Part 2.
PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS
Chapter 25.
SUBSTANTIVE RULES APPLICABLE TO ELECTRIC SERVICE PROVIDERS
Subchapter M. COMPETITIVE METERING
16 TAC §25.311
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (commission) proposes
new §25.311, relating to Competitive Metering Services. The proposed
new rule will establish the parameters under which competitive metering services
will be available to commercial and industrial customers beginning on January
1, 2004, as required by Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA) §39.107(a),
in areas where customer choice has been introduced. New §25.311 is the
first section to be proposed in new Subchapter M, Competitive Metering. The
proposed rule does not, however, excuse a utility from complying with the
commission's existing metering rules. Project Number 26359 is assigned to
this proceeding.
This proposed rule broadly defines metering services in order to fully
open this market to competition and to provide all market participants with
certainty as to those services to be provided on a competitive basis. The
proposed definition of metering services encompasses services that are vital
to every aspect of the sale of electricity, particularly in the competitive
retail electric market. Specifically, proposed §25.311 identifies the
following components of metering services: ownership, installation and removal,
maintenance, testing and calibration, data collection, and data management.
The commission's goal of implementing the terms of PURA §39.107(a)
to permit the competitive market to deliver all metering services must be
construed in a manner consistent with the implementation of the broader transition
to a competitive retail electric market. Based upon the experience of the
transition to competition among retail electric providers, it is clear that
the operational systems required to support full implementation of competitive
metering services cannot be designed, implemented, and adequately tested in
the months remaining before January 1, 2004. Therefore, the proposed definition
of metering services must be accompanied by an orderly timeline that anticipates
the development of the competitive market for the delivery of all metering
services based upon reasonable assumptions of the time required to develop
the necessary underlying market structure and associated operational support
systems.
Proposed §25.311(e) specifically addresses this transition period,
requiring the transmission and distribution utility to: (1) serve as the default
meter owner, and (2) continue providing metering services other than ownership
until the commission determines that the operational support systems in the
market are adequate to allow full customer choice in metering services. To
facilitate the commission's determination, proposed §25.311(e) also requires
status reports on operational readiness, allows for public comment on those
reports, and allows the commission to establish a pilot project for competitive
metering services. While the commission may establish certain goals for the
timely development of this underlying market structure, the establishment
of mandatory, artificial dates may result in delays in the development of
customer choice, and should therefore be avoided at this time.
When commenting on specific subsections of the proposed rules, parties
are encouraged to describe "best practice" examples of regulatory policies,
and their rationale, that have been proposed or implemented successfully in
other states already undergoing electric industry restructuring, if the parties
believe that Texas would benefit from application of the same policies. The
commission is only interested in receiving "leading edge" examples that are
specifically related and directly applicable to the Texas statute, rather
than broad citations to other state restructuring efforts.
In addition to comments on the proposed section, the commission requests
that interested parties address the following questions:
1. Should the commission include a definition of "industrial" and "commercial"
customers eligible for competitive metering services? If so, should the definition
look to the type of premise receiving service, the distribution tariff under
which the customer takes service, or to something else?
2. How should the rule treat mixed-use premises, such as separately-metered
apartments and other premises that are usually occupied by residential customers,
even though the electric service is occasionally taken by a commercial customer
(e.g., the landlord)?
3. What types of customers may be included in a pilot program?
Constance T. Corona, Director, Electric Policy Analysis, has determined
that for each year of the first five-year period the proposed section is in
effect there will be no fiscal implications for state or local government
as a result of enforcing or administering the section.
Ms. Corona has determined that for each year of the first five years the
proposed section is in effect the public benefit anticipated as a result of
enforcing the section will be to allow commercial and industrial retail customers
to exercise choice among providers of metering services. There will be no
adverse economic effect on small businesses or micro-businesses as a result
of enforcing this section. There is no anticipated economic cost to persons
who are required to comply with the section as proposed.
Ms. Corona has also determined that for each year of the first five years
the proposed section is in effect there should be no effect on a local economy,
and therefore no local employment impact statement is required under Administrative
Procedure Act §2001.022.
The commission staff will conduct a public hearing on this rulemaking under
the Administrative Procedure Act, Texas Government Code §2001.029 at
the commission's offices, located in the William B. Travis Building, 1701
North Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701, on Thursday, March 20, 2003, at
9:30 a.m.
Comments on the proposed new section (16 copies) may be submitted to the
Filing Clerk, Public Utility Commission of Texas, 1701 North Congress Avenue,
P.O. Box 13326, Austin, Texas 78711-3326, within 30 days after publication.
Reply comments may be submitted within 45 days after publication. Comments
should be organized in a manner consistent with the organization of the proposed
rule. The commission invites specific comments regarding the costs associated
with, and benefits that will be gained by, implementation of the proposed
section. The commission will consider the costs and benefits in deciding whether
to adopt the section. All comments should refer to Project Number 26359.
This new section is proposed under the Public Utility Regulatory
Act, Texas Utilities Code Annotated §14.002 (Vernon 1998, Supplement
2003) (PURA), which provides the Public Utility Commission with the authority
to make and enforce rules reasonably required in the exercise of its powers
and jurisdiction; and specifically, PURA §39.107, which requires that
metering services provided to commercial and industrial customers to be provided
on a competitive basis beginning on January 1, 2004.
Cross Reference to Statutes: Public Utility Regulatory Act §14.002
and §39.107.
§25.311.Competitive Metering Services.
