ANNUALREPORTREGARDINGTHEPUBLICSERVICECOMMISSION'S
UTILITYSERVICEPROTECTIONPROGRAMWINTER2005-2006RESULTS
SubmittedtotheMarylandGeneralAssembly
Annapolis,Maryland
bythe
PublicServiceCommissionofMaryland
WilliamDonaldSchaeferTower6St.PaulStreet
Baltimore,Maryland21202
June2006
TABLEOFCONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY2
BACKGROUND3
DATA REPORTING4
PROGRAM PARTICIPATION4
EQUALMONTHLYPAYMENTSANDACTUALHEATINGSEASONUSAGE6
SUPPLEMENTALPAYMENTSANDARREARAGESPARTICIPANT8
ARREARAGES ANDPROGRAMCOMPLIANCE9
HEATINGSEASONTERMINATIONS11
HIGHENERGYCONSUMPTION12
PRIMARYHEATSOURCE12
MEAPGRANTS13
CONCLUSION13
ExecutiveSummary
TheUtilityServiceProtectionProgramcontinuedtoaccomplishits goal ofminimizingthenumberofserviceterminationsduringthewinterheating season.Participationlevelsforthe2005-2006winterheatingseasonwere8,638greaterthanthelevelofparticipantsforthe1995-1996winterheatingseasonand5,445greaterthanthe2004-2005winterheatingseason.
Datareportedbytheparticipatingutilitycompaniesindicatedthat0.0912percentoftheUSPPpopulation wasterminated duringthe2005-2006heatingseasonascomparedto
0.09percentofparticipantsterminatedinthepreviousyear'sheatingseason.1995-1996dataindicatedthat0.0758percentofUSPPparticipantswereterminatedduringthe heatingseason.ThelownumberofterminationsindicatesthattheUSPPiseffectiveinkeepinglowincomecustomers'serviceconnectedduringthewinter.
InadditiontotheUSPP,MEAP,andEUSPprovidingassistancetolow-incomecustomers,allutilitiesprovidingelectricorgasserviceinMarylandhaveprogramsdedicatedtoassistlow-incomecustomers.Theseprogramsaredifferentfromutilitytoutility,butallarefocusedonhelpinglow-incomecustomerswithbillingorotherrelatedissues.
TheCommissionbelievesthatthesurveyresultsofthe2005-2006heatingseasonreflectthecapabilityoftheUtilityServiceProtectionProgram,andtheutilitiesmanagingtheprogram,tobenefitlow-incomecustomers.AlthoughtheCommissionseesnothinginthe2005-2006heatingseasonresultsalonetoindicatetheneedforimmediatechangesintheUSPPforthe2005-2006heatingseason.However,theevolutionoftheElectricUniversalServiceProgramandgasandelectricchoiceprogramsmayleadtoacomprehensivereviewofUSPPandrelatedprogramswithinthenextfewyears.
Background
OnMarch1,1988theMarylandPublicServiceCommission("PSC"or"theCommission")issuedOrderNo.67999inCaseNo.8091whichproposedtoestablishtheUtilityServiceProtectionProgram("USPP")tomeettherequirementsofPublicUtilityCompaniesArticle("PUCArticle")§7-307oftheMarylandAnnotatedCode(formerlyArticle78,Section54K).Section7-307providesforthepromulgationbytheCommissionofregulationsrelatingtowhenandunderwhatconditionsthereshouldbeaprohibitionagainstoralimitationupontheauthorityofapublicservicecompanytoterminate,fornonpayment,gasor electricservicetolow-incomeresidentialcustomersduringtheheatingseason.RegulationsgoverningtheUSPParecontainedinChapter20.31.05oftheCodeofMarylandRegulations ("COMAR").
TheUSPPisavailabletoutilitycustomerswhoareeligibleandhavemadeapplicationforagrantfromtheMarylandEnergyAssistance Program ("MEAP")administeredbytheOfficeofHomeEnergyPrograms("OHEP").TheUSPPisdesignedtoprotecteligiblelow-incomeresidentialcustomersfromutilityserviceterminationsduringthewinter.TheUSPPhelpslow-incomecustomersavoidtheaccumulationofarrearages,whichcouldleadtoserviceterminations,byprovidingequalmonthlyutilitypaymentsforparticipantsbasedontheestimatedannualservicecosttothehousehold.TheUSPPallowscustomersinarrearstorestoreservicebyacceptingtheUSPPequalpaymentplanandbybringingoutstandingarrearagesdownto$400.Theprogramencouragestheutility toestablishasupplementalmonthlypaymentplanforcustomerswithoutstandingarrearagestoreducethosearrearages.Maryland'sgasandelectricutilitiesarerequiredtopublicizeandoffertheUSPPpriortoNovember 1ofeachyear.
PUCArticle§7-307requirestheCommissiontosubmitanannualreportto theGeneralAssemblyonterminationsofserviceduringthepreviousheating season. Tofacilitatethecompilationofsuchreports,theCommissiondirectsallgasandelectricutilitiestocollectanarrayofdata.SeeCOMAR20.31.05.09.BymeansofaCommissionissueddatarequest,theutilitiesareaskedtoreportthefollowing:1)thenumberofUSPPparticipants,MEAPeligiblenon-participants,totalutilitycustomers,andcurrentparticipantswhoalsoparticipatedthepreviousyear;2)thenumberofcustomersforwhomtheutility'sservice is the primary heat source; 3) the number of customers making supplemental
payments,averagesupplementalpaymentamounts,andtheamountofarrearageleadingtothosepayments;4)thenumberofUSPPparticipatingand eligible non-participatingcustomersinarrears,theamountofthearrearage;theamount of the average monthlypaymentobligations;5)theaverageMEAPgrantamount;6)thenumberofcustomersdroppedfromtheUSPPfornon-paymentofbills;7)thenumberofserviceterminations;8)thenumberofcustomersconsumingmorethan135%oftheheatingseasonsystemaverage;and9)theaverageheatingseasoncostofactualusage.Thisreportprovidesthesummaryandanalysisofthatinformation.
DataReporting
AllinvestorownedutilitiesservingresidentialcustomersinMarylandsubmitteddataforthisreport.TheCommission'sMarch2006datarequestcontainedthesamequestionsasthoseinallUSPPdatarequestssincethe1990-91reportingseason.Consistentquestionsanddatareportingprocedureshavecontributedtotheyearlycomparabilityoftheinformationcontainedinthisreport.
PursuanttoCOMAR 20.31.05.0lC, the Hagerstown Light Department("Hagerstown")operatesanapprovedalternativeUSPPthatallowsMEAPeligiblecustomerstoreceiveUSPP-typeassistanceasneededduringtheheatingseason.Assuch,HagerstowndoesnotdistinguishbetweenUSPPparticipantsandallMEAPeligiblecustomersanddoesnotmaintainrecordsindicatingthenumberofindividualcustomerswhoreceivedassistancebeyondthatprovidedunderMEAP. Inaddition,Hagerstown andthreeotherutilitieswerenotrequiredtoanswerallthequestionscontainedintheCommission'sdatarequestbecausetheseutilitiesareeithermunicipally-owned orhavefewerthan5,000residentialcustomers.
