COM/MF1/jyc/jt2 Date of Issuance 5/10/2011
Decision 11-05-020 May 5, 2011
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Order Instituting Rulemaking on the Commission's Own Motion to Determine Whether Sharing of Customer Information Between Regulated Water Utilities and Regulated Energy Utilities/Municipal Energy Providers Should be Required; and if so, to Develop the Rules and Procedures Governing Such Sharing. |
Rulemaking 09-12-017 (Filed December 17, 2009) |
DECISION ADOPTING GUIDELINES FOR SHARING OF
LOW-INCOME CUSTOMER INFORMATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
DECISION ADOPTING GUIDELINES FOR SHARING OF LOW-INCOME CUSTOMER INFORMATION 1
1. Summary 2
2. Background 3
3. Issues before the Commission 5
4. Discussion and Analysis 5
4.1. Sharing Customer Information 5
4.2. Automatic Enrollment and Categorical Eligibility 14
4.3. Data Sharing Implementation 18
4.4. Guidelines 21
4.4.1. Proposed Guideline 1 (Regulated Utilities Data Sharing) 22
4.4.2. Proposed Guidelines 4 and 5 (Confidential Customer Information) 22
4.4.3. Proposed Guideline 9 (Disclosure of Confidential
Information) 23
4.4.4. Proposed Guideline 11 (Customer Authorization) 24
4.4.5. Proposed Guideline 12 (Automatic Enrollment and
Opt-Out Letter) 25
4.4.6. Proposed Guideline 13 (Recertification and
Post-Enrollment Verification) 25
4.5. Outreach 26
4.6. Consistent CARE and Water Low-Income Assistance
Program Criteria 28
4.7. Data Sharing Plan 30
4.8. Data Sharing Cost Recovery 33
4.9. Monitoring the Impact of Sharing Customer Information 36
5. Comments on Proposed Decision 37
6. Assignment of Proceeding 37
Findings of Fact 37
Conclusions of Law 41
ORDER 42
Attachment 1 - Guidelines For Sharing Low-Income
Customer Information
Attachment 2 - Table
Attachment 3 - Information-Only Filing
Information-Only Low-Income Data Report
DECISION ADOPTING GUIDELINES FOR SHARING OF
LOW-INCOME CUSTOMER INFORMATION
1. Summary
This decision requires water and energy utilities with overlapping service territories to share low-income customer information to increase the participation rates in water low-income assistance programs. This decision also encourages water and municipal utilities to share low-income customer information and water and energy utilities to collaborate on outreach efforts to low-income customers. Mandatory customer information sharing is limited to Class A and B water utilities that offer low-income assistance programs. For the smaller water utilities, sharing should be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Automatic enrollment of eligible customers will occur as the result of maximizing the effectiveness of information sharing; however, an opt-out notification is required should the customer decline to be automatically enrolled in the water utility's low-income assistance program. Water utilities should automatically enroll customers only if the programs' income and eligibility requirements are comparable. The categorical eligibility procedures adopted for the energy utilities, which permit a customer to demonstrate eligibility with documentation of participation in a government means-tested program, are extended to the water utilities' low-income assistance programs. Data sharing guidelines are adopted that incorporate these directives and establish procedures for handling confidential customer data and unauthorized disclosure of such data.1
Water utility expenditures to implement customer information sharing should be cost effective and rely on existing systems and processes when feasible. Water utilities are authorized to track reasonable and legitimate data sharing implementation and ongoing costs in memorandum accounts for a future determination on recovery if those costs are not already included in rates. Energy utilities may include data sharing costs in their 2012-2014 program and budget applications.
1 These guidelines are attached to this decision as Attachment 1.
