The ESP Handbook Chapter 9 Billing under CCA Version 2.0 May 1, 2015
9.1 Introduction This chapter provides an overview of billing policies and procedures under Community Choice Aggregation (CCA). The chapter discusses the following: Billing Steps in the CCA Enrollment Process An Overview of the Billing Cycle under CCA Understanding the SCE Consolidated Billing Option Meeting Compliance and Electronic Interface Testing Requirements for CCAs Understanding Changes to SCE Bills Under Restructuring in California Billing for SCE Products and Services (Non-Energy Billing) Calculating City Taxes, Utility User Taxes, and State Taxes Bill Corrections - Usage and Non Usage Adjustments New Bill Format Southern California Edison Company Chapter 9, Page 1
9.2 An Overview of SCE (UDC) Consolidated Billing under CCA Step 1 - Retrieving Usage Both CCA and SCE retrieve same usage information for end -use customer from MDMA Step 2 - Calculating Charges SCE calculates UDC charges CCA calculates energy charges, applicable taxes and any other charges Step 3 Consolidating the Bill CCA sends charges in bill-ready format to SCE s van via EDI by 12 PM SCE creates a single, bill including both SCE and CCA charges and required inserts Step 4 - Sending Bills SCE sends consolidated bill And required inserts to customer Step 5 - Collecting and Transferring Payment SCE collects payment from customer. SCE then sends payment information and Remits payment to CCA Southern California Edison Company Chapter 9, Page 2
9.3 A Breakdown of the SCE (UDC) Consolidated Billing Cycle Step1 Step2 Retrieving Usage Information The first step in the billing process is for both SCE and the CCA to retrieve each customer s usage information for the billing cycle. This information can be obtained from the MDMA Server at: https://mdma.sce.com Calculating Charges In Step 2, both the CCA and SCE must calculate their respective charges. The CCA and SCE have a set of specific charges each are responsible for and must calculate based on the usage data for each customer in a given billing period. CCAs are responsible to calculate: Energy Charges City Tax (or Utility User s Tax see 9.6 for additional information) State Tax Other Charges (based upon agreements with customers) SCE is responsible for its charges using existing CPUC-approved tariff schedules, including billing for SCE products and services (see 9.7. for further information on these charges): Community Choice Aggregation Cost Responsibility Surcharge (CCA-CRS)* Department of Water & Resources Bond Charge (DWRBC)* Competition Transition Charge (CTC)* Power Charge Indifference Adjustment Utility Retained Generation (PCIA-URG)* Power Charge Indifference Adjustment Department of Water & Resources (PCIA - DWR)* Under collection Contribution (UC)* Community Choice Aggregation Service Fee* Transmission Distribution Nuclear Decommissioning Charge (NDC) Public Purpose Program Charge (PPPC) Transmission Owners Tariff Charge Adjustments (TOTCA) Franchise Fee Revenue Cycle Services (RCS) Credit* Generation Municipal Surcharge City Tax (Utility User s Tax) *If applicable Southern California Edison Company Chapter 9, Page 3
Step 3 Consolidating the Bill After calculating its charges, the CCA must prepare and send the charges to SCE in electronic bill-ready form by the second business day, following MDMA posting rules. This billing data must be transmitted through Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to SCE s VAN by 12:00 PM. (Additional information on protocols and procedures associated with sending this data are described in Chapter 8 of this handbook). Upon receipt, SCE will consolidate the information received from CCAs and its own charges to create a single bill to present to the end-use customer. The SCE Consolidated bill will have the following format: Page 1 Bill Summary: a summary of SCE and CCA charges Page 2 and 3 SCE Bill Detail: a breakdown of all SCE charges Page 4 CCA Bill Detail: a breakdown of CCA charges Step 4 Step 5 Sending Bills For Mandatory Statement (regular billing cycle) plans, SCE provides a two-day window in which to receive the CCA s charges. Accounts that are Date Plan billed on a scheduled date each month will not wait the two days if the scheduled date falls within the two-day window. Collecting and Transferring Payments SCE will collect payment from customers, and forward funds associated with CCA charges to CCAs. Funds received from customers will be allocated first to SCE charges for which delinquency may result in disconnection, and then any balance will be prorated between the CCA and other SCE non-disconnectable charges. Payments and payment information can be sent to a CCA via a value-added bank (VAB). This entity can arrange to send payment in a variety of ways to the CCA usually within one to two business days. The CCA must indicate its preference for receiving payment in the Participant Information Form. For more information on payments, please see Chapter 10 of this kit. Chapter 9, Page 4
