Background

D.97-10-087 adopted the tariff provisions for direct access. Among the approved tariff provisions was section P.(1)(b) of Appendix A of that decision, which used to provide:

"Partial payments by customers will be allocated first to the TTA [trust transfer amount], then to other UDC [utility distribution company] charges for which delinquency may result in disconnection, and then the balance will be prorated between the ESP [electric service provider] and UDC charges."¹

On December 2, 1997, SDG&E and Southern California Edison Company (SCE) filed a joint petition to modify section P.(1)(b) of Appendix A of D.97-10-087. In D.98-02-030, the Commission granted the joint petition for modification, and ordered that section P.(1)(b) of Appendix A of D.97-10-087 be modified and replaced with the following:

"Partial payments by customers will be allocated on a pro rata basis to the TTA and to UDC charges for which delinquency may result in disconnection, and then any balance will be prorated between the ESP and other UDC charges."

SDG&E's latest petition to modify seeks to modify section P.(1)(b) of Appendix A of D.97-10-087 and Ordering Paragraph 2 of D.98-02-030 with the following replacement paragraph:

"Partial payments by customers will be allocated on a prorata basis to the TTA, UDC charges, and ESP charges in the same proportion as the amount of TTA charges, SDG&E charges, and ESP charges bear to the aggregate amount of charges billed the customer. Should a customer notify SDG&E that he or she is withholding payment of ESP charges due to a billing dispute with their ESP, service will not be disconnected if the partial payment will cover the amount of UDC charges for which delinquency may result in disconnection. In the event of such a customer dispute with an ESP, SDG&E may modify the aforementioned allocation methodology and allocate the partial payment to all charges other than the ESP charges."

Should the petition for modification be granted, SDG&E states that it will also modify its Electric Rule 25 M.(1)(b), which currently reflects the language adopted in D.98-02-030.