The Public Utility Commission of Texas on Friday issued several orders revising its efforts to mitigate the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (50664).
The commissioners approved:
- A July 17 end date for enrollment in the PUC’s COVID-19 Electricity Relief Program.
- A May 15 end date for suspension of disconnections by vertically integrated utilities outside the state’s competitive areas. The order applies to Entergy, El Paso Electric, Southwestern Public Service and Southwestern Electric Power Co.
- A May 15 end date on waivers of late fees for retail electric providers’ residential customers in competitive areas.
The relief program was originally set to expire in September. It is funded by a 3.3-cent/kWh charge added to electricity bills. Among its other provisions, the program suspends disconnections for nonpayment for eligible residents who sign up for payment plans with their electricity providers.
PUC Chair DeAnn Walker said during the commission’s open meeting Friday that, upon reflection, six months was “too long.”
“That’s why I dialed it back to July,” she said, promising to revisit the issue during the PUC’s May 14 open meeting.
“I firmly believe that no one is going to get out of this unscathed,” Commissioner Shelly Botkin said. “Everyone is going to be impacted, personally and financially.”
Commission Approves Advanced Metering Rules
The commission adopted a rulemaking on advanced metering that would use on-demand reads instead of real-time information sharing with home appliances and systems. The rules will allow utilities outside ERCOT to recover costs of the smart meters (48525).
The state’s utilities said the real-time requirements would have been more costly to customers.
— Tom Kleckner
