two IOUs to further refine, and harmonize across the three IOUs, the metrics and M&E activities required to assess the various ME& O approaches. While these measures will help to gauge the success of the default pilot, their primary purpose is to inform the operational requirements and ME&O needed for the subsequent rollout of default TOU to the remainder of eligible residential customers. Thus, we decline to tie default pilot cost recovery to achievement on these metrics. Budget and Cost Recovery SDG&E estimates default pilot implementation costs of approximately $20.4 million over the period of 2016-2019, and proposes to record these costs in its RRRMA. $10 million of this total is budgeted for staff augmentation to support customer billing and associated customer offerings such as My Account. SDG&E’s existing customer information system has difficulty implementing billing calculations that include elements such as interval meter data and bill protection. As a result, SDG&E anticipates that a large number of customer bills will require manual review and/or processing. SDG&E refers to these as “billing exceptions.” SDG&E will propose to replace its customer information system in its upcoming 2017 General Rate Case Phase I (GRC I). However, if approved, the new system would not go live until 2021, well after the default pilot and the anticipated full default rollout. Default TOU for residential customers has been a possibility since AB 327 (Perea) was passed in 2013 and D.15-07-001 was voted out in 2015. SDG&E has had ample time to consider the potential customer information system needs and impacts of defaulting residential customers to TOU rates. It is SDG&E’s responsibility to assess its infrastructure needs to provide service (including billing service) to its customers and to request recovery of the associated costs in its GRC I. Therefore, we do not authorize SDG&E to record expenses associated with billing exceptions in its RRMA. SDG&E additionally estimates a generation revenue shortfall of $1.5 million related to providing bill protection. This revenue shortfall will be recovered across all of SDG&E’s residential generation customers.
two IOUs to further refine, and harmonize across the three IOUs, the metrics and M&E activities required to assess the various ME& O approaches. While these measures will help to gauge the success of the default pilot, their primary purpose is to inform the operational requirements and ME&O needed for the subsequent rollout of default TOU to the remainder of eligible residential customers. Thus, we decline to tie default pilot cost recovery to achievement on these metrics. Budget and Cost Recovery SDG&E estimates default pilot implementation costs of approximately $20.4 million over the period of 2016-2019, and proposes to record these costs in its RRRMA. $10 million of this total is budgeted for staff augmentation to support customer billing and associated customer offerings such as My Account. SDG&E’s existing customer information system has difficulty implementing billing calculations that include elements such as interval meter data and bill protection. As a result, SDG&E anticipates that a large number of customer bills will require manual review and/or processing. SDG&E refers to these as “billing exceptions.” SDG&E will propose to replace its customer information system in its upcoming 2017 General Rate Case Phase I (GRC I). However, if approved, the new system would not go live until 2021, well after the default pilot and the anticipated full default rollout. Default TOU for residential customers has been a possibility since AB 327 (Perea) was passed in 2013 and D.15-07-001 was voted out in 2015. SDG&E has had ample time to consider the potential customer information system needs and impacts of defaulting residential customers to TOU rates. It is SDG&E’s responsibility to assess its infrastructure needs to provide service (including billing service) to its customers and to request recovery of the associated costs in its GRC I. Therefore, we do not authorize SDG&E to record expenses associated with billing exceptions in its RRMA. SDG&E additionally estimates a generation revenue shortfall of $1.5 million related to providing bill protection. This revenue shortfall will be recovered across all of SDG&E’s residential generation customers.