Pennsylvania PUC Rejects PPL Non-Refundable Interconnection Deposit as Unlawful Rate; Opens Cybersecurity Rulemaking
Publish Date: 2026-06-22 10:14:00
Source Domain: dailyenergyinsider.com
Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission | Public Meeting — June 18, 2026At its tenth public meeting of 2026, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission denied PPL Electric Utilities Corporation’s exceptions and upheld an administrative law judge ruling that the company’s non-refundable interconnection deposit constitutes an unlawful rate, opened a rulemaking to overhaul utility cybersecurity requirements, and released a quarterly utility earnings report over a 3-2 dissent. The commission also deferred action on a Duquesne Light Company low-income program amendment and released a focused audit of Duquesne.Chairman Stephen M. DeFrank presided, with Chairman DeFrank and Commissioner Ralph V. Yanora participating remotely. Vice Chair Kimberly M. Barrow, Commissioner John F. Coleman, Jr., and Commissioner Kathryn L. Zerfuss were also present. The May 21, 2026 meeting minutes were approved 5-0.PPL Interconnection Deposit Ruled an Unlawful RateIn a formal complaint brought by TotalEnergies Distributed Generation USA LLC against PPL Electric Utilities Corporation (Docket No. C-2024-3051475), the commission denied PPL’s exceptions and adopted, as modified, the September 12, 2025 initial decision of Administrative Law Judges Stephen K. Haas and F. Joseph Brady, which had sustained the complaint. The complaint challenged PPL’s practice of demanding a non-refundable deposit before processing customer-generator applications for interconnection.The ALJs determined that the non-refundable deposit constitutes a “rate” as defined in the Public Utility Code, that it violates Section 1302 because it is not included in PPL’s tariff, and that the advance payment is prohibited by Section 1305 absent commission approval. The decision prohibits PPL from imposing the deposit on customer generators unless and until the company obtains commission approval, and does not alter a customer generator’s obligation to pay the actual costs of accommodating interconnection. No civil penalty was recommended, because PPL had agreed not to retain the deposit pending the outcome.Vice Chair Barrow, who offered the governing motion, said PPL’s assertion that it refunds unspent portions of the deposit did not render the charge refundable and was immaterial to whether demanding the payment was lawful. She noted that PPL’s base rate case settlement — approved as modified at the commission’s June 4, 2026 meeting — includes a deposit requirement for interconnection applications, and she directed all other electric distribution companies to make any tariff supplement filings necessary to ensure interconnection deposit requirements are properly reflected in their tariffs. The order passed 5-0, with Commissioner Coleman concurring in result only.Cybersecurity Rulemaking OpenedThe commission unanimously adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Order to review its cybersecurity self-certification requirements and cyber incident reporting criteria (Docket No. L-2022-3034353). The proposed rules would require jurisdictional utilities to report covered cybersecurity incidents, conform to the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework, and file an annual certification of compliance, with requirements scaled to the number of customers each utility serves.Quarterly Earnings Report Released on 3-2 VoteThe commission voted 3-2 to release to the public the quarterly earnings report of jurisdictional utilities for the quarter ended December 31, 2025 (Docket No. M-2026-3061962), with Commissioners Coleman and Yanora dissenting in a joint statement entered into the record. The report includes the quarterly return-on-equity figures used in the Distribution System Improvement Charge (DSIC) mechanism.Vice Chair Barrow said she voted to leave the quarterly DSIC return-on-equity figures unchanged from the prior quarter in order to foster stakeholder certainty, while stating she was not fully comfortable with the returns given consumer utility cost increases she said are outstripping general inflation. She said the earnings disclosure regulations date to 1992 and that the current process was implemented under Act 11 of 2012, and announced she intends to consult each commissioner about whether the quarterly earnings report process should be revised.Duquesne Light Universal Service Plan DeferredThe commission adopted an order deferring approval of Duquesne Light Company’s petition to amend its 2020–2025 Universal Service and Energy Conservation Plan (Docket No. P-2026-3061673), pending the filing of additional information by the company and responsive stakeholders. The petition sought to automatically enroll Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program data-sharing participants with arrearages of $250 or more into the company’s Customer Assistance Program, and to offer a streamlined enrollment process for participants with balances below $250.In a statement entered into the record, a commissioner said the proposed opt-out auto-enrollment framework would require customers to forfeit the ability to be awarded commission-approved payment arrangements on Customer Assistance Program arrearages and raised concerns about how customers served by an electric generation supplier would be moved to default service and protected from supplier termination or cancellation fees. The Coalition for Affordable Utility Services and Energy Efficiency in Pennsylvania had filed a response to the petition. The matter was resolved 5-0.Duquesne Light Audit ReleasedThe commission voted 5-0 to release to the public the Bureau of Audits’ focused management and operations audit of Duquesne Light Company, which contained 17 recommendations, along with the company’s implementation plan accepting all 17 (Docket No. D-2025-3054177). Vice Chair Barrow noted that Duquesne began tracking its customers-experiencing-multiple-interruptions reliability metric in 2023 and that its numbers have improved since implementing a new outage management system in 2024, and she urged the company to continue reducing the number of customers experiencing multiple interruptions.Pending American Water–Essential MergerAs part of an omnibus motion, the commission adopted an order resolving a petition for interlocutory review arising from the proposed change of control of Aqua Pennsylvania and Peoples Natural Gas to American Water Works Company, Inc., through the merger of Essential Utilities, Inc. (Docket No. A-2025-3058927 et al.). The underlying interim order had denied a petition to intervene filed by Luis Francisco. The matter was approved 5-0 without separate discussion.Other ActionsIn additional omnibus actions, the commission released two Bureau of Audits reports on Peoples Natural Gas Company LLC covering purchased gas costs and universal service; adopted orders on PECO Energy transmission line construction in Delaware County, an American Transmission Systems, Inc. property acquisition, and Citizens Electric Company of Lewisburg, Wellsboro Electric, and Valley Energy securities filings; issued a tentative order on electric generation supplier license cancellations for non-compliance with bonding requirements; approved a $197,816 rate increase in a Consolidated Communications of Pennsylvania price stability filing; and approved a Pennsylvania American Water Company tariff supplement for Dimock Township, Susquehanna County.The next public meeting is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, July 16, 2026.To view the full hearing, click here.AI-Assisted Summary | Daily Energy Insider
