Virginia Administrative Code › Title 20 - PUBLIC UTILITIES AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS › Agency 5 - STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION › Chapter 312 - RULES GOVERNING RETAIL ACCESS TO COMPETITIVE ENERGY SERVICES › Section 20VAC5-312-10 - Applicability; definitions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. These
				regulations are promulgated pursuant to the provisions of the Virginia Electric
				Utility Regulation Act (§ 56-576 et seq. of the Code of Virginia) and to the
				provisions of retail supply choice for natural gas customers, § 56-235.8 of the
				Code of Virginia. The provisions in this chapter apply to suppliers of electric
				and natural gas services including local distribution companies and competitive
				service providers, and govern retail access to competitive energy services, to
				the extent permissible by statute, in the electricity and natural gas markets,
				including the conduct of market participants. The provisions in this chapter
				shall be effective January 1, 2009, and applicable to retail access to
				competitive energy services in the service territory of each local distribution
				company.
B. The following terms
				when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings, unless the context
				clearly indicates otherwise:
"Affiliated competitive service provider" means a competitive
				  service provider that is a separate legal entity that controls, is controlled
				  by, or is under common control of, a local distribution company or its parent.
				  For the purpose of this chapter, any unit or division created by a local
				  distribution company for the purpose of acting as a competitive service
				  provider shall be treated as an affiliated competitive service provider and
				  shall be subject to the same provisions and regulations.
"Aggregator" means a person licensed by the State Corporation
				  Commission that, as an agent or intermediary, (i) offers to purchase, or
				  purchases, electricity or natural gas supply service, or both, or (ii) offers
				  to arrange for, or arranges for, the purchase of electricity supply service or
				  natural gas supply service, or both, for sale to, or on behalf of, two or more
				  retail customers not controlled by or under common control with such person.
				  The following activities shall not, in and of themselves, make a person an
				  aggregator under this chapter:
(i)
				furnishing legal services to two or more retail customers or competitive
				service providers;
(ii) furnishing
				educational, informational, or analytical services to two or more retail
				customers, unless direct or indirect compensation for such services is paid by
				a competitive service provider supplying electricity or natural gas, or both;
(iii) furnishing educational,
				informational, or analytical services to two or more competitive service
				providers;
(iv) conducting business
				as a competitive service provider licensed under
				20VAC5-312-40; and
(v) engaging in actions of a retail customer,
				acting in common with one or more other such retail customers, to issue a
				request for proposal or to negotiate a purchase of electricity supply service
				or natural gas supply service, or both, for consumption by such retail
				customers.
"Billing party" means a person who renders a consolidated or
				  separate bill directly to a retail customer for competitive energy services, or
				  distribution services, or both.
"Bill-ready" means the consolidated billing practice in which
				  the nonbilling party calculates each retail customer's billing charges for
				  services provided and forwards such charges to the billing party for inclusion
				  on the consolidated bill.
"Business day" means any calendar day or computer processing
				  day in the Eastern United States time zone in which the general office of the
				  applicable local distribution company is open for business with the
				  public.
"Competitive energy service" means the retail sale of
				  electricity supply service, natural gas supply service, or any other
				  competitive service as provided by legislation and approved by the State
				  Corporation Commission as part of retail access by an entity other than the
				  local distribution company as a regulated utility. For the purpose of this
				  chapter, competitive energy services include services provided to retail
				  customers by aggregators.
"Competitive service provider" means a person, licensed by
				  the State Corporation Commission, that sells or offers to sell a competitive
				  energy service within the Commonwealth. This term includes affiliated
				  competitive service providers, as defined above, but does not include a party
				  that supplies electricity or natural gas, or both, exclusively for its own
				  consumption or the consumption of one or more of its affiliates. For the
				  purpose of this chapter, competitive service providers include
				  aggregators.
"Consolidated billing" means the rendering of a single bill
				  to a retail customer that includes the billing charges of a competitive service
				  provider and the billing charges of the local distribution company.
"Customer" means retail customer.
"Distribution service" means the delivery of electricity or
				  natural gas, or both, through the distribution facilities of the local
				  distribution company to a retail customer.
"Electricity supply service" means the generation of
				  electricity, or when provided together, the generation of electricity and its
				  transmission to the distribution facilities of the local distribution company
				  on behalf of a retail customer.
"Electronic Data Interchange" (EDI) means
				  computer-to-computer exchange of business information using common standards
				  for high volume electronic transactions.
"Local Distribution Company" means an entity regulated by the
				  State Corporation Commission that owns or controls the distribution facilities
				  required for the transportation and delivery of electricity or natural gas to
				  the retail customer.
"Minimum stay period" means the minimum period of time a
				  customer who requests electricity supply service from the local distribution
				  company, pursuant to §§ 56-577A 3 c, 56-577 C 1, and 56-582 D of the Code of
				  Virginia, after a period of receiving electricity supply service from a
				  competitive service provider, is required to use such service from the local
				  distribution company.
"Natural gas supply service" means the procurement of natural
				  gas, or when provided together, the procurement of natural gas and its
				  transportation to the distribution facilities of a local distribution company
				  on behalf of a retail customer.
"Nonbilling party" means a person who provides retail
				  customer billing information for competitive energy services or regulated
				  service to the billing party for the purpose of consolidated billing.
"Person" means any individual, corporation, partnership,
				  association, company, business, trust, joint venture, or other private legal
				  entity, and the Commonwealth or any city, county, town, authority or other
				  political subdivision of the Commonwealth.
"Price-to-compare" means the portion of the electric local
				  distribution company's regulated rate applicable to electricity supply service
				  or the portion of the natural gas local distribution company's regulated rate
				  applicable to natural gas supply service.
"Rate-ready" means the consolidated billing practice in which
				  the nonbilling party provides rate information to the billing party to
				  calculate and include the nonbilling party's charges on the consolidated
				  bill.
"Residential customer" means any person receiving retail
				  distribution service under a residential tariff of the local distribution
				  company.
"Retail access" means the opportunity for a retail customer
				  in the Commonwealth to purchase a competitive energy service from a licensed
				  competitive service provider seeking to sell such services to that
				  customer.
"Retail customer" means any person who purchases retail
				  electricity or natural gas for his or her own consumption at one or more
				  metering points or nonmetered points of delivery located within the
				  Commonwealth.
"Separate billing" means the rendering of separate bills to a
				  retail customer for the billing charges of a competitive service provider and
				  the billing charges of the local distribution company.
"Transmission provider" means an entity regulated by the
				  Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that owns or operates, or both, the
				  transmission facilities required for the delivery of electricity or natural gas
				  to the local distribution company or retail customer.
"Virginia Electronic Data Transfer Working Group" (VAEDT)
				  means the group of representatives from electric and natural gas local
				  distribution companies, competitive service providers, the staff of the State
				  Corporation Commission, and the Office of Attorney General whose objective is
				  to formulate guidelines and practices for the electronic exchange of
				  information necessitated by retail access.