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OCC presses Eversource on DERMS, storage dispatch fees and legacy DER portal accounting; company agrees to supplement record
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Summary
Office of Consumer Counsel questioned Eversource about billing cadence for third‑party DERMS and storage dispatch fees, estimated portal update costs, and why a DER portal that was fully depreciated in mid‑2023 appeared in 2024 reconciliations; the company agreed to file a supplement to clarify discrepancies referenced from earlier dockets.
The Office of Consumer Counsel pressed Eversource on late‑file exhibits outlining costs tied to distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS), storage dispatch fees and updates to the DER portal, and questioned why a DER portal that was fully depreciated as of mid‑2023 nevertheless appeared in an earlier reconciliation table for rates effective July 1, 2024.
Nut graf: OCC attorney Tom Wheel sought month‑by‑month detail and billing cadence for several vendor fees in exhibit schedules, and pushed the company to explain differences between capital additions and expenditures reported in prior dockets. Eversource agreed to prepare a written supplement to reconcile three cited documents.
What was discussed: Eversource explained that one vendor billed twice a year for DERMS implementation and platform fees and that the company allocated portions of those fees to different program lines, including C&I (CNI) dispatch and residential platforms. On the record, Eversource said the $34,728 entries reflected a vendor billed twice annual structure and that the first year included higher implementation fees for setup, after which the charge would be a software‑as‑a‑service fee.
Specifics and estimates in testimony: The panel explained that a $25,000 line represented an annual residential platform fee and a separate $25,000 estimate represented device pricing (estimated at $50 per battery for 500 batteries). Eversource described a $15,000 estimate for DER portal changes as costs for updating interconnection portal fields to accommodate battery interconnection and program‑specific information.
DER portal depreciation question: OCC pointed to a docket 20‑0301 compliance filing and a 06/04/2021 exhibit that showed capital program entries for a DER portal project. OCC asked why the portal—reported as fully depreciated mid‑2023—appeared as a $250,788 capital cost in a table for rates effective 07/01/2024. Eversource replied that early responses were prepared from preliminary book‑closing data and that a supplement (filed later) removed the portal item; the panel offered to provide a written supplement to reconcile differences across the filings.
Administrative outcome: The parties agreed on the record that Eversource would file "Late File 13 Supplement 1" to respond to three identified documents (docket 20‑0301 exhibit D row 7‑91; LFE 13 attachment 1; and MBFMCC filing exhibit 3 page 26). The commission accepted the request and the company agreed to make its best effort to file the supplement by noon June 18 (company said it would try to file by June 18 and noted June 19 is a state holiday).
Ending: Transcript entries show detailed allocation and billing discussions and a commitment to supply a written supplement to resolve discrepancies between the earlier docket filings and the late‑file exhibits now in evidence.
