Subject 515-7-4 RANDOM ASSIGNMENT OF CUSTOMERS
As used in this Utility Rule 515-7-4, the following terms
shall have the following definitions:
| (a) |
"Act" means the Natural Gas Competition
and Deregulation Act as provided for in O.C.G.A. § 46-4-150et
seq. |
| (b) |
"Adequate market
conditions" means the existence of market conditions in relation to
distribution service within a particular delivery group that have been
determined pursuant to subsection (b) of O.C.G.A. § 46-4-156
to warrant customer assignment. |
| (c) |
"Affiliate" means another person that controls, is controlled by, or is under
common control with such person. |
| (d) |
"Commission" means the Georgia Public
Service Commission. |
| (e) |
"Customer
assignment" means the process described in subsection (e) of O.C.G.A. § 46-4-156
whereby firm retail customers within a particular delivery group who are not
under contract for distribution service from a marketer are randomly
assigned. |
| (f) |
"Delivery group"
means a set of individual delivery points on one or more interstate pipeline
suppliers to a gas company that may be aggregated and utilized for the
distribution of gas to a particular set of retail customers. |
| (g) |
"Distribution group" means the delivery
of natural gas by and through the intrastate instrumentalities and facilities
of a gas company or of a person certificated pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 46-4-153,
regardless of the party having title to the natural gas. |
| (h) |
"Electing distribution company" means a
gas company that elects to become subject to the provisions of the Act and
satisfies the requirements of O.C.G.A. § 46-4-154. |
| (i) |
"Firm" means a type of distribution
service that ordinarily is not subject to interruption or
curtailment. |
| (j) |
"Gas" means
natural gas. |
| (k) |
"Gas company"
means any person to whom a certificate of public convenience and necessity has
been issued by the Commission to acquire, own, operate, or construct any
intrastate pipeline distribution system, or any extension thereof, for the sale
of natural gas. |
| (l) |
"Market share"
means number of firm customers. |
| (m) |
"Marketer" means any person certificated by the Commission to provide commodity
sales service or distribution service pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 46-4-153
or ancillary services incident thereto. |
| (n) |
"Person" means any corporation, whether
public or private; company; individual; firm; partnership; or
association. |
| (o) |
"Retail customer"
or "retail purchaser" means a person who purchases commodity sales service or
distribution service and such purchase is not for the purpose of
resale. |
Consistent with Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.)
§ 46-4-156,
the Commission is required to authorize regulations prescribing a methodology
to randomly assign to marketers within a delivery group those firm retail
customers who have not otherwise contracted for distribution service from
another marketer. The Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 46-4-156
also requires that the methodology prescribed by the Commission must further
provide that the percentage of such firm retail customers assigned to a given
marketer shall be based upon the percentage at the time of such assignment of
all firm retail customers within the delivery group served by said
marketer.
| (1) |
Within five (5) days after the filing of
a Commission order containing a determination that adequate market conditions
exist in a delivery group as contemplated by O.C.G.A. § 46-4-156(b),
the gas company providing firm distribution service in that delivery group
shall submit to the Commission a proposed form on which it intends to provide
notification to customers pursuant to Section
46-4-156(e). |
| (2) |
The Commission will either approve the
notification form as submitted or prescribe the appropriate changes within five
(5) days thereafter. |
| (3) |
At the
same time, the proposed form of notice as required pursuant to part (1) of this
rule is submitted, the gas company shall submit a statement explaining how and
when it will send the Commission approved notice to its customers. |
For each delivery group, the following methodology will be
employed to determine the number of retail customers to be randomly assigned to
a particular marketer: the marketer's total market share on the onehundredth
(100th) day following the filing of the Commission's order shall be divided by
the total market share served by all marketers on the one-hundredth (100th) day
following the filing of the Commission's order and multiplied by the total
number of customers in a particular delivery group that have not contracted
with a marketer.
| (1) |
With Commission oversight, the electing
distribution company shall perform an automated procedure for randomly
assigning the unassigned customers to certificated marketers, based on the
allocation methodology of Commission Rule
515-7-4-.04. |
| (2) |
Within five (5) days of the issuance of a
Commission Order determining that adequate market conditions exist in a
delivery group, the electing distribution company shall file with the
Commission a date certain schedule for the random assignment process, including
the proposed date upon which marketers will begin serving randomly assigned
customers consistent with the Commission approved electing distribution
company's tariff, operations and automated systems. Within five (5) days of
receiving the schedule for the random assignment process, the Commission will
either approve or modify the proposed schedule. |
| (3) |
During the first one hundred (100) days
after the Commission has issued an order that includes a determination that
adequate market conditions exist within a delivery group, the EDC providing
firm delivery service in that delivery group shall provide to Commission Staff
on a monthly basis the number of customers served by each certificated marketer
serving that delivery group and the number of unassigned customers for the
delivery group. The electing distribution company shall also provide the same
information to each marketer concerning the number of customers served by the
marketer and number of unassigned customers in the delivery group. |
| (4) |
The automated random assignment procedure
performed by the electing distribution company shall incorporate the following
processes:
| (a) |
On the one hundred and fifth
(105th) day following the Commission's determination of adequate market
conditions within a delivery group, the electing distribution company shall
create the list of customers within the delivery group, consistent with
O.C.G.A.