ProgramParticipation
Table1presentsthenumberofUSPPparticipantsandeligiblenon-participantsbyutility.Theeligibleincomebracketsareseparatedintothreecategories:PovertyLevelI(0-50%),PovertyLevelII(51-100%),andPovertyLevelIII(101-150%),withPovertyLevelIbeingthelowestincomebracket. ThepovertylevelsarebasedonFederalguidelines.1
ForacompleteexplanationoftheFederalPovertyGuidelinesandThresholdpleasereferto
Duringthe2005-2006heatingseason58,725eligiblecustomersparticipatedinUSPP.Thisconstituted3,363moreparticipantsthanduringthe2004-2005heating season and14,349moreparticipantsthanduringthe1995-96heatingseason.Therewere41,315participantsinthe1995-96heatingseason.Thetotaleligiblepopulationforthe2005-2006heatingseasonwas70,645customers,anincreaseof5,445sincethe2004-2005 heatingseasonBaltimoreGasandElectricCompany("BGE")providedserviceto 58.4%ofallUSPPparticipants.BGEhad2,347moreUSPPparticipantsand1,890moreeligiblenonparticipantsthaninthe2005-2006heatingseason.TheincreaseinUSPPparticipationmaybeduetoextensiveoutreachactivitiesconductedbyBGE,OHEP,theMarylandOfficeofPeople'sCounsel("OPC"),andtheCommission,combinedwithamajorincreaseinthecostofgas,electricityandotherfuelsinadditiontochangesinBGE'sserviceterminationpractices.UnderBGE'spolicy,specialagreementsarecancelledandtheprocesstoterminateservicebeginswhenbillsbecome90ormoredayspastdue.2Ifthispolicysignificantlyreducedthenumberoflow-incomecustomersreceivingserviceorabletoreturntoservicethroughasupplementalpaymentarrangement,thenumberofBGEcustomers receivingMEAPandparticipatinginUSPPwouldalsobereduced.
PotomacElectricPowerCompany("Pepco")had7,888or13.4%oftheUSPPeligible,participatingpopulation.ForthelastthreeyearsPepcohashad13%oftheState'sUSPPpopulation.
SouthernMarylandElectricCooperative("SMECO")sawitsnumberofeligibleparticipantsfallfrom483in2004-2005to444in2005-2006.SMECOisawareofthedecreaseandisworkingcloselywithOHEPandoutsidecontractorstorectifythedecliningUSPPenrollment. MostutilitiesshowedanincreaseinUSPP participation althoughDelmarvaPowerandLightCompany("Delmarva")experienceda decrease of 300participantsanda123non-participantincreaseforMEAP-onlycustomers.
Table2presentsUSPPparticipationasapercentageofthetotalnumberofMEAPeligiblecustomersfor2005-2006and2004-2005. Theoverallrateofcustomerparticipation
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2Although BGE's internalcreditandcollectionpolicyhavechanged,BGEcontinuestooperateundertheotherwiseapplicableCOMARprovisionsonserviceterminations.
intheUSPPforallutilitiesis86%,whichreflectsa3%decreasefromthe2004-2005results.Theoverallparticipationratewas66%forthe1995-1996heatingseason.WashingtonGasMarylandGasDivisionexperiencedanincreasedparticipationrate of 10%. SMECO,PotomacEdison,Berlin,ElktonGas,andEastonexperiencedadecreaseinparticipationratesof10%orgreater.Theotherutilitieshadeithernominalincreases or decreases mparticipationratesorremainedthesameascomparedtothe2004-2005heatingseason.
Participationlevelstendtobelowerforsmallerutilitiesversusthelargerutilities.Forexample,over88%ofeligibleBGEcustomersparticipateintheUSPPprogramversus11%ofChesapeakeUtilities,CitizensGasDivision,and20%forEastonUtilitiesGasDivision.ItisquitelikelythattheavailabilityofEUSPhasincreasedeligiblecustomerparticipationintheUSPP.TheCommission hasgenerally addressedlowparticipationratesonacase-bycasebasis.However,theCommissionalsoworkscloselywithOHEPandtheutilitiesasagrouptoexplorewaystoencouragecustomerparticipationintheUSPP.TheCommissionStaffisamemberoftheOHEPAdvisoryBoard,OHEPStatewideOutreach Team, andEnergyAdvocates.Thesegroupsarededicatedtodevelopingwaystoassistlow-incomecustomerswiththeirenergybills.
Table3presentsthepercentageofUSPPparticipantswhowerealsoenrolledintheprogramduringthe2004-2005heatingseason.Overall,only55%ofthe2005-2006participantswereparticipantsinthe2004-2005heatingseason.Fifty-threepercent(53%)ofthe2004-2005participantswerealsointheprogramthepreviousyear.Historicaldatashowsthat51%ofthe1995-1996participantsparticipated inthe1993-94heatingseason.
EqualMonthlyPaymentsandActualHeatingSeasonUsage
Table4comparesaverageequalmonthlybillingsto actual usage for USPPparticipants.ThisTableshowsclearlythatequalmonthly payments reduced the overallimpactofhigherutilityusageduringtheheatingseason.
Theaveragemonthlypaymentsarecalculatedbasedonthepreviousyear'sactualusage.Theoverallaveragemonthlypaymentforallutilities was $109.74. The actualmonthlypaymentsareanaverageoffivebillingmonths,NovemberthroughMarchfor2005-2006. The overall average actual monthly usage for the 2005-2006 heating season was
$163.73.Althoughthisdatareflectswhatconsumerspaidandactuallyused,itdoesnotnecessarilyreflectthenorm.AccordingtoMarylanddata obtained from the NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration (NOAA),3 November 2005, January 2006,February2006,andMarch2006wereabovetheaveragetemperaturemaintained by thatagency.December2005wasbelowtheaveragetemperaturemaintainedbythatagency.November2005temperaturewasaboveaverageranking99thoutof111withameantemperatureof48.3degreesFahrenheit.TheaveragetemperatureforNovemberis45.05degreesFahrenheit.December2005temperaturewasbelowaverage, ranking 32nd with ameantemperatureof33.3degreesFahrenheit.TheaveragetemperatureforaMarylandDecemberis35.35degreesFahrenheit.January2006temperaturewassignificantlyaboveaverageranking106outof111withameantemperatureof41degreesFahrenheit.TheaveragetemperatureforJanuaryinMaryland is32.60 degrees Fahrenheit. February 2006wasaboveaverageranking78thwithameantemperatureof35.4degreesFahrenheit.TheaveragetemperatureforFebruaryinMarylandis33.70degrees.March 2006 temperatureswereslightly aboveaverage,ranking77thwithameantemperatureof 44.6 degreesFahrenheit. TheaveragetemperatureforMarchis42.38degreesFahrenheit.
TheaveragetemperatureforNovember2004,December2004,January2005,andFebruary2005wereeitherclosetoorsignificantlyaboveaveragemonthlytemperaturesmaintainedbythatagency.March2005rankedasacolderthanaveragemonth.TheaveragetemperatureforMarch2005was39.1degreesFahrenheit.In comparison, the averagemonthlytemperaturesforthe2003-2004heatingseasonwereatorabovethehistoricalaverages,withtheexceptionofJanuary2004.However,theaveragemonthlytemperaturesforthe2002-2003and2001-2002heatingseasonswereamong the coldest inthe past tenyears.Dataforpreviousyearsindicatedthatactualmonthlyusage wasdownandaveragemonthlypaymentswerelowerbecausethe average winter temperature was higher. ThetablesincludedinthisreportarenotseasonallyadjustedtoreflectanormalMarylandheatingseason.Nordothetablesinthisreportreflectthevolatility in the natural gas marketresultinginsignificantincreases.Therefore,futureresultsinthiscategorymayseemcomparatively lowwhenthey areactuallynormal. Theoverallweighted averagemonthly
TheNationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration (NOAA)maintainstheworld'slargest
archiveofweatherdataattheNationalClimateDataCenter(NCDC,ClimateataGlance). TheNCDChasarchivedweatherdatadatingbackto1895. Itemsintheirsystemarerankedfrom1-111withonebeingthecoldestaveragetemperatureand111beingthewarmesttemperature. Onecanrunqueriesisolatingmeantemperatureaccordingtomonths,seasons,andothervariables.
paymentforthe1995-96heatingseasonwas$91.09withanoverallweightedaverageactualmonthlyusageof$120.66.
