days notice of changes in the basic service rate. M.D.P.U. No. 282.
Therefore, written comments must be filed with the Department no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, October 18, 2021. To the extent a person or entity wishes to submit comments in accordance with this Notice, electronic submission, as detailed below, is sufficient.
All comments must be submitted to the Department in .pdf format by e-mail attachment to dpu.efiling@mass.gov and henry.d.kahn@mass.gov. The text of the e-mail must specify:
(1) the docket number of the proceeding (D.P.U. 21-BSF-A4); (2) the name of the person or company submitting the filing; and (3) a brief descriptive title of the document. The electronic file name should identify the document but should not exceed 50 characters in length. Importantly, all large files submitted must be broken down into electronic files that do not exceed 20 MB.
Ordinarily, all parties would follow Sections B.1 and B.4 of the Department’s Standard Ground Rules (D.P.U. 15-184-A, App. 1 (March 4, 2020)) regarding the filing of documents.
However, at this time, all filings will be submitted to the Department only in electronic format, consistent with the Department’s June 15, 2021 Memorandum addressing continued modified filing requirements. Until further notice, parties must retain the original paper version of the filing and the Department will later determine when the paper version must be filed with the
Department Secretary.
At this time, a paper copy of the filing will not be available for public viewing at the Company’s offices or the Department. The filing and other documents submitted in electronic format will be posted as soon as practicable at on the Department’s website through our online File Room at: https://eeaonline.eea.state.ma.us/.../dockets/bynumber (enter “21-BSF-A4”). To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille,large print, electronic files, audio format), contact the Department’s ADA coordinator at DPUADACoordinator@mass.gov.
Any person desiring further information regarding the Company’s filing should contact Counsel for Unitil, Gary Epler, Esq., at epler@unitil.com. Any person desiring further information regarding this notice may contact Henry Kahn, Hearing Officer, Department of Public Utilities, at henry.d.kahn@mass.gov.
Comparte Por Favor - aviso con DPU/ Unitil en Espanol!
---Usar PDF aqui para enviar comentarios ----> https://bit.ly/2YSJF8Q
Departamento de Servicios Públicos
AVISO DE PRESENTACIÓN Y SOLICITUD DE COMENTARIOS
D.P.U. 21-BSF-A4 Octubre 8, 2021
Petición de Fitchburg Gas y Electric Light Compañia d/b/a Unitil para la aprobación de las tarifas para el servicio básico desde 1 de diciembre de 2021 hasta el 31 de mayo de 2022 para sus clientes de grupos pequeños y medianos.
El 1 de octubre de 2021, en conformidad con la Fijación de Precios y la Contratación del Servicio Predeterminado D.T.E. 99-60-B (2000), y Obtención de Servicio Predeterminado, .T.E 02-40-C (2003), y G.L. c. 164, § 1B(d), Fitchburg Gas y Electric Company d/b/a Unitil (“Unitil” o “Compañía”) solicitó que el Departamento de Servicios Públicos (“Departamento”) apruebe los resultados de la solicitud de suministro de servicio básico más reciente de la empresa para el 1 de diciembre de 2021 hasta el 31 de mayo de 2022 para sus grupos de clientes pequeños y medianos. El Departamento archivó este asunto como D.P.U. 21-BSF-A4.
A través de esta solicitud, la Compañía buscó adquirir el cien por ciento de los requisitos de carga del servicio básico para sus clientes de grupos pequeños (incluidos los clientes residenciales) y medianos para el periodo de seis meses que comienza el 1 de diciembre de 2021; este enfoque es una desviación del método de adquisiciones aprobado por el Departamento en D.T.E. 99-60-B donde las empresas de distribución deben adquirir sus requisitos de carga a través de dos periodos superpuestos de doce meses de adquisiciones, cada uno para el cincuenta por ciento de los requisitos de carga.
La Compañía también busca la aprobación de tarifas de servicio básico diseñadas para cobrar los costos asociados con la prestación de servicios básicos en virtud de esta solicitud. La propuesta tarifa de servicio básico fijo para clientes residenciales y empresas pequeñas e industriales es de $0.19880 por kilovatio-hora (“kWh”). Si el Departamento aprueba las tarifas de servicio básico propuesta por la Compañía, un cliente residencial típico (R-1) que usa 600
kWh por mes verá un promedio aumento de su factura mensual de $61.96 (o 37.9 por ciento).
