Commission Orders Establishing PAYS® Precedents

Five states (New Hampshire, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, and Arkansas) have tariffs approved by their state regulator. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) approved the tariff in Tennessee. Utilities in North Carolina and California implemented tariffs that did not require approval of their public utilities commissions. The Missouri Public Service Commission ordered that its approval of an investor-owned utility’s request was contingent on their implementation of a PAYS pilot program. Here is a list of Commission orders noting highlights.

New Hampshire

NHPUC Order 23574, 11/1/00 (discusses Pay As You Save® and why it should be considered, page 18, Section G)

NHPUC Order 23758, 8/7/01 (rules that NHPUC has the power to allow PAYS charges to run with the location and allow utilities to disconnect for non-payment of the charges)

NHPUC Order 23851, 11/29/01 (approval of the pilots designed by EEI and filed by two utilities: Public Service Company of New Hampshire and New Hampshire Electric Cooperative)

NHPUC Order 24417, 12/30/04 (requires both utilities to continue offering PAYS programs over their objections and that of other NH utilities)

Hawaii

HPUC Order 22974, 10/24/06 (initiates an investigation regarding implementation of the Hawaii Legislature’s Act 240, which requires Hawaii utilities to operate PAYS programs, and cites the Commission’s authority to do so) 

HPUC Order 23531, 6/29/07 (approves Solar Water Heating PAYS tariffs for four Hawaii utilities with a notable statement on disconnection for non-payment for PAYS charges as sound public policy, p. 35)

HPUC Order 30974, 2/1/13 (made Hawaii the first state in the nation to authorize tariffed on-bill programs statewide, stating a preference for tariffed-based on-bill programs over loan-based programs, pp. 30 – 31)

Kansas

KCC Order, Dockets No. 07-MDWG-784-TAR and 07-MDWE-788-TAR, 8/16/07 (approves Midwest Energy’s filing for a PAYS tariff for its How$mart program)

KCC Order, Docket Nos. 07-MDWG-784-TAR and 07-MDWE-788-TAR, Reconsideration, 12/20/07 (reconsiders its 8/16/07 order and re-approves its decision to authorize Midwest Energy to offer a PAYSTariff with disconnection for non-payment) 

 Kentucky

KYPSC Case 2010-00089, 12/16/10 (order approving PAYS pilot programs serving 200 – 300 customers split among for four public power utilities)

Arkansas

APSC Docket No. 15-106-TF Order No. 2 Ouachita, 2/8/16 (approves PAYS tariff for Ouachita Electric Cooperative Corporation noting it as an …innovative approach to achieving significant energy efficiency improvements in hard-to-reach segments of Ouachita’s member-owner base. p.10

Missouri

MPSC Report and Order, File No. EO 2019-0132, 12/11/19 (Commission ordered that its approval of Evergy Missouri Metro’s and Evergy Missouri West’s (formerly Kansas City Power & Light) Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment Act [MEEIA] programs was contingent on the companies implementing a one-year PAYS pilot program of not less than $10 million or more than $15 million [p. 26]. If Evergy utilities implement a PAYS pilot as ordered, it will be the first new investor-owned utility PAYS program since Hawaii’s 2004 Solar Saver Program.)