| (a) Applicability. This section applies to all affiliated
retail electric providers (REPs) and transmission and distribution
utilities, except river authorities. This section does not apply to
an electric utility subject to Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA) §39.102(c)
until the end of the utility's rate freeze.
(b) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to promote
the competitiveness of the retail electric market through the establishment
of the price to beat that affiliated REPs must offer to retail customers
beginning on January 1, 2002 pursuant to PURA §39.202.
(c) Definitions. The following words and terms, when
used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the
context indicates otherwise:
(1) Affiliated electric utility--The electric utility
from which an affiliated REP was unbundled in accordance with PURA §39.051.
(2) Competitive retailer--A REP or a municipally owned
utility or distribution cooperative that offers customer choice in
the restructured competitive electric power market or any other entity
authorized to sell electric power and energy at retail in Texas.
(3) Headroom--The difference between the average price
to beat (in cents per kilowatt hour (kWh)) and the sum of the average
non-bypassable charges or credits approved by the commission in a
proceeding pursuant to PURA §39.201, or PURA Subchapter G (in
cents per kWh) and the representative power price (in cents per kWh).
Headroom may be a positive or negative number. A separate headroom
number shall be calculated for the typical residential customer and
the typical small commercial customer. The calculation for the typical
residential customer shall assume 1,000 kWh per month in usage. The
calculation of the typical small commercial customer shall assume
35 kilowatts (kW) of demand and 15,000 kWh per month in usage.
(4) Nonaffiliated REP--Any competitive retailer conducting
business in a transmission and distribution utility's (TDU's) certificated
service territory that is not affiliated with that TDU unless the
competitive retailer is a successor in interest to a retail electric
provider affiliated with that TDU.
(5) Peak demand--The highest 15-minute or 30-minute
demand recorded during a 12-month period.
(6) Price to beat period--The price to beat period
shall be from January 1, 2002 to January 1, 2007. In a power region
outside the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) if customer
choice is introduced before the date the commission certifies the
power region pursuant to PURA §39.152(a) are met, the price to
beat period continues, unless changed by the commission in accordance
with PURA Chapter 39, until the later of 60 months after the date
customer choice is introduced in the power region or the date the
commission certifies the power region as a qualified power region.
(7) Provider of last resort (POLR)--As defined in §25.43
of this title (relating to Provider of Last Resort).
(8) Representative power price--The simple average
of the results of:
(A) a request for proposals (RFP) for full-requirements
service of 10% of price to beat load for a duration of three years
expressed in cents per kWh; and
(B) the price resulting from the capacity auctions
of the affiliated power generation company (PGC) required by §25.381
of this title (relating to Capacity Auctions) for baseload capacity
entitlements auctioned in the ERCOT zone where the majority of price
to beat customers reside, expressed in cents per kWh. The calculation
of the price resulting from the capacity auctions shall assume dispatch
of 100% of the entitlement and shall use the most recent auction of
a 12-month forward strip of entitlements, or the most recent aggregated
forward 12 months of entitlements. The affiliated REP, at its option,
may conduct an RFP or purchase auction for an amount equivalent to
the amount, in MWs, of the affiliated PGC's capacity auction for the
September 2001 12-month forward strip baseload entitlements.
(9) Residential customer--Retail customers classified
as residential by the applicable transmission and distribution utility
tariff or, in the absence of classification under a residential rate
class, those retail customers that are primarily end users consuming
electricity for personal, family or household purposes and who are
not resellers of electricity.
(10) Small commercial customer--A non-residential retail
customer having a peak demand of 1,000 kilowatts (kW) or less. For
purposes of this section, the term small commercial customer refers
to a metered point of delivery. Additionally, any non-residential,
non-metered point of delivery with peak demand of less than 1,000
kW shall also be considered a small commercial customer. For purposes
of subsection (i) of this section, unmetered guard and security lights
are not considered small commercial customers unless such an account
has historically been treated as a separate customer for billing purposes.
(11) Transmission and distribution utility--As defined
in §25.5 of this title (relating to Definitions), except for
purposes of this section, this term does not include a river authority.
(d) Price to beat offer.
(1) Beginning with the first billing cycle of the price
to beat period and continuing through the last billing cycle of the
price to beat period, an affiliated REP shall make available to residential
and small commercial customers of its affiliated transmission and
distribution utility rates that, subject to the exception listed in
subsection (f)(2)(A) of this section, on a bundled basis, are 6.0%
less than the affiliated electric utility's corresponding average
residential and small commercial rates that were in effect on January
1, 1999, adjusted to reflect the fuel factor determined in accordance
with subsection (f)(3)(D) of this section and adjusted for any base
rate reduction as stipulated to by an electric utility in a proceeding
for which a final order had not been issued by January 1, 1999.
(2) Unless specifically required by commission rule,
an affiliated REP may only sell electricity to price to beat customers
labeled or marketed as "green," "renewable," "interruptible," "experimental,"
"time of use," "curtailable," or "real time," if and only if such
a tariff option existed on January 1, 1999 and only for service under
the price to beat rate that was developed from that tariff.
(e) Eligibility for the price to beat. The following
criteria shall be used in determining eligibility for the price to
beat:
(1) Residential customers. All current and future residential
customers, as defined by this section, shall be eligible for the price
to beat rate(s) for which they meet the eligibility criteria in the
applicable price to beat tariffs for the duration of the price to
beat period. An affiliated REP may not refuse service under the price
to beat to a residential customer except as provided by §25.477
of this title (relating to Refusal of Service). An affiliated REP
may not require residential customers to enter into service agreements
with a term of service as a condition of obtaining service under the
price to beat, nor may an affiliated REP provide any inducements to
encourage customers to agree to a term of service in conjunction with
service under the price to beat.
(2) Small commercial customers.
(A) A non-residential customer taking service from
the affiliated electric utility on December 31, 2001, shall be considered
a small commercial customer under this section and shall be eligible
for service under price to beat tariffs if that customer's peak demand
during the 12 consecutive months ending on September 30, 2001, does
not exceed 1,000 kilowatts (kW). A non-residential customer with a
peak demand in excess of 1,000 kW during the 12 months ending September
30, 2001, or during the price to beat period, shall no longer be considered
a small commercial customer under this section. However, any non-residential
customer whose peak demand does not exceed 1,000 kW for any period
of 12 consecutive months after it became ineligible to be a small
commercial customer under this section shall be considered a small
commercial customer for billing periods going forward for purposes
of this section.
(B) All small commercial customers, as defined by this
section, shall be eligible for the price to beat rate(s) for which
they meet the eligibility criteria in the applicable price to beat
tariffs for the duration of the price to beat period. An affiliated
REP may not refuse service under the price to beat to a small commercial
customer, except as provided by §25.477 of this title. An affiliated
REP may not require small commercial customers to enter into service
agreements with a term of service as a condition to obtaining service
under the price to beat, nor may an affiliated REP provide any inducements
to encourage customers to agree to a term of service in conjunction
with service under the price to beat.
(f) Calculation of the price to beat.
(1) Rates to be used for price to beat calculation.
The following criteria shall be used in determining the rates to be
used for the price to beat calculation.
Cont'd... |