SupplementalPaymentsandArrearages
EqualmonthlypaymentsarenottheonlypaymentobligationmanyUSPPparticipantshavetotheutility.TheUSPPencouragesutilitiestooffercustomerswhohaveoutstandingarrearageswiththeutilitytoplaceallorpartofthosearrearagesinaspecialagreementoranalternatepaymentplan,tobepaidoffoveranextendedperiodoftime.Forthepurposeofthisreport,thesespecialagreementsarecalled"supplementalarrearages",andthepaymentsonthespecialagreementsarecalled"supplementalpayments."PlacingoutstandingarrearagesinsuchspecialagreementsallowscustomerstoenrollinUSPPandtobeconsideredcurrentintheirutilitypaymentsaslongastheycontinuemakingtheirUSPPequalmonthlypaymentsandtheirsupplementalpaymentsinatimelyfashion.
Table5presentsthepercentageofUSPPparticipantsmakingsupplementalpayments,theaveragemonthlyamountofthosepayments,andtheaverage"supplementalarrearage"whichledtothosepayments.Twenty-twopercent(22%)ofPovertyLevelIcustomersforallutilities make supplemental payments. The average monthly supplemental payment is
$37.80,andtheaveragesupplementarrearageamount is $312.26. Twenty-three percent(23%)ofPovertyLevelIIandsixteenpercentofPovertyLevelIIIcustomersaremakingsupplementalpayments.Theaveragemonthlypaymentamountsare$37.35and$52.94,respectively. Theaveragearrearageamountsare$306.21and$189.70,respectively.
Lessthanfivepercent(5%)ofallorcertainPoverty Levels of BGE, Choptank,EastonUtilities,andElktonGaseligiblepopulation are making supplemental payments.SixtypercentormoreoftheeligiblepopulationsofColumbiaGasofMaryland,DelmarvaPowerandLightCompany,andPepcoaremakingsupplementalpayments.
Datafor2004-2005forallutilitiesindicatedthattwenty-onepercentofPovertyLevelIcustomersmake supplemental payments. Theaveragemonthly supplemental payment is
$33.77,andtheaveragesupplementarrearageamountis$421.39.Twenty-sevenpercentofPoverty Level II and eighteen percent of Poverty Level III customers are making
supplemental payments.The average monthly payment amounts are $32.65 and $47.15,respectively. Theaveragearrearageamountsare$360.03and$256.78.
Datacollectedduring1995-1996forallutilitiesindicatedthat52%ofLevelIcustomers,43%ofLevelIIcustomers,and42%ofLevelIIIcustomersweremakingsupplementalpayments. Theaveragemonthly amountofthe supplementalpayments were
$19.56 for Level I customers, $17.26 for Level II customers, and $21.45 for Level IIIcustomers. Theaveragearrearagesonwhichthesupplementalpayments werebased were
$408.40forLevel Icustomers, $364.64forLevel IIcustomers, and $335.79 forLevel III
customers.
ParticipantArrearagesandProgramCompliance
Table6presentsthepercentageofUSPPparticipants,MEAPeligible nonparticipants,andallotherutilityresidentialcustomersinarrearsasofMarch31,2006.InthecaseofUSPPparticipants,thismeansthatthecustomerhasfailedtopaythetotalamountdueonatleastoneequalmonthlybilling.
Overall,2005-2006USPPparticipantsweremorelikelytobeinarrearstotheutilitythaneligiblenon-participants.Forallutilities41%ofUSPPparticipants,32%ofeligiblenon-participants,and15%ofnon-eligiblecustomers arecurrentlyinarrears.Overall,BGEhadthehighestpercentageofUSPPparticipantsinarrearsat55%,anominalincreasefrom54%in2004-2005. ElktonGasServiceshowedasignificantincreaseofprogramparticipantsinarrearsforPovertyLevelIII,upfrom45%inthe2004-2005heatingseasonto79%inthe2005-2006heatingseason.WashingtonGasLightCompany-MarylandDivisiondecreasedfrom62%in2003-2004to23%in2004-2005to 17%in2005-2006. ThismaybeattributedtoWashingtonGasLightCompany'sResidentialEssentialServiceProgramthatrewardslow-incomecustomerswithabillcreditiftheykeeptheirbillscurrent.Lookingatutilitiesindividually,nineutilitiesreporteddecreasedpercentagesofparticipantsinarrears;twoutilitiesreportedanincreaseinthenumberofUSPPparticipantsinarrears;threeshowednochangeatall.Forty-fourpercentofUSPPparticipants,44%ofeligiblenon-participants,and19%ofnon-MEAPcustomerswereinarrearsforthe1995-1996reportingyear.
Overallweightedaveragedataforallutilitiesindicatesthatonly15%ofnon-programparticipantcustomersareinarrears.Non-programparticipantcustomersmaybeleastlikelytohaveanarrearageforseveralreasons.First,thesecustomersaresubjecttoterminationduringthewinterheatingseasoniftheamountpastdueisnotpaid.Second,non-low-incomecustomersusuallyhaveotherfinancialresourcesto"tap"intheeventofanutilityarrearage.Third,non-low-incomecustomersareusuallybetterabletobudgettheirutilitybillsbecausetheutilitybillrepresentsasmallerportionofnetincome.
Table7presentstheaveragedollaramountofarrearagesforUSPPparticipants,eligiblenon-participants,andnon-eligiblecustomerscurrentlyinarrears.Thedollaramountof the overall average arrearage for USPP participants was $317.62for all utilities and
$296.66forMEAPeligiblenon-participants. DelmarvaPowerandLightCompanyhad,by
far,thehighestaveragearrearageforUSPPparticipantsandMEAPeligiblenon-participants,reporting$802.11and$1,079.51,respectively.Ascomparedto2004-2005 data, eightutilitiesreportedincreasedaveragearrearagesforUSPPcustomers,andfourutilitiesreporteddecreasedaveragearrearages.Forallutilitiesthatprovidedserviceinthe2004-2005heatingseasontheoverallweightedaverageforUSPPparticipantsandMEAPeligiblenonparticipantswas$325.47and$324.55respectively.Forthe1995-96heating season theoverallarrearageamountforUSPPparticipantswas$345.02.TheoverallarrearageamountforMEAPeligiblenon-participantswas$378.86;thearrearageamountfornon-MEAPcustomerswas$206.38.
Table8presentsthepercentageofUSPPparticipantswhocompliedwiththepaymentprovisionsoftheprogramfor2005-2006andcomparesthatdatato the previous year'sresults.AccordingtotheUSPPprovisions,acustomercanberemovedfromtheprogramandacustomer'sservicemaybeterminatediftheamountdueontwoconsecutivemonthlybillsisnotpaid.TheMay1stdeadlineforthedatarequest(andthefactthatmostutilitiesneededtopreparedataatleastoneweekearlier)possiblycontributestoanupwardbiasinthecomplianceratespresentedinTable8.Duetothedifferentbillingcycles,mostutilitiesdidnothaveinformationastohowmanywereinarrearsforMarch,andthuspotentiallyinarrearsfortwoconsecutivemonths,atthetimetheirdatawascompiled.