9.4 SCE Billing Compliance Requirements A CCA must meet SCE compliance requirements to utilize consolidated billing. These compliance requirements are designed to allow CCAs to demonstrate that they are able to send billing data to SCE. The Electronic Communications Coordinator for SCE will coordinate the compliance and testing process. The Coordinator can be reached at (626) 812-7123. 9.4.A Compliance Requirements for SCE Consolidated Billing Under SCE Consolidated Billing, the CCA will send bill-ready data electronically to SCE. SCE will use this data to consolidate a bill to the end-use customer in a test environment. This bill will be sent to the CCA for review. A CCA must complete compliance testing requirements at least three business days prior to any scheduled CCA Service switch dates. CCA s will be required to show that they possess the ability to properly send charges (per test scenarios) through to SCE. These charges include, but are not limited to: energy charges, city tax (UUT), and state tax charges. CCAs will not be allowed to participate as a CCA if they are unable to complete SCE Consolidated Billing compliance testing. 9.5 Understanding Changes to SCE Bills Under Restructuring in California 9.5.A Introduction Community Choice Aggregation has brought significant changes to the electricity market in California. Understanding and explaining these changes especially to the end-use customer is in the best interest of all parties involved in implementing CCA. This section is designed to provide an overview of the changes to SCE bills under restructuring. 9.5.B Background Information about SCE s Customer Groups and Rate Schedules As a regulated utility, SCE provides separate, CPUC-approved rates for its 13 major customer groups. SCE s largest customer groups are: 9.5.B.1 Residential Customers, Schedule D. Schedule D is SCE s basic domestic rate for most residential customers. The bundled residential rate includes two components: Southern California Edison Company Chapter 9, Page 5
Basic or Customer Charge A charge that covers some of the fixed costs of serving customers associated with metering, billing, customer service and others. Energy Charge. The energy charge is based on energy usage by a customer. This charge is divided into five possible tiers. 1) Baseline is the maximum allocation of electricity based on the customers baseline allocation. 2) Over Baseline 1% - 30% of energy used above the baseline allocation 3) Over Baseline 31% - 200% of energy used above the baseline allocation 4) Over 200% of Baseline energy used above the baseline allocation The baseline charge is an allocation of electricity billed at a lower rate for residential customers based on the season and climatic region. Any energy used over the baseline allocation is billed at a higher rate based on the tier. The energy charge is composed of categories of costs, including Generation Municipal Surcharge, Transmission, Distribution, Nuclear Decommissioning, Public Purpose Programs, CCA CRS and others. 9.5.B.2 Small Business Customers, Small General Service Rates (GS-1). Rate Schedule GS-1 is the basic rate schedule for small business customers with maximum demands of no more than 20kW (or about 4,500 kwh) per month. The GS-1 rate includes the following components: Customer Charge. A charge that recovers some of the fixed costs of serving customers associated with transmitting and distributing electricity, and providing metering, billing, customer service and others. Energy Charge. A charge that recovers energy usage per kwh. The energy charge is composed of categories of costs, including Generation Municipal Surcharge, Transmission, Distribution, Nuclear Decommissioning, Public Purpose Programs, CCA CRS and others. 9.5.B.3 Medium General Service Rates (GS-2). Rate Schedule GS-2 is the basic rate schedule for medium-sized business customer with Southern California Edison Company Chapter 9, Page 6
