Case Background
By
Order No. PSC-2019-0215-TRF-EI, the Commission approved Tampa Electric Company’s
(TECO or utility) Shared Solar Tariff (SSR-1 tariff). The SSR-1 tariff provides residential and
commercial customers with the option to purchase energy produced from a
TECO-owned solar generation facility to replace all or a portion of their
monthly energy consumption. Participants are charged a Shared Solar Charge of
$0.063 per kilowatt-hour. The SSR-1 tariff became effective on June 25, 2019,
after TECO completed programming its billing system to administer the SSR-1
tariff.
On
July 19, 2019, TECO filed for approval of a modification to tariff Sheet No.
3.305 of the SSR-1 tariff. This recommendation addresses the proposed
modification to tariff Sheet No. 3.305 as shown in Attachment A to the
recommendation. On September 3, 2019, the utility waived the 60-day file and
suspend provision of Section 366.06(3), Florida Statutes (F.S.), until the
October 3, 2019 Agenda Conference. The Commission has jurisdiction pursuant to Section
366.06, F.S.
Discussion
of Issues
Issue 1:
Should the Commission approve TECO's proposed
modification to the SSR-1 tariff?
Recommendation:
Yes, the Commission should approve TECO’s proposed
modification to tariff sheet No. 3.305, as shown in Attachment A, effective October
3, 2019. (Coston)
Staff Analysis:
TECO
has proposed deleting language in its current SSR-1 that precludes customers in
its budget billing program from participating in the voluntary SSR-1 tariff. The
budget billing plan, or levelized payment plan, is an optional tariff that
allows customers to make budgeted monthly payment amounts to help stabilize
their monthly payments. TECO explained that at the time the utility developed
the SSR-1 tariff, the billing system had limitations that were excluding customers
on the budget billing plan from participating in the SSR-1 tariff. As a result
of the billing system limitations, TECO included in its original petition for
the SSR-1 tariff a provision which provided that customers may not take service
under both the budget billing plan and the SSR-1 tariff. As of August 13, 2019,
102 customers have subscribed to TECO’s SSR-1 tariff.
TECO stated
that following the Commission’s approval of the SSR-1 tariff, the utility was
able to modify its billing system to allow the SSR-1 tariff to be made
available to customers also taking service under the utility’s budget billing
plan. Therefore, TECO proposed to modify tariff sheet No. 3.305 to allow customers
that elect to participate in the budget billing program to also take service
under the SSR-1 tariff. TECO states it currently has 55,602 customers that
utilize the budget billing program.
The proposed removal of Special Provision No. 6 on tariff
sheet No. 3.505 will make the SSR-1 tariff available to levelized payment plan
customers. Staff recommends that TECO’s proposed modification to tariff sheet
No. 3.305, as shown in Attachment A, is reasonable and should be approved
effective October 3, 2019.
Issue 2:
Should this docket be closed?
Recommendation:
Yes. If Issue 1 is approved and a protest is filed
within 21 days of the issuance of the order, the tariff should remain in effect
pending resolution of the protest. If no timely protest is filed, this docket
should be closed upon the issuance of a consummating order. (Trierweiler)
Staff Analysis:
If Issue 1 is approved and a protest is filed within
21 days of the issuance of the order, the tariff should remain in effect
pending resolution of the protest. If no timely protest is filed, this docket
should be closed upon the issuance of a consummating order.