Theoverall2004-2005complianceforallutilitieswas82%,which represents thesamelevelforthelasttwoyears. Datafor1995-1996showsfurtherevidenceofconsistency
incompliance,withtheoverallcomplianceat81%.Overallcompliancedifferedlittlebypovertylevel. Complianceratesvariedconsiderablyforthedifferentutilities.TheoverallcompliancelevelformostutilitieshasincreasedorremainedrelativelyconstantexceptforSMECO,ChesapeakeUtilities-CambridgeGasDivision,andWashingtonGasLightCompany-MarylandGasDivision.DelmarvaPowerandLightCompanyandColumbiaGasofMarylandarestillunabletosupplycompliancenumbersbyPoverty Level. TheoverallcompliancerateforSMECOforthe2005-2006yearwas41%,whichreflectsa42percentagepointdecreasefrom2004-2005.Theoverall compliance levelforWashingtonGasLightCompany-MarylandDivisionincreasedsignificantlyinallPovertyLevels.
HeatingSeasonTerminations
TheprimarypurposeoftheUSPPisthepreventionofserviceterminationsduringtheheatingseason.Table9presentsthenumberofUSPPparticipants,eligiblenon-participants,andnon-MEAPcustomerswhohadtheirserviceterminatedduringtheheatingseason.Threehundredsixty-three(363)USPPparticipants,169MEAPeligiblenon-participants,and5,143non-MEAPcustomerswereterminatedduringthe2005-2006winterheatingseason.Duringthe2004-2005heatingseasontheserviceof487USPPparticipants,205eligiblenonparticipants,and6,666eligiblenon-MEAPcustomerswasterminated.
Asubstantialportionofall(USPP,MEAP,andnon-MEAP)customerterminationsoccurintheserviceterritoriesofBGE,DelmarvaPowerandLightCompany,andPotomacElectricPowerCompany.Twenty-threepercentofUSPPparticipantterminationsoccurredinBGE'sserviceterritory.Twenty-onepercent(21%)ofUSPPparticipantterminationsoccurredinDelmarvaPowerandLightCompany'sterritory.Forty-sixofUSPPterminationsoccurredinPepco'sserviceterritory.AsimilarsituationcontinuesforMEAPeligiblenonparticipants.BGEterminated30or0.7%ofitsMEAPeligiblenon-participants.Whereas,ChesapeakeUtilities(CambridgeGasandCitizensGas)terminated9and13%,respectively.ItappearsthatBGEterminatesmorecustomersascomparedtotheotherutilities.Butwhenathoroughexaminationismade,itcanbedeterminedthatBGEterminateslessthanonepercentofitspopulation.
Datafrom1995-1996indicatedthattherewereover62,581USPPandeligiblenonparticipants. During the 1995-96heating season there were 1,748winter heating season
terminations.AtthattimemostoftheterminationsoccurredintheserviceterritoryofPotomacElectricPowerCompany,DelmarvaPowerandLightCompany,andChesapeakeUtilitiesCitizensGasDivision.
HighEnergyConsumption
Table10presentsthepercentageofUSPPparticipantswho consumed more than135%ofthesystemaveragefortheutilityprovidingservice.In1992,incooperationwiththeWeatherizationAssistanceProgram("WAP"),utilitiesdevelopeda prioritized list ofcustomerseligibleforweatherizationassistance. BGEwasexemptedfrommaintainingalistofalleligiblecustomersusingmorethan135%ofsystemaverageenergyfortheheatingseasonbecauseBGEhascompany-specificlow-incomeweatherizationassistanceprograms.Althoughexemptedfromrespondingtothisquestion,BGErealizedtheimportanceoflowincomecustomerswithenergyusagegreaterthat135%ofthesystemaverage.Therefore,BGEcontinuestocollectdatainthisarea.Forthe2005-2006heatingseason33%ofPovertyLevelI,31%ofPovertyLevelII,and32%ofPovertyLevelIIIparticipantsconsumedmorethan135%ofthesystemaverageenergybetweenNovemberandMarch.Overall,31%ofUSPPcustomersconsumedamountsofelectricityandgasgreaterthan135%ofthesystemaverage.
BGE,ColumbiaGas,DelmarvaPowerandLight,WashingtonGas-FrederickGasDivision,PotomacEdisonandPepcohadamoderatetohighoverallpercentageofUSPPcustomersconsumingmorethan135%of the system average. Choptank ElectricCooperativewasunabletorespondtothisdatarequest.Formostutilities,itisclearthatsignificantnumbersoflow-incomecustomerscouldbenefitfromweatherizationandenergyconservationprograms.
PrimaryHeatSource
Table11presentsthepercentageofUSPPparticipants,eligiblenon-participants,andnon-MEAPcustomerswhoseprimaryheatsourceistheenergyprovidedbytheindicatedutility.Overallforallutilities,75%ofUSPPcustomers, 64%ofeligiblenon-participants,and48%ofnon-MEAPcustomersreceivetheirprimaryheatsourcefromtheutilityresponding to the data request. The 2004-2005 results indicated that 75% of USPP
customers,79%ofeligiblenon-participants,and50%ofnon-MEAPcustomersreceivetheirprimarysourceofheatfromautility.Interestingly,ChoptankElectricCooperativehadonly30%ofitsUSPPcustomersreceivetheirprimaryheatsourcefromtheutility,and100%ofitseligiblenon-participantsreceivedtheirprimaryheatsourcefromtheutility. ChesapeakeUtilitiesCitizens-GasDivision,EastonUtilitiesGasandElectricDivisions,andWashingtonGas-FrederickGasDivisionaretheprimaryheatsourcefor100%oftheirUSPPparticipantsandeligiblenon-participants.
MEAPGrants
Table12presentstheaverageMEAPgrantpayabletotheutilityatthetimeofcustomerenrollment.Mostutilitiesalsoincludedsupplementalawardsintheirreports.Theoverallaverage2005-2006MEAPgrantforallutilitieswas$356.61versus$338.52in2004-2005. Theoverallaverageforallutilitiesvariedfrom$439.44forPovertyLevelIcustomers,
$360.99forPovertyLevelIIcustomers,and$280.65forPovertyLevelIIIcustomers.
Conclusion
TheUtilityServiceProtectionProgramcontinuedtoaccomplish its goal ofminimizingthenumberofserviceterminationsduringthewinterheating season.Theparticipationlevelforthe2005-2006winterheatingseasonshowed8,638moreparticipantsthanforthe1995-1996winterheatingseasonand5,445moreparticipantsthanduringthe2004-2005winterheatingseason.
Datareportedbytheparticipatingutilitycompaniesindicatedthat0.0912percentoftheUSPPpopulation wasterminated duringthe 2005-2006 heating seasonascompared to
0.09percentofparticipantsterminatedinthepreviousyear'sheatingseason.Datafrom1995-1996indicatedthat0.0758percentofUSPPparticipantswereterminatedduringtheheatingseason.ThelownumberofterminationsindicatesthattheUSPPiseffective inkeepinglow-incomecustomers' serviceconnectedduringthewinter.