demands between 20 kw and 500 kw. The GS-2 rate has three components: Customer Charge. A charge that recovers some of the fixed costs of serving customers associated with transmitting and distributing electricity, and providing metering, billing, customer service and others. Demand Charge. This charge covers the capacity-related costs of SCE s transmission and distribution facilities. Energy Charge. This charge is based on energy usage by a customer. The energy charge is composed of categories of costs, including Generation Municipal Surcharge, Transmission, Distribution, Nuclear Decommissioning, Public Purpose Programs, CCA CRS and others. 9.5.B.4 Larger Power Rates (TOU- 8). The standard large business and industrial rate schedule above 500 kw. This rate includes: Demand Charge. This charge recovers the capacity-related costs of SCE s transmission and distribution facilities. Energy Charge. This charge is based on energy usage by a customer. This charge will differ for on-peak, off-peak, mid-peak and super offpeak usage. The energy charge is composed of categories of costs, including Generation Municipal Surcharge, Transmission, Distribution, Nuclear Decommissioning, Public Purpose Programs, DA CRS and others. 9.6 Calculating City Taxes (Utility User Tax (UUT)) and State Taxes As indicated earlier in this chapter, CCAs are required to calculate the Utility User s Tax and state tax as part of their participation in CCA. The UUT is a tax that a city charges to its citizens for use of electricity. The tax is subject to increases and decreases and is voted on by the city council. State tax is similarly based on electricity consumption. Both the CCA and SCE are responsible for calculating the UUT for the products and services each provides to the end-use customer under CCA, and including these charges in the end-use customer s monthly bill. These products and services include energy, billing and metering services. Under SCE Consolidated billing, the CCA should include these UUT charges as part of its bill-ready data transmission. When SCE collects payment for the UUT (along with the other billed charges), SCE will pass payment for those charges back to the respective Southern California Edison Company Chapter 9, Page 7
CCA. The CCA must then remit the UUT on their respective products and services to the appropriate local government. The CCA is responsible for calculating state tax for the electricity that the end-use customer consumes. The CCA is also responsible for collecting and remitting state taxes, which are based on kwh consumption. Just as with UUT charges, under SCE Consolidated billing, the CCA should include state tax charges as part of its bill-ready data transmission. When SCE collects payment for the state tax (along with the other billed charges), SCE will pass payment back to the respective CCA. 9.6.A City Tax exempt customers SCE will provide an ongoing, monthly report via e-mail to reflect any newly accepted DASRs for customers who are considered city tax exempt. SCE is not responsible, nor is it to be held liable for the accuracy of this information. CCAs are responsible for establishing relationships with each individual city and for acquiring tax exempt status information from their customers. If you have any questions, please contact SCE s CCA Support Center at (800) 795-6723. 9.7 Bill Changes under the Electric Industry Restructuring Market in 9.7.A. California Bottoms-Up Billing Methodology for CCA Customers Effective September 1, 2003, SCE implemented a revised billing methodology commonly referred to as bottoms-up billing. The previous approach worked from the total bundled rate down, crediting the customer for services not provided. The revised billing approach works from the bottom up by charging CCA customers only for the services provided by SCE, and any other charges authorized by the Commission. The Billing detail section of each tariff is revised to reflect the new methodology. Changes to SCE billing as a result of the new billing methodology are reflected on the next page. 9.7.B A Customer s Example To provide CCA s a breakdown of the charges that an end-use customer will receive while on CCA service, a chart was developed that would identify each item. A breakdown of these items, and the assumptions used to calculate the charges are shown, below. Southern California Edison Company Chapter 9, Page 8
