Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 38, September 21, 2024
The following design elements should be included in a
CAP:
(1)
Program
funding. Program funding should be derived from the following sources:
(i) Payments from CAP participants.
(ii) Operations and maintenance expense
reductions.
(iii) Universal service
funding mechanism for EDCs and NGDCs.
(iv) Other sources as may be approved by the
Commission.
(2)
Payment plan. Generally, CAP payments for jurisdictional home
energy should not exceed the percentages of CAP participants' annual income
specified in the schedule in subsection (i). Payment plans should be based on
one or a combination of the following:
(i)
Percentage of income plan (PIP). Total payment for total
electric and natural gas home energy under a percentage of income plan is
determined based upon a scheduled percentage of the participant's annual gross
income. The participating household's gross income and size place the household
at a particular poverty level based on the FPIG.
(A) Generally, maximum payments for electric
nonheating service should not exceed the following maximums:
(I) Household income between 0-50% of FPIG at
2% of income.
(II) Household income
between 51-100% of FPIG at 4% of income.
(III) Household income between 101-150% of
FPIG at 4% of income.
(B)
Generally, maximum payments for natural gas heating should not exceed the
following maximums:
(I) Household income
between 0-50% of FPIG at 4% of income.
(II) Household income between 51-100% of FPIG
at 6% of income.
(III) Household
income between 101-150% of FPIG at 6% of income.
(C) Generally, maximum payments for electric
heating or for natural gas heating and electric nonheating combined should not
exceed the following maximums:
(I) Household
income between 0-50% of FPIG at 6% of income.
(II) Household income between 51-100% of FPIG
at 10% of income.
(III) Household
income between 101-150% of FPIG at 10% of income.
(ii)
Percentage of bill
plan. The participant's household payment is calculated as a
percentage of income payment and converted to a percentage of the annual bill.
When a utility determines subsequent CAP payment amounts, a participant will
continue to pay the same percentage of the total bill even if annual usage has
changed.
(iii)
Rate
discount. The participant's energy usage is billed at a reduced
rate.
(iv)
Minimum monthly
payment. The participant's payment contribution is calculated by
taking the participant's estimated monthly budget billing amount and
subtracting the maximum, monthly CAP credit (previously called billing
deficiency).
(v)
Annualized, average payment. The participant's payment
contribution is calculated by determining the total amount the participant paid
over the last 12 months and dividing by 12 months to determine a monthly
budget.
(vi)
An alternative
payment formula. An alternative payment formula must be reviewed by
the Bureau of Consumer Services and approved by the Commission.
(3)
Control
features. The utility should include the following control features to
limit program costs:
(i)
Minimum
payment terms. Minimum payments should be set in utility-specific
USECP proceedings. A utility may propose alternatives to a flat minimum payment
for each account type.
(ii)
Nonbasic services. A CAP participant may not subscribe to
nonbasic services that would cause an increase in monthly billing and would not
contribute to bill reduction. Nonbasic services that help to reduce bills may
be allowable. CAP credits should not be used to pay for nonbasic
services.
(iii)
Consumption
limits. Limits on consumption should be set at a percentage of a
participant's historical average usage. A level of 110% is recommended.
Adjustments in consumption should be made for extreme weather conditions
through the use of weather normalization techniques.
(iv)
High usage treatment.
Utilities should target for special treatment those participants who
historically use high amounts of energy.
(v)
Maximum CAP credits.
These will be established in individual utility USECP proceedings, if deemed
appropriate. If applied, CAP credit limits should consist of a tiered structure
based on the household's FPIG level such that lower income households receive
higher CAP credit limits.
(vi)
Exemptions. A utility may exempt a household from maximum CAP
credit or consumption limits if one or more of the following conditions exist:
(A) The household experienced the addition of
a household member.
(B) A member of
the household experienced a serious illness.
(C) Energy consumption was beyond the
household's ability to control.
(D)
The household is located in housing that is or has been condemned or has
housing code violations that negatively affect energy consumption.
