LANSING – The Public Service Commission on Friday released its annual report on video services competition, boasting that since the law regarding the reporting of video services competition (PA 480 of 2006) took effect, the number of municipalities reported having two or more video/cable providers offering service has more than doubled from 53 to 105.

But the number of communities having two or more providers still pales in comparison to those that only had one provider. While 105 communities could report two or more (24 communities with three providers, 81 communities with two), a total of 247 communities reported having one provider and 21 communities had no providers, the report said.

Not including satellite subscribers, the report did find an increase of more than 2,100 video/cable customers from last year – a total of 2,316,197 in Michigan.

Comcast, Charter Communications and AT&T Michigan (U-verse) were the top three providers in the state. Perhaps accordingly, those three companies also saw the most complaints filed with the commission: 51 percent regarded Comcast, 15 percent involved AT&T Michigan and 14 percent were about Charter.

Despite the increase in video/cable customers in the state compared to 2011, several providers reported an overall decrease in their customer base.

“The commission sees this as a sign of competition in the industry, due to more providers offering service in Michigan and more municipalities that have two or more providers of video/cable service,” it said.

Since the start of January 2007, 15 new video/cable providers have begun to offer service in Michigan, the report said.

The commission also made several recommendations for legislative action. First, it recommends the Legislature extend the due date of the commission’s annual report from February 1 of each year to March 1 of each year.

“The current due date makes it difficult for providers and municipalities to provide timely and accurate year-end information to the Commission,” it said. “Extending the reporting date would allow municipalities and providers additional time to provide more detailed responses to surveys.”

Second, the commission recommended language be added to the 2006 act similar to the language currently found in a section of the Michigan Telecommunications Act, which requires the provider to register the following information with the commission: the name of the provider; a description of the services provided; the address and telephone number of the provider’s principal office; the address and telephone number of the provider’s registered agent authorized to receive service in this state; and any other information the commission determines is necessary.

“This contact information is necessary so the commission has accurate contact information available to it for complaints, as well as for future information and data collection,” the report said.

Finally, the commission recommends that if a company changes its name, goes out of business or is merged into another company, it be required to notify the commission of this change.

“Providers do not submit their Franchise Agreements to the Commission – the Franchise Agreements are submitted with the individual franchise entities,” it said. “As such, this information is not available to the Commission.”

ELECTRIC CHOICE: The Public Service Commission on Friday released its annual report on electric competition and marked 2012 as the first time customers within the service territories of Indiana Michigan Power Company and Upper Peninsula Power Company participated in electric choice programs.

The Customer Choice and Electricity Reliability Act of 2000 requires that the PSC file the report, which discusses the status of competition for supplying electricity in the state, recommendations for legislation (if any), actions taken by the commission to implement consumer protection measures and information regarding customer education programs approved by the commission.

The goal of the act is to have competition within the electric industry by offering Michigan customers the opportunity to purchase electric generation services from their current utility or an Alternative Electric Supplier.

Alternative Electric Suppliers currently serve electric choice customers in the Consumer Energy Company, Detroit Edison Company, Indiana Michigan Power Company, and Upper Peninsula Power Company territories. In 2012, alternative suppliers served just more than 6,800 electric choice customers, down from 7,000 in 2011, the report said. As of December 2012, approximately 10,450 customers remain in the queue.

The report also found that the number of customers and load in each queue has increased significantly each year. The PSC said Consumers Energy experienced a 57 percent increase in the number of customers in the queue from 2011 to 2012 (64 percent load increase), while Detroit Edison experienced a 74 percent increase in the number of customers in the queue from 2011 to 2012 (144 percent load increase).

Those numbers reflect a “fully subscribed” level of each utility’s average weather-adjusted retail sales (they were capped at 10 percent with PA 286 of 2008). The PSC said hypothetically, if the cap did not exist, choice participation would be about 24 percent for Consumers and 21 percent for Detroit Edison at the end of 2012. Indiana Michigan Power has a six percent choice participation level but has room to fill given it June pledge of 10 percent as well.

The number of electric choice customers in the Detroit Edison service territory decreased to 5,672 in 2012, as compared to 5,976 in 2011. Consumers Energy also decreased, but by an extraordinarily small amount: from 1,069 choice customers in 2011 to 1,064 in 2012.

The commission had no recommendations for legislation. The report said the commission intends to “continue to monitor and participate in the 2013 public process for informing Michigan’s energy future and subsequent report preparation related to electric choice” as outlined by Governor Rick Snyder in his special message in November.

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