Customer Bill Sample Customer example assumptions: Residential, and falls under rate schedule D 32 day billing period during the summer season Baseline region 10 Billing period 07/05/07 thru 08/06/07 Consumed 1317 total kwh during that billing period Department of Water Resource (DWR) 0.2749 Using the following sample rate factors the bill is calculated in the following way. Note that DA CRS values shown will be replaced with applicable CCA CRS values CALCULATION SAMPLE DA Cost Responsibility Surcharge (DA CRS) HPC DA CRS Bond DA CRS CTC DAEBSC CRS/UC PCIA ***HPC takes the usage above 130%, not the total kwh Transmission Distribution Basic Charge (cents/day) Baseline Energy Charge (cents/kwh) Non-Baseline Energy Charge (cents/kwh) Calculations TOTALS (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Single Family 32 days x.029=.93 Multi Family 32 days x.022=.70 HPC 893 kwh x.01=8.93 DA CRS Bond 1317 kwh x.00469=6.18 DA CRS CTC 1317 kwh x.00762=10.04 DA CRS UC 1317 kwh x.01009=13.29 PCIA (DA CRS Power) 1317 kwh x (.00540)= (7.11) Summer 1317 kwh x.00392=5.16 Winter 1317 kwh x.00392=5.16 TOTCA 1317 x 0.00133= 1.75 Summer Baseline 326 kwh x.04810=15.68 Over Baseline 991 kwh x.04762=47.19 (HPC + DA CRS Bond + DA CRS CTC + DA CRS UC + PCIA) 8.93 + 6.18 + 10.04 + 13.29 + (7.11) = 31.33 (Transmission + TOTCA = e) 1317 x.00392 = 5.16 1317 x.00133 = 1.75 (5.16 + 1.75 = 6.91) (a + b = e) 31.33 6.91.93 + 62.87 = 63.80 63.80 Nuclear Decommissioning Charge (NDC) 15.68 + 47.19 = 62.87 Summer 1317 kwh x.00058=.76 Winter 1317 kwh x.00058=.76 (b = e) 1317 x.00058 =.76.76 Southern California Edison Company Chapter 9, Page 9
Public Purpose Program Charge (PPPC) Summer 1317 kwh x.00707=9.31 Winter 1317 kwh x.00707=9.31 (b = e) 1317 x.00707 = 9.31 9.31 Trust Transfer Amount (Also Known as FTAC) FTAC = Fixed Transition Amount Charge Generation Municipal Surcharge (GMS) Summer 1317 kwh x.00713=9.39 Winter 1317 kwh x.00713=9.39 Summer Baseline 10.2 Baseline x 32 days=326 Baseline DWR Generation Baseline 326 x.2749 DWR % = 88 kwh x.09490 DWR Factor = 8.54 DWR Generation Over Baseline 1% - 30% 326 x 30%=98 kwh x.2749 DWR % = 27 kwh x.09490 DWR Factor = 2.56 (b = e) 1317 x.00713 = 9.39 9.39 (DWR Gen + SCE Gen) x.008930 GMS Factor 8.54 + 2.56 + 5.98 + 8.54 + 8.83 + 6.22 + 3.80 + 28.63 + 52.30 + 66.35 = 191.75 191.75 x.008930 =1.71 1.71 DWR Generation Over Baseline 31% - 100% 326 x 70%=228 kwh x.2749 DWR %=63 kwh x.09490 DWR Factor = 5.98 DWR Generation Over Baseline 100% - 200% 326 x 100% = 326 kwh x.2749 DWR % = 90 kwh x.09490 DWR Factor=8.54 DWR Generation Over Baseline 200% 1317 total kwh 326 (tier 1) 98 (tier 2) 228 (tier 3) 326 (tier 4) = 338 x.2749 DWR % = 93 kwh x.09490 DWR Factor = 8.83 SCE Generation Baseline 326 90 = 236 kwh x.02634 SCE Gen = 6.22 SCE Generation Over Baseline 1% - 30% 98-27 kwh=71 kwh x.05357 SCE Gen = 3.80 SCE Generation Over Baseline 31% - 100% 228 kwh 63 kwh=165 kwh x.17351 SCE Gen = 28.63 Southern California Edison Company Chapter 9, Page 10
SCE Generation Over Baseline 100%-200% 326 kwh 90 kwh=236 kwh x.22162 SCE Gen = 52.30 SCE Generation Over Baseline 200% 339 kwh 93 kwh=246 kwh x.26973 SCE Gen = 66.35 8.54 +2.56 + 5.98 + 8.54 + 8.83 + 6.22 + 3.80 + 28.63 + 52.30 + 66.35 = 191.75 Taxes and Other Charges TOTAL BILL FOR MONTH $123.53 City Tax PUCRF 1317 x.00024=.32 191.75 x.008930 GMS Factor=1.71 (City Tax + PUCRF) 0.00 +.32 =.32.32 Southern California Edison Company Chapter 9, Page 11