46-4-156.
The list shall be in a sequence randomly generated by delivery group (the
"Random Assignment List"). |
| (b) |
The
Commission shall, by random selection, place all marketers serving the delivery
group in a sequential list (the "Random Marketer List"). |
| (c) |
The Commission shall determine the total
number of customers to be assigned to a specific marketer by use of the formula
set forth in Commission Rule
515-7-4-.04. |
| (d) |
The EDC shall conduct the process of
assignment by selecting the first marketer from the Random Marketer List and
assigning to the marketer the appropriate number of customers as determined
above by selecting said number of customers in sequence starting from the
beginning of the Random Customer Assignment List. The electing distribution
company shall follow this procedure for each marketer on the Random Marketer
List in sequence until all customers have been assigned. |
| (e) |
The electing distribution company shall
issue the final assignment of customers on or before the one-hundred and
twentieth (120th) day following the Commission's determination that adequate
market conditions exist for the delivery group. |
|
| (5) |
Within five (5) days following the
automated random assignment procedure, the electing distribution company shall
provide an electronic listing to each marketer of customer information for the
customers assigned to that marketer and provide the same information to the
Commission. |
| (6) |
Within fifteen (15)
days of receipt of the customer information in Commission Rule 515-7-4-.05(5) each marketer shall provide a written notice of assignment to such customers,
including its proposed terms and conditions of service for assigned customers.
| (a) |
The assignment notice shall include the
following information:
| 1. |
A statement that
the notice should be disregarded if the customer has contracted with another
marketer; |
| 2. |
A statement that
random assignment is a result of the Natural Gas Competition and Deregulation
Act; |
| 3. |
The marketer's proposed
terms and conditions of service in clear and plain language; |
| 4. |
The marketer's address and toll-free
(required) and local (if applicable) telephone number; |
| 5. |
A statement that the customer has the
right to switch to another marketer at any time (in conformance with Atlanta
Gas Light Company's tariff), unless a term contract is signed; |
| 6. |
A statement that the customer will be
served on a month to month basis until the customer signs any applicable term
contracts; |
| 7. |
A statement that the
customer is allowed to cancel any applicable contract without penalty within 48
hours of signing it, pursuant to Commission Rule
515-7-3-.03(2)(f)(i)(d)1; |
| 8. |
A statement that the customer is allowed
to cancel any applicable contract without penalty if the customer relocates out
of its current delivery group, pursuant to Commission Rule
515-7-3-.03(2)(f)(i)(d)2; and |
| 9. |
The EDC's gas leak/emergency toll-free telephone number. |
|
| (b) |
All marketers shall submit draft notices
to the Commission on the ninetieth (90th) day following the Commission Order
determining that adequate market conditions exist. |
| (c) |
The Commission will either approve or
modify submitted assignment notice by the one hundred and tenth (110th) day
following the Commission Order determining that adequate market conditions
exist. |
|
| (7) |
The electing
distribution company may perform subsequent random assignment processes within
ninety (90) days of the Random Assignment process performed pursuant to
Commission Rule 515-7-4-.05(4) for any customers that could not be assigned
pursuant to the Random Assignment procedure. |
Within forty-five (45) days and again within eighty (80) days
after the Commission has issued an Order determining that adequate market
conditions exist in a delivery group, the EDC providing distribution service in
that delivery group shall send a notice regarding the Commission's Order to
each and every retail customer receiving firm distribution service of commodity
sales service from the EDC within such delivery group. The notice shall include
the information required by O.C.G.A. § 46-4-156(e)
and the following additional information:
| (a) |
Statement that Random Assignment is a
result of the Natural Gas Competition and Deregulation Act, and the status of
the customer as of the one hundredth (100th) day following a Commission Order
will determine whether that customer is randomly assigned, and that the notice
should be disregarded if the customer has contracted with any
marketer; |
| (b) |
Statement that the
customer may select a marketer prior to the 100th day after the date of the
Commission's Order to contract with any other marketer, and if the customer
does so, the new contract will supersede the assignment before the assignment
becomes effective; |
| (c) |
Statement
that customers may elect to change to a different marketer after they have been
randomly assigned; and |
| (d) |
List of
all marketers certificated in the delivery group, the respective toll-free and
local (if applicable) telephone number for those marketers, as well as their
e-mail address or Internet web-sites with the direction that information
concerning service from marketers may be obtained at those locations or phone
numbers. |
| (1) |
Within fifteen (15) days following the
random assignment process, the EDC shall file with the Commission a final
listing of the number of customers and the associated dedicated design day
capacity randomly assigned to each marketer. |
| (2) |
On an annual basis, the EDC shall file
with the Commission a report detailing the following for all competitive
delivery groups:
| (a) |
The total number of
customers by customer class served by each marketer within the delivery
group; |
| (b) |
The total design day
load for the delivery group served by each marketer. |
|
| (3) |
Information provided by the EDC pursuant
to Commission Rule 515-7-4-.07 may be filed under the Commission's Rule
governing trade secrets. |
Upon a certificated marketer's voluntary or involuntary
withdrawal from the market, the EDC shall perform a random assignment process
consistent with Commission Rule
515-7-5-.05 for the customers served
by that marketer that do not elect service from a different marketer, pursuant
to a schedule established by the Commission.
