Maine PUC examines pandemic effect on utility customers

The Maine Public Utilities Commission has opened an inquiry into the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on customers’ ability to pay their bills from transmission-and-distribution utilities and natural-gas local distribution companies, as well as any newly available federal resources to help customers manage their utility payments or to assist the utilities themselves with meeting their ongoing obligations.

On April 28, 2020, the Commission issued a Notice of Inquiry in Docket No. 2020-00136, a new docket opened to house the inquiry. The Notice describes the "sea change in daily life" wrought by the pandemic and resulting national and state-level emergency declarations, as well as previous Commission action in response including the March 16 announcement of a moratorium on utility disconnections until further notice.

The Notice then frames two issues:

Rapidly rising levels of unemployment in Maine and other adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic raise questions about customers’ ability to pay their utility bills, the effect of that and of closed businesses on utilities’ accounts receivable, and the potential for significant future rate adjustments from these circumstances. Also, it is possible that federal legislation could be adopted, federal agencies’ rules amended, or policies adopted that directly affect customers’ ability to pay and utilities’ management of their operations. 

The Notice lists specific information requested by the Commission to assist it in understanding the scope of this problem and available resources. One set of questions relates to "the changing landscape of federal resources available to T&D utilities, LDCs, and their customers" including new federal legislation or changes in federal regulations or policies to assist customers in managing their utility bills or utilities in their ongoing operations and obligations under the present circumstances.

Another set of questions addresses the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on customers’ ability to pay and utilities’ accounts-receivable balances. The Commission directed electricity transmission and distribution utilities and natural gas local distribution companies to begin providing monthly reports, within 15 days, of data including accounts receivable, charge-offs, and sales and billing information.

Further regulatory action in response to the pandemic is broadly expected, whether under executive orders issued by Governor Mills, or under state and federal laws.