(a)
Purpose. This section establishes the terms and conditions
for competitive metering services to be offered to commercial and industrial
customers beginning on January 1, 2004, as required by Public Utility Regulatory
Act (PURA) §39.107(a), in areas where customer choice has been introduced.
(b)
Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in
this section, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly
indicates otherwise.
(1)
Data management--Includes validation, estimation, editing,
extraction of billing components, and transfer of meter reading data to the
settlement agent, the transmission and distribution utility, and the retail
electric provider.
(2)
Maintenance--Activities necessary to maintain a meter in
proper working order, including failure investigation, equipment repair, and
replacement.
(3)
Meter owner--Entity that owns the meter necessary for the
measurement of electric energy delivered to a particular location.
(4)
Metering services--Activities relating to the measurement
of electricity provided to a retail customer, including, but not limited to
ownership, installation and removal, maintenance, testing and calibration,
data collection, and data management.
(5)
Testing--Activities as defined in §25.124 of this
title (relating to Meter Testing).
(c)
Meter ownership. Beginning January 1, 2004, a commercial
or industrial retail customer may choose a meter owner. The meter owner may
be, at the option of the retail customer:
(1)
the retail customer;
(2)
a retail electric provider (REP);
(3)
the transmission and distribution utility (TDU); or
(4)
other person authorized by the customer.
(d)
Data ownership. The current retail customer shall own all
meter data related to the premise occupied by that customer, regardless of
whether the customer is the meter owner or the owner of the premise. The current
retail customer shall have the right and capability, including necessary security
passwords, to assign access to meter data related to the premise occupied
by that customer.
(e)
Transition period.
(1)
Market readiness.
(A)
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) shall
file with the commission quarterly updates on the operational readiness of
support systems necessary for the commission to authorize an entity other
than the TDU to provide metering services as described in paragraph (4) of
this subsection.
(B)
ERCOT shall file an annual status report on the implementation
of competitive metering services on September 1 of each year. No later than
30 days after ERCOT's annual filing, interested parties may file comments
on the status report.
(2)
Pilot project. The commission may establish a pilot project
under which an entity other than the TDU may provide metering services as
described in paragraph (4) of this subsection.
(3)
Utility ownership of meters. A TDU shall continue to provide
metering services and own all meters necessary for the measurement of electric
energy to any customer that does not choose an alternative meter owner.
(4)
Other metering services. Until otherwise authorized by
the commission, a TDU shall continue to provide metering services relating
to installation and removal, maintenance, testing and calibration, data collection,
and data management, including the transfer of meter data to the settlement
agent.
(f)
Metering equipment.
(1)
No later than 60 days after the effective date of this
section, ERCOT shall develop a process to establish, and periodically revise,
a list of meters that shall be considered qualifying competitive meters for
the purposes of this section.
(A)
The first list of qualifying meters shall be adopted by
ERCOT no later than 90 days after the effective date of this section.
(B)
Each qualifying competitive meter shall meet commission-approved
standards.
(C)
Each TDU data collection system shall be compatible with
each meter on the list within 90 days of the release of the list.
(2)
Each meter shall have a unique identifier in a format determined
by ERCOT.
(g)
Conformance with metering standards.
(1)
A meter that fails to meet commission-approved standards
for accuracy shall not be placed in service or left in service. A meter found
to violate these standards shall be adjusted or replaced in accordance with
this subsection at the time the violation is discovered.
(2)
Meters shall be adjusted as closely as practicable to the
condition of zero error.
(3)
If a meter owned by the TDU is found not to meet commission-approved
standards for accuracy, the TDU shall install a replacement or temporary meter
in accordance with its tariffs.
(4)
If a meter that is not owned by the TDU is found not to
meet commission-approved standards for accuracy, the TDU shall install a temporary
replacement meter. The TDU shall notify the customer and the meter owner that
the meter does not meet commission-approved standards for accuracy and shall
take reasonable measures to safeguard the meter until the meter owner takes
possession of it. The meter owner shall be responsible for the associated
charges, in accordance with the TDU's tariff.
(h)
Testing of meters at REP request. Costs for meter tests
shall be paid by the meter owner in accordance with the TDU's tariff, except
that when a request is made to test a meter that is subsequently found to
meet commission-approved standards for accuracy, the cost of the meter test
shall be paid by the requestor.
(1)
A REP may request that a meter be tested in accordance
with the TDU's applicable tariff.
(2)
Upon request for a meter test by a retail customer, a REP
shall request that a meter be tested in accordance with the TDU's applicable
tariff.
(3)
If the TDU suspects a meter malfunction, it shall promptly
test the meter in accordance with its tariff.
(4)
Following the completion of any meter test, the TDU shall
promptly advise the REP of the date of removal of the meter, the date of the
test, the result of the test, and who made the test.
(i)
Use of meter data for billing.
(1)
The TDU shall have the right and capability, including
necessary security passwords, to access meter data for the purpose of rendering
a bill, as well as for load research purposes.
(2)
No customer shall have the right or capability to alter
the data collected by the meter for the purpose of billing.
(j)
Competitive metering service credit. Within 90 days of
the effective date of this rule, a TDU shall file with the commission a tariff
that provides a competitive metering service credit to a customer that selects
a meter owner other than the TDU.
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office of
the Secretary of State on January 17, 2003.
TRD-200300282
Rhonda Dempsey
Rules Coordinator
Public Utility Commission of Texas
Earliest possible date of adoption: March 2, 2003
For further information, please call: (512) 936-7306
Chapter 41.
AUDITING
Subchapter C. RECORDS AND REPORTS BY LICENSEES AND PERMITTEES
Part 3.
TEXAS ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE COMMISSION