Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 24, June 15, 2024
Section 69.195 - Fitness of natural gas marketer or broker (including an LDC's affiliate)(a)Fitness of brokers and marketers.(1) Unless otherwise stated, the phrase marketers or brokers, or both, includes all local distribution company (LDC) affiliates, subsidiaries, parents, divisions, and the like providing gas supply to the respective LDC's customers.(2) To retain reliable service when the gas industry unbundles, the Commission seeks to insure that brokers and marketers operating in this Commonwealth possess the financial or technical, or both, fitness necessary to meet their obligations consistent with the public interest in system reliability and gas supplies. As assurance of the continuation of reliable service and secure supplies is a prerequisite for opening Pennsylvania's gas markets to full retail competition, both new and incumbent providers of gas should be fully capable of providing reliable service and supplies.(3) The LDCs should address the issue of financial and technical fitness in their tariffs, in consultation with marketers or brokers, to assure the reliability of supplies to the end user and the public interest in system reliability. The LDCs should also address the matter of enforcement in any tariff, developed in consultation with customers, marketers or brokers, submitted in adherence to this section.(b)Demonstration of fitness to deliver gas. Gas suppliers that wish to deliver gas to retail customers should demonstrate that they have the requisite financial and technical fitness to meet their obligations to customers consistent with the public interest in system reliability and LDC's underlying supplier-of-last-resort obligation. The financial and technical fitness is expected for any marketer or broker that wants to serve any or all retail commercial, industrial or retail classes. Financial and technical fitness is aimed at ensuring that a marketer or broker has the requisite ability to offer service to the public.(c)Nondiscriminatory transportation tariff rules. The LDCs may offer nondiscriminatory transportation tariff rules, developed in consultation with marketers or brokers, governing the qualifications of marketers and brokers. The rules should be consistent with any registration requirements for marketers and brokers of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The tariff rules should address the following: (i) Financial fitness, including the ability to comply with any penalties stemming from nonperformance or in response to changed circumstances.(ii) Operational fitness, including the ability of the firm to meet peak demand of contracted customers which could be met by a showing of sufficient gas reserves or sufficient supply and capacity to meet the maximum daily delivery obligations with sufficient emergency back up supplies.(2) The information expected by this section should be as generic as possible and be limited to the information needed for system reliability and performance of an LDC's supplier-of-last-resort obligations. The information expected by this section should avoid information wanted solely or largely for an LDC's merchant function. The information expected by this section should avoid mandating the disclosure of specific and commercially sensitive information such as price, origin, destination, and the like. Information provided to an LDC as part of its system reliability and supplier-of-last-resort obligations may not be provided to an LDC's affiliate as part an LDC's merchant operations.The provisions of this § 69.195 adopted August 15, 1997, effective 8/16/1997, 27 Pa.B. 4109.