Market Guide WASHINGTON GAS PEPCO (ELECTRIC) Pepco Pepco Washington Gas Washington Gas

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1 Washington, DC ELECTRIC Pepco UTILITIES SERVED Pepco Washington Gas NATURAL GAS Washington Gas Market Guide WHAT S INSIDE Market Information Pepco Enrollment & Billing Washington Gas Enrollment & Billing APRIL, 05

2 Market Information VIRIDIAN S HISTORY Viridian began serving Pepco DC Customers in November 0. RESIDENTIAL MARKET SNAPSHOT MARKET SNAPSHOT* As of November 0, 6,7 residential accounts had chosen a thirdparty supplier, representing.% of the 4,40 eligible residential accounts in the state. In the commercial sector, 9,08 of 6,505 eligible non-residential accounts had chosen a third-party supplier, representing 4.% of the market, by account. 87.8% HAVE NOT CHOSEN.% HAVE CHOSEN A SUPPLIER LOCAL LANGUAGE Alternate retail suppliers are referred to as Electricity Suppliers by Pepco DC. REGULATORS The DC market is regulated by its Public Service Commission (PSC). Among its other functions, the PSC ensures that quality utility services are available at reasonable rates for District of Columbia residential, business and government Customers. COMMERCIAL MARKET SNAPSHOT 4.% HAVE CHOSEN A SUPPLIER CONSUMER CHOICE SOURCES The DC Public Service Commission website has useful information and FAQ s to help Customers choose their Electrical Suppliers. Customers can visit the site at this address: *Source: KEMA Restructuring Review, published April % HAVE NOT CHOSEN // VIRIDIAN WASHINGTON, DC MARKET GUIDE

3 WHAT THE UTILITY SAYS ABOUT CHOOSING A SUPPLIER Viridian s rates and the Customer s usage could vary. Pepco: Whether or not you choose another supplier, Pepco still delivers electricity to all Customers via an extensive network of electric power lines that we maintain. We also respond to all emergency and routine service calls. Source: CUSTOMER ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES Government Assistance Depending on a Customer s personal financial circumstances, he or she may be receiving billing assistance. A Customer on a billing assistance program should inquire with the utility or EDC before enrolling with Viridian. Every state follows different guidelines regarding who is and isn t eligible for government assistance, and what that assistance covers. In DC, assistance is provided for both supply and delivery, even if the Customer is on a Budget Plan. Budget Billing For your Pepco DC Customers, budget billing applies to the delivery portion of the bill only. Depending on the balance remaining on their Budget Plan, your Customers billing may or may not change when they switch to Viridian. Pepco sets the Generation and Transmission components of the Price to Compare every months. It is a twotiered seasonal rate, with June to October as summer rates and November to May as winter rates. However, the rate your Customers actually pay month to month will slightly fluctuate from those seasonally-set rates, due to a Procurement Cost Adjustment (PCA). This small reconciliation is a true-up aimed at providing price fairness for both the Customer and Pepco: It makes sure that Customers pay only for the electricity they receive, and that Pepco receives no more and no less than exactly what it is due for providing that service. Customer Nonpayment/Termination When Viridian drops a Washington Gas Customer for nonpayment, or the Customer terminates his/her account, Washington Gas will send the Customer a bill every 0 days for 90 days. After that time, Washington Gas will return the charges to Viridian for collection and the Customer will need to pay Viridian directly. If you are a Pepco Customer, you will continue to pay Pepco for your electricity service. SPECIAL BILLING REQUIREMENTS ENROLLMENT AND BILLING Explain the Process Before you approach a potential Customer to enroll with Viridian, you ll need to know how to explain the enrollment process, and feel that you can answer any questions your Customers may have. The following section will help you become familiar with every step, from talking about enrollment to explaining why a soft credit check is required in the DC market. For your convenience, we ve highlighted the key information your Customers will need in order to enroll with Viridian. You ll see what a Pepco DC Customer s bill looks like before enrolling, and what it will look like after the Customer has enrolled with Viridian. Comparing Rates Your Customer will likely ask to see a rate-to-rate comparison. To help you in that conversation, Viridian will always include both the utility s comparison rate and how long it will be in place on our rate tools. But please remember that any comparisons are strictly estimates, as Credit Check In utilities that have an active POR (Purchase Of Receivables) program, the utility pays independent suppliers like Viridian for energy even if the Customer does not pay the utility. In effect, POR is a built-in payment guarantee. Pepco participates in the POR program, but Washington Gas does not have this program in place (non-por), so Washington Gas does not guarantee that Viridian will be paid if the Customer does not pay his/her bill. Consequently, the enrollment process for Washington Gas includes a soft credit inquiry (either driver s license information plus date of birth, or a Social Security number), to ensure that the Customer can be reliably depended upon to pay his or her energy bill. You may assure your Customer that this personal information is 00% confidential, and will not be reused for any other purpose. Further, because this process does not appear on a credit report as an actual inquiry, it has no effect on the Customer s credit score. Those Customers who do not meet the credit check requirements will receive a letter from Viridian explaining VIRIDIAN WASHINGTON, DC MARKET GUIDE //

