The Georgia Public Service Commission (GPSC) unanimously decidedlast week to allow customers to switch from Atlanta Gas Light (AGL)after the previously-determined Aug. 11 deadline, the date when theCommission determines market share among the competing suppliers.Commissioner Robert Baker said the vote will help dispel the rumorof Aug. 11 being a drop-dead date.

“On Aug. 11, the GPSC will take a snapshot of the market, thenbegin the process that will allocate customers according to marketshare. We feel it is important for people to still be able toswitch from AGL after Aug. 11.”

Baker said the only serious opposition to the vote came fromScana. “Scana felt all customer choice should terminate after theAug. 11 deadline, but that is not what the law says,” Baker said.

Scana accrued the largest number of customers since the statederegulated in November with over 300,000 of the 700,000 totalswitches. After obtaining 40% of the market share, Scana halted itsmarketing efforts. Other marketers are still active, and thisdecision gives them more time to make up ground. Baker said GeorgiaNatural Gas is marketing to customers who haven’t left AGL yet bypromoting itself as a sister company of the gas utility.

Baker also conceded that problems may arise from this decision.Customers who switch after the deadline run the risk of stillending up on a random assignment list. “There will probably be somesnafus,” Baker said. “If a customer switches after the deadline andthe paperwork isn’t processed by the time the random assignmentlists are made up, some confusion might result. The company chosenby the customer will override anything else. Hopefully this willonly happen to a manageable amount of people.”

Last month, the GPSC determined there was enough marketcompetition to begin phasing AGL out of the merchant function. TheCommission notified all customers who hadn’t already switched fromAGL that they had 100 days to do so. After the 100-day period,which ends Aug. 11, the GPSC will assign any customers who haven’tswitched from the utility to a marketer on a market share basis.

John Norris

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