InadditiontotheUSPP,MEAP,andEUSPprovidingassistancetolow-incomecustomers,allutilitieswhichprovideelectricorgasserviceinMarylandhaveprogramsdedicatedtoassisting low-income customers. Theseprograms aredifferent fromutility to
utility,butallarefocusedonhelpinglow-incomecustomerswithbillingor otherrelatedissues.Somegasorjointutilitiesofferspecializedprogramstotheirlow-incomecustomers.Forexample,WashingtonGasLightCompany("WGL")hasapilotprogram,andBaltimoreGasandElectricCompanyhastwowell-establishedprogramsforlow-incomecustomers.WashingtonGasLightCompanyhasaResidentialEssentialServices4(RES)pilotprogramthathasbeenoperatingsinceJanuary2004.ThisprogramisonlyopentoMEAP-eligiblecustomerswhoarecurrentontheirgasutilitybills.Throughthe2004-2005heatingseason,over2,300RESparticipantshavereceivedover$95,000incashassistancefromtheRESprogram.5
Aspreviouslystated,BaltimoreGasandElectricCompanyhastwowell-establishedprogramsforlow-incomecustomers.ThefirstisCustomerAssistanceMaintenanceProgram(CAMP).6UnderCAMP,USPPparticipantsmayreceiveasmuchasa$144yearlycreditontheirtotalutilitybillsifthecustomerremainscurrentonthemonthlyutilitybill.Lastyear,21,239low-incomecustomersreceived111,266CAMPcreditsor$1,089,164incashassistance.BGEalsooffersthe Conservation Home Improvement Program (CHIP).ThroughCHIP,BGEprovidesfundingforweatherizationmeasuressuchaswallandatticinsulationinstallationandgasfurnacerepairorreplacementforlow-incomecustomers.FundingforCHIP7isprovidedbyBGEinconjunctionwiththeDepartmentofEnergyandtheState ofMarylandWeatherizationProgram.Forcalendaryear2005,322low-incomecustomers'homeswereweatherizedatacostof$651,000.Furnaceswerereplacedin80homesthroughCHIPtotalingover$$270,000.
RespondingtotheUSPPdatarequestinatimelymannerisstillchallengingformanyutilities,theCommissionisworkingonasolutiontothisproblem.
4Fundingforthisprogramisfromtwocomponents. TheCompanycontributes$50,000annuallyandanyadditionalfundingischargedtofirmcustomersthroughtheCompany'sFirmCreditAdjustment.
5TheCompany'sreportonthe2005-2006heatingseasonisnotdueuntilJune30,2006,thereforedata
forthatperiodisnotyetavailabletotheCommission.
6Fundingforthisprogramcomesdirectlyfromavoidedcostsassociatedwithcreditandcollectionsservices.
7Fundingforthisprogramisderivedfromanembeddedgasconservationsurcharge.
Thesurveyresultsofthe2005-2006heatingseasonreflectthecapabilityoftheUtilityServiceProtectionProgram,andtheutilitiesmanagingtheprogram,tobenefitlow-incomecustomers.Terminationsremainedlow.Only0.61%,ofUSPPparticipantswereterminatedduringthewinterheatingseason.8 Sixty-percent(60%)ofallprogram,participants and64%ofeligiblenon-participantswereabletomakecurrentbillpaymentsinatimelymanneravoidingarrearages.Althoughthe2005-2006heatingseasonresultsalonedonotindicatetheneedforimmediatechangesintheUSPPforthe2005-2006heatingseason,theevolutionoftheElectricUniversalServiceProgramandgasandelectricchoiceprogramsmayleadtoacomprehensivereviewofUSPPandrelatedprogramswithinthenextfewyears.
Thisnumberdoesnotreflectthenumberofterminationsthatoccurwhenthewinterheatingseasonofficiallyends. UtilitycompaniesterminatemanyconsumersAprill51orsomedaythereafterbecausesomecustomersdonotpaytheirutilitiesbillsduringthewinter. Manycustomersareawarethattheirutilityserviceprobablywillnotbeterminatedduringthewintertherefore,theysimplydonotpaytheirutilitybill.
TABLE1
NUMBEROF2005-2006USPPCUSTOMERSANDELIGIBLENON-PARTICIPATINGCUSTOMERSBYPOVERTYLEVEL
UTILITY / USPPParticipants / Elb.dbleNon-Participants / Overall0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / Total / 0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / Total / Total
BaltimoreGasElectric / 7,959 / 5,721 / 20,649 / 34,329 / 1,579 / 748 / 2,504 / 4,831 / 39,160
ChesapeakeUtilities
CambridgeGasDivision / 21 / 17 / 14 / 52 / 110 / 138 / 67 / 315 / 367
CitizensGasDivision / 19 / 31 / 22 / 72 / 122 / 257 / 228 / 607 / 679
ChoptankElectricCooperative / 614 / 608 / 539 / 1,761 / 2 / 1 / 3 / 6 / 1,767
ColumbiaGasofMaryland / 500 / 462 / 498 / 1,460 / 261 / 307 / 431 / 999 / 2,459
DelmarvaPowerLight / 1,995 / 1,493 / 1,330 / 4,818 / 404 / 305 / 309 / 1,018 / 5,836
EastonUtilities
Electric / 71 / 46 / 46 / 163 / 103 / 94 / 92 / 289 / 452
Gas / 14 / 8 / 12 / 34 / 56 / 44 / 37 / 137 / 171
ElktonGasService / 95 / 64 / 43 / 202 / 50 / 46 / 79 / 175 / 377
WashingtonGas-FrederickGasDivision / 94 / 37 / 44 / 175 / 111 / 79 / 84 / 274 / 449
HagerstownMunicipalElectric / ** / ** / ** / ** / 48 / 225 / 32 / 305 / 305
WashingtonGas-MarylandDivision / 1,569 / 942 / 963 / 3,474 / 106 / 85 / 187 / 378 / 3,852
MayorCouncil-Berlin / 4 / 9 / 11 / 24 / 7 / 20 / 57 / 84 / 108
PotomacEdison / 1,083 / 1,373 / 1,279 / 3,735 / 559 / 424 / 355 / 1,338 / 5,073
PotomacElectricPowerCompany / 2,095 / 1,619 / 4,174 / 7,888 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 2 / 7,890
SomersetRuralElectricCooperative / 13 / 40 / 44 / 97 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 97
SouthernMarylandElectricCooperative / 200 / 99 / 145 / 444 / 551 / 340 / 271 / 1,162 / 1,606
TOTALS: / 16,346 / 12,569 / 29,813 / 58,728 / 4,069 / 3,115 / 4,736 / 11,920 / 70,648
**OperatesapprovedalternateUSPP
TABLE2
USPPPARTICIPATIONASAPERCENTOFTOTALELIGIBLEFOREACHPOVERTYLEVEL,2005-2006AND2004-2005
UTILITY / 2005-2006Particioation / 2004-2005Particioation0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / Overall / 0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / Overall
BaltimoreGasElectric / 83% / 88% / 89% / 88% / 86% / 88% / 93% / 91%
Chesapeake Utilities
CambridgeGasDivision / 16% / 11% / 17% / 15% / 13% / 13% / 23% / 20%
CitizensGasDivision / 13% / 11% / 9% / 11% / 17% / 13% / 10% / 13%