4 Pepco DC Enrollment & Billing ENROLLMENT RATES To enroll with Viridian, a Pepco DC Customer must provide his or her -digit Service Number, located under Details of your Electric Charges at the top of the utility bill on page. The Supply Charges on page also shows a Supply Price Comparison, which lists a rate per kilowatt-hour that you can compare directly with Viridian s rate. Most Pepco DC residential Customers who are eligible for Viridian s service will have Residential Service listed at the top of the Electric Charges section on page. For more information on Customers with the MGS rate, please see the Eligibility section on page. For rate codes not listed, please contact the utility to fully understand how choosing a supplier will impact the Customer s service. Page of bill BEFORE enrolling with Viridian 4 // VIRIDIAN WASHINGTON, DC MARKET GUIDE

5 POST ENROLLMENT Utility Notification: Shortly after the Customer s enrollment is processed, Pepco DC will send a letter in the mail notifying the Customer of the service change to an electric supplier. After a Customer has enrolled with Viridian, the Customer will continue to receive a bill from Pepco DC as usual. A few things will look different. Viridian s total charge and name will be listed on the bill summary on page and of the bill. The Customer s detailed supply charge will be broken out separately on page. Billing adjustments include any reconciliation fees from the previous month s pricing and any other standard fees associated with the supply of energy in the grid. The Customer will continue to pay the entire amount due to the utility as shown on page of the bill. Page of bill AFTER enrolling with Viridian Page of bill AFTER enrolling with Viridian VIRIDIAN WASHINGTON, DC MARKET GUIDE // 5

6 Washington Gas Enrollment & Billing ENROLLMENT RATES To enroll with Viridian, a Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) Customer must provide his or her 0-digit Electric Choice ID number, located in the top side of Page of the utility bill. Viridian s rate will replace the supply charge, which includes BGE s generation and transmission charges. BGE provides a Price to Compare for Customers to use as an apples-to-apples comparison when shopping for a third-party supplier. 4 Most BGE Customers who are eligible for Viridian s service will have one of the following rate codes: R, RL (time of use), G or GS found on Page of the bill: For rate codes not listed, please contact the utility to fully understand how choosing a supplier will impact the Customer s service. Page of bill BEFORE enrolling with Viridian 4 6 // VIRIDIAN WASHINGTON, DC MARKET GUIDE

7 POST ENROLLMENT Utility Notification: Shortly after the Customer s enrollment is processed, BGE will send a letter in the mail notifying the Customer of the service change to an electric supplier. After a Customer has enrolled with Viridian, the Customer will continue to receive a bill from BGE as usual. A few things will look different. Viridian s supply charge, which includes the generation and transmission charges, will be listed on the Electric Supplier Charges section on Page of the bill. Additionally, BGE provides shadow billing, which allows the Customer to compare Viridian s supply price to what the Customer would have been charged if the utility had been the supplier. BGE provides this number to ensure that Customers are always aware of their choice when it comes to rates. The Customer will continue to pay the entire amount due to the utility. Page of bill AFTER enrolling with Viridian VIRIDIAN WASHINGTON, DC MARKET GUIDE // 7