9.8 Load Profiling and Distribution Loss Factor Protocols Applicability 9.8.A Applicability 9.8.A.1 This protocol can be used by all CCAs to report hourly energy consumption for their end-use customers in SCE s service area that do not have an hourly interval meter and are eligible for using load profiles to allocate cumulative meter usage into hourly intervals. 9.8.A.2 The purpose of this protocol is to convert non-hourly (monthly) usage recorded at the point of metering to hourly received energy at the UDC-ISO interconnection point for use in settlement with the ISO. 9.8.A.3 This protocol does not need to be used by CCAs for forecasting or customer billing. 9.8.B Conventions and Definitions 9.8.B.1 The time when a meter is read is defined as 11:59 p.m. of the day prior to when the meter is actually read. 9.8.B.2 The Billing Cycle is defined to start at 12:00 a.m. on the day of the prior meter read, and to end at 11:59 p.m. of the day before the most recent meter read. Example: the billing cycle for a meter read on April 20 and May 20 starts at 12:00 a.m. on April 20 and ends at 11:59 p.m. on May 19. 9.8.B.3 Monthly Usage is defined as the difference between the most recent meter read and the previous meter read adjusted for any necessary corrections. 9.8.B.4 At least five decimal points of accuracy should be maintained in hourly energy calculations. Final reported hourly kwh values should maintain at least two decimal points of accuracy. 9.8.C Data Sources 9.8.C.1 SCE will provide the CCA with the customer s rate group (used to identify the appropriate load profile) and distribution loss factor category in the CCASR response file, which is provided after a Community Choice Aggregation Service Request has been processed. SCE has also posted static load profiles for the following 14 rate groups: Domestic, DMS, GS-1, GS-2, TOU-GS- 2, PA-1, PA-2, AG-TOU, TOU-PA-5, TC-1, Street Lighting, TOU-8 Secondary, TOU-8 Primary and TOU-8 Subtransmission. These Southern California Edison Company Chapter 9, Page 12
static load profiles are available for download through the following link: https://www.sce.com/wps/portal/home/partners/partnerships/direct -access/operations/ (subject to change). 9.8.C.2 SCE implemented dynamic load profiles for Domestic, GS-1 and GS-2 rate schedules, beginning with data for May 18, 1998. Their use is mandatory and no party may use static load profiles for these rate schedules. Currently, SCE posts the dynamic load profiles within three working days after the transaction day. Dynamic load profiles are available for download through the following link: https://www.sce.com/wps/portal/home/partners/partnerships/direct -access/operations/ (subject to change). 9.8.C.3 Each rate group s static load profile consists of 365 24-hour days. Static and dynamic load profile data for each hour represents the rate group s usage (average kw for the hour). 9.8.C.4 SCE s Distribution Loss Factors are available by hour and by customer voltage level. These loss factors are based on a system load forecast and will be available one day prior to each transaction day. Distribution Loss Factors are available for download through the following link: https://www.sce.com/wps/portal/home/partners/partnerships/direct -access/operations/ (subject to change). 9.8.C.5 SCE will maintain customer usage data, meter reads, and customer account number on the MDMA server for retrieval by CCAs. 9.8.D Hourly Energy Calculation 9.8.D.1 Each CCA will need to maintain customer rate group and distribution loss factor category information for each of its customers. 9.8.D.2 Each customer s hourly usage (meter level) is computed using cumulative energy usage over the billing cycle from the MDMA server and hourly load profile information for the billing cycle, as extracted from the applicable sources identified in items 9.8.C.1, 9.8.C.2, and 9.8.C.5 above. The steps are as described in item 9.8.D.5 below. 9.8.D.3 CCAs will calculate the load profile as a fraction from the load profiling data posted on the Internet. Southern California Edison Company Chapter 9, Page 13
Sum the hourly load profile kw values for all days of the billing cycle, for the customer load profile rate group. Divide each hour load profile kw value by the sum derived above, to compute the hourly fraction of usage. Customer s hourly usage in each hour is the billing cycle usage times the hourly fraction calculated above. Example: Meter read on April 20 and May 20, usage 600 kwh. Customer s load profile rate group is residential. The sum of the hourly load profile kw for April 20 through May 19 is 417.331. Hour 1 of April 20 load profile kw is 0.405 kw. The hourly fraction of usage for hour 1 of April 20 is 0.405/417.331=0.000970. Then the hourly usage for this customer in hour 1 of April 20, is equal to 600*0.000970= 0.582272 kwh. 9.8.D.4 For customers with Time-Of-Use meters (meters which record usage by on-peak, mid-peak, off-peak periods) load profiling should be performed separately