(E) Energy consumption estimates have been
based on consumption of a previous occupant.
(4)
Eligibility criteria.
The CAP applicant should meet the following criteria for eligibility:
(i) Status as a utility ratepayer or new
applicant for service is verified.
(ii) Household income is verified at or below
150% of the FPIG.
(5)
Payment-Troubled Criterion. If appropriate, a utility may
prioritize CAP enrollments or control CAP costs using a payment-troubled
criterion. When determining if a CAP applicant is payment-troubled, a utility
should apply one of the following criteria:
(i) A household that has a pre-program
arrearage. The utility may define the amount of the pre-program
arrearage.
(ii) A household that
has received a termination notice or has failed to maintain a payment
arrangement.
(6)
Late Payment Charges. CAP customers should be exempt from late
payment charges.
(7)
Appeal
process. The utility should establish the following appeal process for
program denial:
(i) If the CAP applicant is
not satisfied with the utility's initial eligibility determination, the utility
should use utility company dispute procedures in §
§
56.151 and
56.152 (relating to general rule;
and contents of the public utility company report).
(ii) The CAP applicant may appeal the denial
of eligibility to the Bureau of Consumer Services in accordance with §
§
56.161-56.165 (relating to informal
complaint procedures).
(8)
Administration. If
feasible, the utility should include nonprofit CBOs in the operation of the
CAP. The provisions of §
69.265(8) apply
to CAP services whether they are provided by the utility or by a third-party on
behalf of the utility. The utility should incorporate the following components
into the CAP administration:
(i)
Outreach. A utility should develop and incorporate a Consumer
Education and Outreach Plan as part of its USECP. Education and outreach may be
conducted by nonprofit CBOs and should be targeted to low-income customers. The
utility should make automatic referrals to CAP when a low-income customer calls
to make payment arrangements.
(ii)
Intake and verification. The utility should accept
applications for CAP through mail, telephone, electronically or in-person. The
utility should also offer online platforms that allow customers to submit CAP
applications and documentation electronically. Intake and verification may be
conducted by nonprofit CBOs on behalf of the utilities. Intake should include
verification of the following:
(A)
Identification of the CAP applicant and household members. The utility may
request, but not require, Social Security numbers (SSNs) to verify identity.
Household members should be permitted to provide alternative identification in
lieu of SSNs. The utility should clearly explain the identification options on
CAP applications and other communications.
(B) The annual household income.
(I) The utility should accept income
documentation of at least the last 30 days or 12 months, whichever is more
beneficial to the household. CAP applications and recertification letters
should identify acceptable income timeframes and explain how each may benefit
the customer.
(II) A household
reporting zero income should complete the standardized zero-income form and
provide additional verification, if necessary.
(C) The household size.
(D) The ratepayer status.
(E) The class of service-heating or
nonheating.
(iii)
Calculation of payment. Calculation of the monthly CAP payment
should be the responsibility of the utility. The utility may develop a payment
chart so that the assisting CBOs may determine payment amounts during the
intake interview.
(iv)
Explanation of CAP. A complete and thorough explanation of the
CAP components should be provided to participants.
(v)
Application for LIHEAP
grants. The utility should inform a CAP participant of the
participant's responsibility to apply for LIHEAP grants annually, as well as
other energy assistance programs, if eligible.
(vi)
Consumer education, outreach and
referral.
(A) Consumer education and
outreach plans should include information on benefits and responsibilities of
CAP participation and the importance of energy conservation.
(B) Consumer education and outreach plans
should be developed with input from USACs and reflect focused outreach and
education efforts, specific to the demographics of the individual service
territory, spanning the duration of the universal service plan period. The
utility should include the following provisions in its plan:
(I) Specific efforts to educate and enroll
eligible and interested customers at or below 50% of FPIG.
(II) Resources, translation services, and
translated materials for those customers who are of Limited English
Proficiency.
(C) Customer
education should include referrals to other appropriate support
services.
