12. Customer Service Charges

Following are the current and recommended customer service charges:

      Charge

Present

SCE

ORA

TURN

Returned Check

$10

$10

$10

$10

Service Establishment - Next Day

$12

$17

$15

$12

Service Establishment - Same Day

$22

$24

$24

$24

Reconnection at Meter

      Next Day

      Same Day

      Night/Weekend

Reconnection at Pole

      Next Day

      Same Day

      Night/Weekend

$14

$25

$30

$30

$50

$60

$19

$26

$58

$75

$77

$93

$17.50

$26

$37.50

$37.50

$63

$75

$17.50

$26

$37.50

$37.50

$63

$75

Field Assignment

$11

$21

$13.75

$11

As in the last GRC, SCE's proposed charges result from cost based studies. Neither ORA nor TURN have objected to the studies or the accuracy of the results. However, both ORA and TURN feel it is important to consider other factors in developing these charges.

For the charges at issue, ORA recommends the increases over current charges be capped at 25%, for affordability reasons. ORA considers it especially important that the most basic option of each fee group not be raised too precipitously or excessively.

Affordability is also a key consideration for TURN. TURN agrees with ORA's proposal to adjust the reconnection fees. However, TURN recommends freezing the next day service establishment charge and the field assignment charge.

TURN argues that the service establishment charge is a highly regressive charge that falls disproportionately on lower-income people and renters. The record indicates that renters below the poverty level move more often than homeowners or renters in general. Also, the service establishment charge does not alter customers' behavior by causing customers to move or not to move. Because of this and the fact that the charge was just recently increased by 20% in D.04-07-022, TURN recommends that the next day charge be frozen at $12. Alternatively, TURN recommends the increase be limited to at most 10%, the approximate labor inflation from 2003 to 2006.

For policy reasons, TURN recommends that no increase be adopted for the field assignment charge. TURN notes that while the charge is assessed when SCE personnel got to a site to disconnect a customer, it is also assessed when those personnel accept a payment to avoid disconnection. TURN believes preventing any unnecessary disconnections should be an extremely high priority. TURN asserts that disconnections increase costs to everyone by extending the time utility is paid, thus increasing its need for working capital, and by increasing the risk of uncollectibles. TURN's position is that the additional harm from raising the field assignment charge is greater than any potential benefits from reduced subsidies.

Our intent is to eventually establish cost-based charges. In SCE's last GRC, we adopted customer service charge increases that were moderated by our concerns regarding affordability. We feel it is reasonable to continue to do so. ORA's proposal to cap increases for service charges at 25% above current levels is reasonable. That percentage increase is significantly higher than inflation, and assuming SCE can reasonably control its costs, provides significant movement towards cost based charges.

While the considerations noted by TURN are important, they do not convince us to freeze the service establishment and field assignment charges, or to limit the increases for those charges to inflation only. Low income ratepayers have other remedies, including the California Alternate Rules for Energy (CARE) discount, to make electricity available to them at a reduced rate. Also, while TURN asserts additional harm from raising the field assignment charge is greater than any potential benefits from reduced subsidies, it provides no quantification of the harm or benefit to support the assertion.

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