Para conocer los impactos específicos de la factura, favor de comunicarse con la Compañía como se muestra a continuación.
El 6 de octubre de 2021, el Fiscal General del Commonwealth de Massachusetts (“Fiscal General”) presentó comentarios con una propuesta para mitigar el impacto de las tarifas de servicio básico de Unitil para los grupos de clientes pequeños y medianos. El 8 de octubre de 2021 Unitil presentó, después de su consulta con el Fiscal General, una propuesta alternativa diseñada para reducir la tarifa cobrada a los clientes de servicios básicos de la Compañía por el próximo periodo de precios de servicios básicos. La Compañía declara que el Fiscal General apoya su propuesta del 8 de octubre de 2021. Según la propuesta del 8 de octubre de 2021, los costos no recuperados serán cobrados a través del cargo de ajuste de servicio básico de la Compañía de todos los clientes de distribución durante el periodo entre el 1 de junio de 2022 hasta 31 de diciembre de 2022.
El Departamento busca opiniones por escrito sobre la propuesta de mitigación presentada por la Compañía el 8 de octubre de 2021. El Departamento anima a las partes interesadas a proporcionar sus comentarios conjuntos sobre la propuesta del 8 de octubre de 2021, así como otros posibles medios para mitigar el efecto en los clientes del aumento propuesto de la tarifa del servicio básico. La Compañía debe proporcionar un aviso de 30 días por los cambios en la tarifa del servicio básico. M.D.P.U. No. 282. Por lo tanto, los comentarios escritos deben presentarse ante el Departamento no más tardar a las 5:00 p.m. el lunes 18 de octubre de 2021. En la
medida en que una persona o entidad desee someter sus comentarios en acuerdo con este aviso, el envió electrónico, como se detalla a continuación, es suficiente.
Todos los comentarios deben enviarse al Departamento en formato .pdf adjunto por correo electrónico a dpu.efiling@mass.gov y henry.d.kahn@mass.gov. El contexto del correo electrónico debe especificar: (1) el número de expediente del procedimiento (D.P.U. 21-BSFA4); (2) el nombre de la persona o empresa que somete la presentación; y (3) breve título descriptivo del documento. El nombre del archivo electrónico debe identificar el documento, pero no debe exceder los 50 caracteres. Es importante destacar que todos los archivos grandes enviados deben dividirse en archivos electrónicos que no superen los 20 MB.
Normalmente, todas las partes seguirían las Secciones B.1 y B.4 de la Normas Fundamentales del Departamento (D.P.U115-184-A, App. 1(4 de marzo de 2020)) con respecto a la presentación de documentos. Sin embargo, en este momento, todos los documentos se enviarán al Departamento solo en formato electrónico, en conformidad con el Memorando del Departamento del 15 de junio de 2021 que aborda la continuación modificada de los requisitos de la presentación de documentos. Hasta nuevo aviso, las partes interesadas deben conservar la versión original en papel del expediente y el Departamento determinará posteriormente cuándo debe presentarse la versión impresa ante el Secretario de Departamento.
En este momento, una copia impresa del expediente no estará disponible para la vista del público en las oficinas de la Compañía o del Departamento. El expediente y otros documentos presentados en formato electrónico serán publicados tan pronto como sea posible en la página web del Departamento a través de nuestra sala de archivos en:
https://eeaonline.eea.state.ma.us/.../dockets/bynumber (ingrese “21-BSF-A4”).
Para solicitar materiales en formatos accesibles para personas con discapacidad (Braille, letra grande, archivos electrónicos, formato de audio), comuníquese con el coordinador de la ADA del Departamento al DPUADACoordinator@mass.gov.
Cualquier persona que desee obtener más información sobre la expedición de la Compañía debe comunicarse con el abogado legal de Unitil, Gary Epler, Esq., en epler@unitil.com. Cualquier persona que desee más información sobre este aviso puede
comunicarse con Henry Kahn, Oficial de Audiencias, Departamento de Servicios Públicos, en henry.d.kahn@mass.gov.
