Direct Access—Electricity
DA Open Enrollment Status
March 15, 2013
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) will be accepting Form 79-1077 Six-Month Notices to Transfer to Direct Access Service (Six-Month Notice) in the new lottery process described below to create a waiting list to fill any space available under the Direct Access cap in 2013 and 2014.
Per the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Decision (D.) 12-12-026 dated December 20, 2012, PG&E will hold its first “Annual DA Lottery” to create a wait list for customers who wish to enter the Direct Access Market. A wait list will be developed via this lottery process to fill any available DA load.
Beginning 9:00 AM (PDT) on Monday, April 8, 2013 PG&E will be accepting Six-Month Notices. PG&E will stop accepting Six-Month Notices at 5:00 PM (PDT) on Friday, April 12, 2013. Unlike prior enrollments, this lottery enrollment process is not on a first-come, first-served basis and there are no advantages to submitting multiple Notices for the same Service Agreements (SA ID). All submissions received outside of these dates/times will be rejected. All duplicate submissions will be rejected. Accepted Six-Month Notices will be entered into a lottery to determine their random position on PG&E’s “Wait List” for space that may become available under the Overall DA Load Cap. The Wait List will remain in effect until December 31, 2014.
Overview
Direct Access (DA) service is an option that allows eligible customers to purchase their electric commodity directly from third party electric service providers (ESPs) while PG&E continues to deliver the electricity for these customers. Prior to April 2010, DA had not been available to new customers in California since the Legislature suspended the program in September 2001 during the California Energy Crisis. Senate Bill (SB) 695, signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in October 2009, provided for a limited reopening of DA for only non-residential customers over a four-year phase-in period.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued Decision (D.)10-03-022 on March 11, 2010, which implemented SB 695. Under D.10-03-022, the CPUC established a first-come, first-served enrollment process over a four-year phase-in period, annual DA load limits, and an Overall DA Load Cap. Subsequently, the CPUC issued D.12-12-026, on December 20, 2012, which eliminated the first-come, first-served enrollment process and replaced it with a new “lottery” enrollment process which establishes a waiting list for space available under the Overall DA Load Cap.
For more information, see Frequently Asked Questions.
Details on DA Reopening
Under the Limited DA Reopening rules, non-residential customers enrolled in DA up to a maximum allowable annual limit (measured in gigawatt-hours) during an annual Open Enrollment Window (OEW) on a first-come, first-served basis as defined in D.10-03-022. PG&E's DA load was permitted to increase an additional 3,946 GWh phased in over a four-year period from the then current (November 2009) DA load of 5,574 GWh to a new total DA load of 9,520 GWh.
The approximate annual DA load increases permitted by D.10-03-022 are:
- 2010 Annual Increase = 1,381 GWh (35% of 3,946 GWh)
- 2011 Annual Increase = 1,381 GWh (35% of 3,946 GWh)
- 2012 Annual Increase = 789 GWh (20% of 3,946 GWh)
- 2013 Annual Increase = 395 GWh (10% of 3,946 GWh)
Returning to PG&E Bundled Service
Direct Access customers choosing to return to bundled service must submit the Notice to Return to PG&E Bundled Portfolio Service (BPS), Electric Form No. 79-1011 indicating that they wish to return in six (6) months. Customers have three business days after PG&E receives their Notice to Return form to rescind the Notice and remain on DA service. Customers electing BPS make a binding, minimum eighteen (18) month commitment and will not be eligible to return to DA service until their eighteen (18) month minimum commitment has been completed. The acceptable methods to submit the Notice to Return form are the following:
- Email with attachment to: DANOI@pge.com
- FAX to: 209-476-7698 Attn: DAASU
- U.S. Mail to:
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
P.O. Box 8329
Stockton, CA 95208
Attn: DAASU
