The Southern Environmental Law Center Publishes a Landmark Memo on PAYS Consumer Protections!
See the full memo attached below; please share it broadly! Here’s the excerpt on the historical context and impetus behind the SELC memo:
“The National Regulatory Research Institute (NRRI) published an Insights Brief in January 2020 that presented its audience of utility commissioners and staff with general background information on utility tariff on-bill (TOB) programs. NRRI arranged for the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) to publish a reaction to the Insights Brief in which NCLC presented seven consumer protection recommendations to consider for tariff on-bill programs. Most of the 18 utilities in 8 states that have gained experience with tariff on-bill programs have based their programs on a system developed by Energy Efficiency Institute, Inc.: Pay As You Save® (PAYS®). The PAYS system includes a number of consumer protections that distinguish these utility programs from loan-based on-bill programs, including those using a tariff to facilitate debt collections. This memo considers the seven recommendations from NCLC in reaction to the NRRI Insights Brief in the context of the PAYS system. As set forth below, programs based on the PAYS system resolve many of the consumer protection concerns raised by NCLC, which may yet apply to other types of on-bill programs (such as loan-based programs) that are not addressed here.”
The CPUC Clean Energy Finance Workshop is Scheduled for January 28th!
The workshop objectives are to:
Identify lessons learned from existing clean energy finance efforts in California and nationally
Identify priorities and objectives for CPUC’s new Financing OIR
Begin to shape future decisions on energy financing in California
See the full pdf agenda attached! As you can see from the agenda, Tariffed On-bill investments are expected to figure prominently in several panelist presentations, including presentations from our very own PAYS Pals: Holmes Hummel, Anthony Kinslow II, Bruce Mast, Wesley Holmes, and Kerry O’Neill!
