As part of a last minute addition to Act 155, passed last October, that reauthorizes a 2004 consumer protection law; the PUC will now begin charging suppliers of electricity and natural gas as part of their annual assessments.
The PUC originally proposed an assessment formula that distinguished between direct and indirect costs. Direct costs would be based on the amount of PUC staff time spent on supplier related issues. The proposal for indirect costs was rates based on percentage of the suppliers’ instate revenue.
Earlier this year, the Commission revised their proposal so that assessments would be split between electric and natural gas suppliers with the allocation of those costs still coming from the individual suppliers’ instate revenue.
The PUC announced that of the $63 million it collected from the utilities it regulates, about $2.8 million will come from the assessments on the energy suppliers.