ChoptankElectricCooperative / 100% / 100% / 99% / 100% / 100% / 99% / 99% / 99%
ColumbiaGasofMaryland / 66% / 60% / 54% / 60% / 72% / 66% / 67% / 67%
DelmarvaPowerLight / 83% / 83% / 81% / 83% / 85% / 80% / 84% / 83%
EastonUtilities
Electric / 41% / 33% / 33% / 36% / 56% / 52% / 40% / 48%
Gas / 20% / 15% / 24% / 20% / 21% / 42% / 50% / 43%
ElktonGasService / 66% / 58% / 35% / 54% / 72% / 67% / 70% / 69%
WashingtonGas-FrederickGasDivision / 46% / 32% / 34% / 39% / 27% / 38% / 36% / 36%
HagerstownMunicipalElectric / ** / ** / ** / ** / ** / ** / ** / **
WashingtonGas-MarylandDivision / 94% / 92% / 84% / 90% / 94% / 76% / 75% / 80%
MayorCouncil-Berlin / 36% / 31% / 16% / 22% / 29% / 44% / 46% / 44%
PotomacEdison / 66% / 76% / 78% / 74% / 87% / 86% / 88% / 87%
PotomacElectricPowerCompany / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100%
SomersetRuralElectricCooperative / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100%
SouthernMarylandElectricCooperative / 27% / 23% / 35% / 28% / 32% / 34% / 35% / 34%
ALLUTILITIES: / 84% / 86% / 88% / 86% / 85% / 86% / 92% / 89%
**TheCityofHagerstown offersanapprovedalternateUSPPtoallMEAPeligiblecustomers
PERCENTAGEOF2005-2006USPPPARTICIPANTSWHOALSOPARTICIPATEDINTHEPROGRAMDURINGTHE2004-2005HEATINGSEASON
UTILITY / Povert Level0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / Overall
BaltimoreGasElectric / 49% / 58% / 63% / 59%
Chesapeake,CitizensGas / 5% / 10% / 14% / 10%
ChoptankElectricCooperative / 20% / 17% / 18% / 18%
ColumbiaGasofMaryland / * / * / * / *
DelmarvaPowerLight / 38% / 42% / 37% / 39%
EastonUtilities
Electric / 46% / 54% / 41% / 47%
Gas / 57% / 75% / 50% / 59%
WashingtonGas-FrederickGasDivision / 1% / 0% / 0% / 1%
WashingtonGas-MarylandDivision / 81% / 76% / 71% / 77%
PotomacEdison / 32% / 68% / 66% / 57%
PotomacElectricPowerCompany / 55% / 75% / 62% / 63%
SouthernMarylandElectricCooperative / * / * / *
ALLUTILITIES: / 47% / 55% / 60% / 55%
*DataisNotAvailable
AVERAGEEQUALMONTHLYPAYMENTSANDAVERAGEACTUALMONTHLYHEATINGSEASONUSAGEFOR2005-2006USPPPARTICIPANTSBYPOVERTYLEVEL
UTILITY / Averae:eMonthlyPayments($) / Avera2eActualMonthlyUsae;e($)*0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / Overall / 0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / Overall
BaltimoreGasElectric / 140.00 / 143.00 / 125.00 / 131.48 / 245.08 / 241.24 / 217.43 / 227.81
Chesapeake,CitizensGas / 97.00 / 108.00 / 114.00 / 106.93 / 177.40 / 180.00 / 172.40 / 176.99
ChoptankElectricCooperative / 85.00 / 82.00 / 93.00 / 86.41 / ** / ** / ** / 124.62
ColumbiaGasofMaryland / 86.04 / 92.12 / 97.31 / 91.81 / 215.34 / 217.55 / 208.99 / 213.87
DelmarvaPowerLight / 97.17 / 98.72 / 101.57 / 98.86 / 106.09 / 108.95 / 106.82 / 107.18
EastonUtilities
Electric / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 161.00 / 113.00 / 120.00 / 135.88
Gas / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 114.00 / 155.00 / 95.00 / 116.94
WashingtonGas-FrederickGasDivision / 86.00 / 87.00 / 86.00 / 86.21 / 155.00 / 148.60 / 151.40 / 152.74
WashingtonGas-MarylandDivision / 99.33 / 107.05 / 105.85 / 103.23 / 153.11 / 153.88 / 122.06 / 144.71
PotomacEdison / 83.00 / 81.00 / 81.00 / 81.58 / 51.60 / 48.60 / 48.20 / 49.33
PotomacElectricPowerCompany / 59.00 / 54.00 / 65.00 / 61.15 / 96.00 / 98.00 / 101.00 / 99.06
SouthernMarylandElectricCooperative / 121.27 / 122.40 / 109.32 / 117.62 / 170.78 / 178.84 / 176.85 / 174.56
ALLUTILITIESWEIGHTEDAVERAGE: / 91.47 / 101.16 / 107.33 / 109.73 / 168.85 / 144.65 / 173.56 / 163.73
AveragemonthlyusageforfivebillingmonthsofNov.-March
*Utilityisunabletosupplydate
**NotAvailablebyPovertyLevel
TABLES
PERCENTAGEOF2005-2006USPPCUSTOMERSMAKINGSUPPLEMENATALPAYMENTS*,THEAVERAGEDOLLARAMOUNTOFTHOSEPAYMENTS, ANDTHEAVERAGE ARREARAGEREQUIRINGPAYMENTSBYPOVERTYLEVEL
Percentageof USPPCustomersAverageMonthlyAmountofAverage SupplementalArrearage
UTILITYMakin!!SunnlementalPavmentsSunnlementalPayments($)($)
0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / 0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / 0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150%BaltimoreGasElectric / 0.214% / 0.192% / 0.228% / 99.00 / 137.00 / 130.00 / 689.00 / 1081.00 / $974.00
Chesapeake
CambridgeGas / ** / ** / ** / ** / ** / ** / ** / ** / **
CitizensGas / 5% / 13% / 0% / 67.00 / 65.00 / 0.00 / 400.00 / 306.00 / 0.00
ChoptankElectricCooperative / 0% / 0% / 0% / *** / *** / *** / *** / *** / ***
ColumbiaGasof Maryland / 73% / 66% / 61% / 17.00 / 21.60 / 26.31 / 400.02 / 389.03 / 333.68
DelmarvaPowerLight / 62% / 58% / 63% / 11.70 / 13.78 / 17.56 / 642.32 / 641.63 / 608.63
EastonUtilities
Electric / 14% / 9% / 17% / 83.00 / 135.00 / 103.00 / 211.00 / 286.00 / 220.00
Gas / 0% / 0% / 17% / 130.00 / 0.00 / 150.00 / 382.00 / 0.00 / 466.00
ElktonGasService / 0% / 0% / 0% / 23 / 21 / 20 / 302 / 250 / 241
WashingtonGas-FrederickGasDivision / 16% / 32% / 20% / 0.00 / 0.00 / 25.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 294.00
WashingtonGas-MarylandDivision / 4% / 3% / 3% / 97.07 / 107.11 / 104.25 / 342.33 / 349.47 / 378.73
MayorCouncil-Berlin / 0% / 11% / 27% / ** / ** / ** / ** / ** / **
PotomacEdison / 30% / 27% / 34% / 42.00 / 40.00 / 42.00 / 384.00 / 412.00 / 365.00
PotomacElectricPowerCompany / 76% / 78% / 74% / 59.00 / 54.00 / 65.00 / 22.00 / 21.00 / 24.00
SouthernMarylandElectircCooperativE / 11% / 10% / 7% / 31.53 / 11.71 / 32.50 / 323.55 / 262.29 / 378.28
IALLUTILITm:SWEIGHT.EU
AVERAGE / 22% / 23% / 16% / 37.80 / 37.35 / 52.94 / 312.26 / 306.21 / 189.70
*UnderCOMAR20.31.01.08**Notrequiredtoprovidethisinform ***Requireddatanotsupplied.