(vii)
Account monitoring. Account monitoring should include both
payment and energy consumption monitoring. A CAP participant's bills should be
evaluated at least quarterly to determine whether the CAP credit amount and
billing method is appropriate.
(viii)
Recertification.
(A) A utility should recertify a
participant's eligibility for CAP benefits within the following time frames:
(I) A household reporting no income should
recertify at least every 6 months.
(II) A household with income that
participates in LIHEAP annually should recertify at least once every 3
years.
(III) A household whose
primary source of income is Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, or
pensions should recertify at least once every 3 years.
(IV) All other CAP households should
recertify at least once every 2 years.
(B) A utility should identify and implement
more effective ways of communicating its recertification practices and
procedures to CAP participants and improve its methods of collecting
appropriate income information from customers in order to minimize disruption
in CAP participation.
(ix)
Pre-program arrearage
forgiveness. Pre-program arrearage forgiveness should occur over a 1-
to 3-year period contingent upon receipt of regular monthly payments by the CAP
participant.
(A) A CAP participant should
receive pre-program arrearage forgiveness for each on-time and in-full monthly
CAP payment regardless of in-CAP arrears.
(B) A CAP participant should receive
retroactive pre-program arrearage forgiveness for any monthly payment missed
once the household pays in full its CAP balance/in-program
arrears/debt.
(x)
Routine management program progress reports. Progress reports
that may be used to monitor CAP administration should be prepared at regular
intervals. These reports should include basic information related to the number
of participants, payments and account status.
(9)
Default provisions. The
failure of a participant to comply with one of the following should result in
dismissal from CAP participation:
(i) Failure
to abide by established consumption limits.
(ii) Failure to allow access or to provide
customer meter readings in 4 consecutive months.
(iii) Failure to report changes in income or
household size.
(iv) Failure to
accept budget counseling, weatherization/usage reduction or consumer education
services.
(v) Failure to recertify
eligibility.
(10)
Transfer of service. A CAP household should be able to retain
program enrollment status when transferring service within the utility's, or an
affiliate's, service territory.
(11)
Collection Activity. A
utility should initiate collection activity for CAP accounts after no more than
two payments in arrears. A customer should not be removed or defaulted from CAP
as a precursor to termination for non-payment.
(12)
Reinstatement policy. A
customer may be reinstated into CAP at the utility's discretion.
(13)
Evaluation. The utility
should thoroughly and objectively evaluate its CAP in accordance with the
following unless otherwise modified in §
54.76 (relating to evaluation
reporting requirements) for EDCs or §
62.6 (relating to evaluation
reporting requirements) for NGDCs.
(i)
Content. The evaluation should include both process and impact
components. The process evaluation should focus on whether CAP implementation
conforms to the program design and should assess the degree to which the
program operates efficiently. The impact evaluation should focus on the degree
to which the program achieves the continuation of utility service to CAP
participants at reasonable cost levels. At a minimum, the impact evaluation
should include an analysis of the following:
(A) Customer payment behavior.
(B) Energy assistance
participation.
(C) Energy
consumption.
(D) Administrative
costs.
(E) Program costs.
(ii)
Time frame.
Unless otherwise modified by §
54.76 or §
62.6, program impacts should be
evaluated by an independent third-party at no more than 6-year intervals and
submitted to the Commission. The impact evaluations should be filed and served
at the utility's then-current USECP docket and submitted to the Bureau of
Consumer Services.
(iii)
Evaluation plan approval. The utility should submit the impact
evaluation plan to the Bureau of Consumer Services for review and
approval.
(14)
Industry-standardized forms. Utilities are encouraged to
develop and use standardized CAP forms and CAP procedures.
This section cited in 52 Pa. Code §
69.261 (relating to general); 52
Pa. Code §
69.262 (relating to definitions);
52 Pa. Code §
69.263 (relating to CAP
development); and 52 Pa. Code §
69.267 (relating to alternative
program designs).