with the data for each TOU period. Sum the hourly load profile kw values for all days in the billing cycle to create separate totals for each TOU period for the customer load profile rate group. Divide each hour load profile kw value by the sum derived above, to compute the hourly fraction of usage for each TOU period. Customer s hourly usage in each hour of the TOU period is the billing cycle usage for each TOU period times the hourly fraction calculated above. For example, meter read on April 20 and May 20, customer rate group TOU-GS-2, customer s mid-peak period usage is 10,000 kwh. The sum of the hourly kw for the mid-peak period of April 20 through May 19 is 18,412.090. The hourly fraction of mid-peak usage for hour 9 of April 20 is 48.946/18,412.090=0.002658. Then the hourly usage for this customer in hour 8 of April 20, is equal to 10,000 kwh *0.002658= 26.58 kwh. 9.8.D.5 The hourly usage (for ISO reporting) will be calculated by multiplying the hourly usage (meter level) by the appropriate distribution loss factor. Example: For the example in 16 above, customer s distribution loss factor category is secondary. For hour 1 of April 20 the distribution loss factor is 0.054533. The hourly usage reported to Southern California Edison Company Chapter 9, Page 14
the ISO is then equal to 0.582272 kwh *(1+0.054533) = 0.614025 kwh. 9.9. SCE Consolidated Billing Corrections Usage related Billing Corrections can occur for many different reasons. If new billing charges need to be created because there was a change in the usage value for a particular billing cycle, the following guidelines should be followed. This is outlined in the diagram, below. Both SCE and the CCA are responsible for calculating their own corrected charges, which should include the negation of any charges that were previously billed. Adjusted usage will be posted to the MDMA server for retrieval by the CCA. From the time the adjusted usage is posted to the server, the CCA has until 12:00 p.m. on the second business day to send their corrected charges to SCE s VAN for bill consolidation. The customer should direct usage related inquiries to their CCA who will in-turn notify SCE. SCE Retrieve adjusted usage date SCE calculates SCE charges based on adjusted usage SCE incorporates ESP and SCE charges and sends adjustment bill to customer MDMA Server Adjusted usage from MDMA server ESP Retrieve adjusted usage data ESP calculates new charges based on adjusted usage ESP provides new charges within two days of usage posting The CCA has until 12:00 PM to submit EDI file to SCE s van on the second business day after posting of usage to send the corrected Bill Ready Data to SCE for consolidation. If the data is not received within the two days, the corrected charges will be applied to the next routine billing statement. Southern California Edison Company Chapter 9, Page 15
9.10 SCE Consolidated Billing Corrections Non-Usage related If new billing charges need to be created for any reason, other than a change in the usage value for a particular billing cycle, the following guidelines should be followed. This is outlined in the diagram, below. Both SCE and the CCA are responsible for calculating their own corrected charges, which should include the negation of any charges that were previously billed. Adjusted usage will be posted to the MDMA server for retrieval by the CCA. From the time the adjusted usage is posted to the server, the CCA has until 12:00 p.m. on the second business day to send their corrected charges through for bill consolidation. The customer should direct usage related inquiries to their CCA who will in-turn notify SCE. SCE Billing adjustment determined SCE calculates SCE charges reflecting adjustment SCE incorporates ESP and/or SCE charges and sends adjustment bill to customer Customer Customer inquiry / Bill in question ESP Billing adjustment determined ESP calculates new charges (if necessary) ESP provides new charges to be included in next routine consolidated bill The CCA has until 12:00 PM to submit EDI file to SCE s van on the second business day after posting of usage to send the corrected Bill Ready Data to SCE for consolidation. If the data is not received within the two days, the corrected charges will be applied to the next routine billing statement. Southern California Edison Company Chapter 9, Page 16