TABLE6
PERCENTAGE OF2005-2006USPPPARTICIPANTS, MEAPELIGIBLECUSTOMERSANDNON-MEAPCUSTOMERSINARREARS*BYPOVERTYLEVEL
UTILITY / USPPParticipants / Eli1!ibleNon-Participants / Non-MEAP0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / Overall / 0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150o/i / Overall / Customers
BaltimoreGasElectric / 61% / 52% / 53% / 55% / 48% / 46% / 49% / 48% / 8%
ChesapeakeUtilities
CambridgeGasDivision / 10% / 6% / 7% / 8% / 52% / 41% / 48% / 46% / 28%
CitizensGasDivision / 0% / 10% / 14% / 8% / 43% / 39% / 33% / 38% / 18%
ChoptankElectricCooperative / 8% / 8% / 11% / 9% / 50% / 0% / 67% / 50% / 15%
ColumbiaGasofMaryland / 33% / 24% / 19% / 25% / 24% / 17% / 18% / 19% / 34%
DelmarvaPowerLight / 33% / 30% / 36% / 33% / 34% / 28% / 29% / 31% / 46%
EastonUtilities
Electric / 8% / 2% / 9% / 7% / 10% / 12% / 5% / 9% / 4%
Gas / 0% / 0% / 17% / 6% / 4% / 9% / 3% / 5% / 11%
ElktonGasService / 35% / 36% / 79% / 45% / 52% / 28% / 34% / 38% / 19%
WashingtonGas-FrederickGasDivision / 45% / 32% / 18% / 35% / 0% / 37% / 33% / 41% / 16%
CityofHagerstown / *** / *** / *** / *** / 50% / 19% / 34% / 26% / 12%
WashingtonGas-MarylandDivision / 17% / 18% / 17% / 17% / 31% / 16% / 37% / 31% / 22%
MayorCouncil-Berlin / 0% / 0% / 9% / 5% / 14% / 40% / 53% / 46% / 15%
PotomacEdison / 25% / 10% / 10% / 14% / 13% / 7% / 10% / 10% / 12%
PotomacElectricPowerCompany / 21% / 17% / 22% / 21% / na / 0% / 0% / 0% / 16%
SomersetRuralElectricCooperative / * / * / * / * / * / * / * / * / *
SouthernMarylandElectricCooperative / 3% / 1% / 1% / 2% / 17% / 8% / 4% / 11% / 39%
WEIGHTEDAVERAGEALL
UTILITIES: / 41% / 34% / 43% / 41% / 32% / 25% / 36% / 32% / 15%
*CustomerisinarrearsifsomemonthlybillingispastdueonMarch31,2004
**NotAvailable
***OperatesapprovedalternateUSPPnaNocustomersinthiscategory
s
TABLE7
AVERAGEARREARAGEFOR2005-2006USPPPA.RTICIPANTS,MEAPELIGIBLECUSTOMERSANDNON-MEAPCUSTOMERSINARREARS*BYPOVERTYLEVEL
UTILITYUSPPParticipants($1MEAPElie:ibleNon-Participants($)Non-MEAP
0-50o/o / 51-lOOo/o / 101-150% / Overall / 0-50o/o / 51-lOOo/o / 101-1500/o / Overall / Customers($)BaltimoreGasElectric / 349.00 / 333.00 / 279.00 / 305.50 / 290.00 / 289.00 / 257.00 / 272.45 / 355.00
Chesapeake,CitizensGas / 0.00 / 61.00 / 107.00 / 84.00 / 178.00 / 162.00 / 157.00 / 163.97 / 165.00
ChoptankElectricCooperative / 422.31 / 460.19 / 428.08 / 435.81 / 299.27 / 97.44 / 690.31 / 340.03 / 164.58
ColumbiaGasofMaryland / 220.13 / 231.19 / 290.69 / 241.40 / 237.40 / 200.36 / 274.67 / 233.43 / 183.68
DelmarvaPowerLight / 655.93 / 663.10 / 631.40 / 650.49 / 901.00 / 796.51 / 734.12 / 823.86 / 273.92
EastonUtilities
Electric / 352.00 / 800.00 / 272.00 / 363.64 / 365.00 / 409.00 / 692.00 / 446.50 / 730.00
Gas / 298.00 / 0.00 / 507.00 / 402.50 / 566.00 / 746.00 / 367.00 / 603.88 / 900.00
WashingtonGas-FrederickGasDivision / 147.00 / 89.00 / 287.00 / 153.84 / 256.00 / 284.00 / 236.00 / 258.27 / 96.00
WashingtonGas-MarylandDivision / 193.00 / 195.00 / 220.00 / 201.03 / 362.41 / 335.30 / 392.46 / 377.14 / 309.40
PotomacEdison / 142.00 / 161.00 / 137.00 / 145.81 / 187.00 / 172.00 / 166.00 / 178.44 / 94.00
PotomacElectricPowerCompany / 251.00 / 253.00 / 278.00 / 266.49 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 147.00
SouthernMarylandElectircCooperative / 19.00 / 78.00 / 6.00 / 24.75 / 636.29 / 575.40 / 314.88 / 596.30 / 130.40
OverallWeightedAverage: / 352.34 / 347.03 / 289.86 / 317.62 / 339.35 / 286.58 / 268.41 / 296.66 / 251.82
*CustomerisinarrearsifsomemonthlybillingispastdueonMarch31,2004
**NotAvailablebyPovertyLevel
TABLE8
PERCENTAGE OFUSPPPARTICIPANTSWHOCOMPLIEDWITHPROGRAMPAYMENTPROVISIONS2005-2006and2004-2005BYPOVERTYLEVEL
UTILITY / Compliance2005-2006 / Compliance2004-20050-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / Overall / 0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / Overall
BaltimoreGasElectric / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100%
ChesapeakeUtilities
CambridgeGasDivision / 67% / 76% / 86% / 75% / 40% / 100% / 86% / 85%
CitizensGasDivision / 63% / 65% / 82% / 69% / 67% / 92% / 92% / 86%
ChoptankElectricCooperative / 89% / 89% / 92% / 90% / 91% / 94% / 99% / 95%
ColumbiaGasofMaryland / * / * / * / * / * / * / * / *
DelmarvaPowerLight / * / * / * / 45% / * / * / * / 41%
EastonUtilities
Electric / 90% / 100% / 91% / 93% / 88% / 96% / 97% / 95%
Gas / 0% / 100% / 83% / 94% / 0% / 90% / 100% / 89%
ElktonGasService / 97% / 88% / 81% / 91% / 95% / 99% / 98% / 98%
WashingtonGas-FrederickGasDivision / 87% / 84% / 80% / 85% / 100% / 100% / 97% / 97%
HagerstownMunicipalElec. / ** / ** / ** / ** / ** / ** / ** / **
WashingtonGas-MarylandDivision / 55% / 63% / 64% / 60% / 10% / 39% / 47% / 36%
MayorCouncil-Berlin / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100%
PotomacEdison / 83% / 92% / 92% / 90% / 90% / 94% / 94% / 93%
PotomacElectricPowerCompany / 76% / 78% / 74% / 76% / 69% / 83% / 73% / 76%
SomersetRuralElectricCooperative / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100%
SouthernMarylandElectricCooperative / 47% / 41% / 33% / 41% / 84% / 81% / 84% / 83%
ALLUTILITIES: / 75% / 76% / 88% / 82% / 78% / 78% / 85% / 82%
*Unabletosupplydata,thereforecomparisonisunavailable
**OperatesapprovedalternateUSPP
***NoUSPPparticipants
TABLE9
NUMBEROF2005-2006WINTERHEATINGSEASONTERMINATIONS
UTILITY / USPPParticipants / MEAPEli2ibleNon-Participants / Non-MEAP0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / Total / 0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / Total / Customers
BaltimoreGasElectric / 36 / 17 / 31 / 84 / 16 / 4 / 10 / 30 / 716
ChesapeakeUtilities
CambridgeGasDivision / 2 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 12 / 8 / 9 / 29 / 68
CitizensGasDivision / 1 / 4 / 1 / 6 / 20 / 34 / 25 / 79 / 352
ChoptankElectricCooperative / 1 / 3 / 3 / 7 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 168
ColumbiaGasofMaryland / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 88
DelmarvaPowerLight / 38 / 20 / 21 / 79 / 8 / 3 / 8 / 19 / 997
EastonUtilities
Electric / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 43
Gas / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
ElktonGasService / 7 / 5 / 5 / 17 / 4 / 4 / 3 / 11 / 126
WashingtonGas-FrederickGasDivision / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
HagerstownMunicipalElectric / ** / ** / ** / ** / 0 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 11
WashingtonGas-MarylandDivision / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
MayorCouncil-Berlin / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 14
PotomacEdison / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
PotomacElectricPowerCompany / 46 / 30 / 92 / 168 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2,542
SomersetRuralElectricCooperative / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
SouthernMarylandElectricCooperative / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 18
TOTALS: / * / * / * / 363 / * / * / * / 169 / 5,143
*Datanotavailablebypovetylevel
**OperatesapprovedalternateUSPP
TABLE10
PERCENTAGEOFUSPPPARTICIPANTSWHOCONSUMEDMORETHAN135%OFSYSTEMAVERAGEENERGYFORNOVEMBER2005-MARCH2006
UTILITY / PovertyLevel0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / Overall
BaltimoreGasElectric / 44% / 43% / 32% / 36%
Chesapeake,CitizensGas / 5% / 10% / 14% / 10%
ChoptankElectricCooperative / ** / ** / ** / **
ColumbiaGasofMaryland / * / * / * / 21%
DelmarvaPowerLight / 30% / 32% / 33% / 31%
EastonUtilities..
Electric / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Gas / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
WashingtonGas-FrederickGasDivision / 56% / 57% / 68% / 59%
WashingtonGas-MarylandDivision / 2% / 5% / 4% / 3%
PotomacEdison / 63% / 37% / 40% / 45%
PotomacElectricPowerCompany / 25% / 27% / 29% / 27%
SouthernMarylandElectircCooperative / 7% / 15% / 12% / 10%
AllUtilities: / 33% / 3 / 1% / 29% / 31%
*Utilityprovidesimprovedweatherizationprioritylistandisnolongerrequiredtomaintainthisdata
**Utilityisunabletorespondtodatarequest
TABLE11
PERCENTAGEOF2005-2006USPPPARTICIPANTS,MEAPELIGIBLECUSTOMERS,ANDNON-MEAPCUSTOMERSWHOSEPRIMARYHEATSOURCEISPROVIDEDBYTHEUTILITYBYPOVERTYLEVEL
UTILITY / USPPParticipants / EligibleNon-Participants / Non-MEAP0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / Overall / 0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / Overall / Customers
BaltimoreGasElectric / 79% / 83% / 84% / 83% / 42% / 81% / 39% / 47% / 47%
Chesapeake,CitizensGas / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 91%
ChoptankElectricCooperative / 32% / 2,8% / 29% / 30% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 17%
ColumbiaGasofMaryland / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 97% / 94% / 94% / 95% / 94%
DelmarvaPowerLight / 63% / 64% / 57% / 61% / 96% / 96% / 97% / 96% / 46%
EastonUtilities
Electric / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / *
Gas / 0% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / *
WashingtonGas-FrederickGasDivision / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100%
CityofHagerstown / *** / *** / *** / *** / * / * / * / * / *
WashingtonGas-MarylandDivision / 100% / 99% / 100% / 100% / 99% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 99%
PotomacEdison / 70% / 66% / 65% / 67% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 39%
PotomacElectricPowerCompany / 59% / 52% / 46% / 53% / n/a / 50% / 0% / 50% / *
SouthernMarylandElectricCooperative / 57% / 72% / 65% / 64% / 60% / 74% / 77% / 68% / 28%
TOTALS: / 74% / 73% / 76% / 75% / 66% / 78% / 61% / 64% / 48%
*NotAvailable
***OperatesapprovedalternateUSPP
TABLE12
AVERAGEMARYLANDENERGYASSISTANCEPROGRAMGRANT*FOR2005-2006AND2004-2005USPPPARTICIPANTSBYPOVERTYLEVEL
UTILITYAverage2005-2006Grant($)Average2004-2005Grant$)
0-50% / 51-100% / 101-150% / Overall / 0-50% / 51-lOOo/o / 101-150% / OverallBaltimoreGasElectric / 598.00 / 484.00 / 287.00 / 391.93 / 576.00 / 391.00 / 312.00 / 386.37
Chesapeake,CitizensGas / 506.00 / 356.00 / 320.00 / 384.58 / 506.00 / 356.00 / 320.00 / 384.58
ChoptankElectricCooperative / 301.00 / 252.00 / 201.00 / 253.47 / 490.00 / 330.00 / 230.00 / 319.13
ColumbiaGasofMaryland / 554.73 / 548.69 / 554.57 / 552.76 / 349.28 / 344.52 / 312.74 / 332.68
DelmarvaPowerLight / 187.63 / 181.09 / 164.21 / 177.57 / 357.00 / 298.00 / 234.00 / 286.01
EastonUtilities
Electric / 189.00 / 167.00 / 247.00 / 199.16 / 230.00 / 350.00 / 230.00 / 290.41
Gas / 316.00 / 273.00 / 134.00 / 241.65 / 528.00 / 400.00 / 320.00 / 375.11
WashingtonGas-FrederickGasDivision / 249.00 / 311.00 / 276.00 / 268.90 / 528.00 / 400.00 / 320.00 / 344.72
WashingtonGas-MarylandDivision / 673.00 / 682.00 / 592.00 / 652.99 / 569.00 / 437.00 / 354.00 / 431.64
PotomacEdison / 146.00 / 118.00 / 104.00 / 121.32 / 283.00 / 216.00 / 171.00 / 211.79
PotomacElectricPowerCompany / 310.00 / 310.00 / 310.00 / 310.00 / 291.00 / 291.00 / 291.00 / 291.00
SouthernMarylandElectircCooperative / 232.78 / 231.39 / 186.23 / 217.27 / 354.72 / 287.17 / 231.59 / 275.38
ALLUTILITIES: / 439.41 / 360.99 / 280.65 / 356.60 / 472.68 / 288.67 / 284.93 / 351.72
*Averagegrantpayabletotheutilityatthetimeofcustomeremollmentplussupplementalawards(ifany).