Golden Valley asks regulators to waive 15-day shutoff notice for prepaid power

Golden Valley Electric Association asked the Regulatory Commission of Alaska on Nov. 9 to let it shut off prepaid residential accounts once their balance runs out, with notice by email or phone the morning of the shutoff.

The request would waive parts of a state rule that requires written notice at least 15 days before a disconnection. That notice period rises to 30 days for a home where someone is seriously ill, elderly or disabled, and the rule also requires attempts at personal contact at least three working days ahead.

The program would be voluntary. Members who do not sign up would keep monthly billing and the existing notice protections. Golden Valley wants it to start Dec. 24, and the commission is taking public comment until 5 pm Nov. 24.

Under the plan, a pending-disconnection alert would come before the morning notice. Shutoffs would happen between 8 am and 5 pm Alaska time, Monday through Thursday, and never on a Friday or the day before a holiday.

Golden Valley told the commission that strict compliance with the rules it seeks to waive "would undermine the core design of the Program, rendering its implementation impossible and forcing GVEA to withdraw the offering entirely." The filing, signed by Chief Administrative Officer Abbigail Dillard, lists safeguards including "no shutoffs on nights, weekends or holidays" and says its alternatives "fully protect consumers."

How the Prepaid Program Would Work

Joining would cost a $35 application fee plus at least $100 in credit. There would be no regular deposit and no monthly bill. Members would track their balance and an average daily charge in the MyGVEA app.

The utility's November example puts an average home at $7.44 a day, based on 581 kilowatt-hours a month at about 34.6 cents per kilowatt-hour plus a daily share of the $22.50 monthly customer charge. A low-balance alert would go out each day once credit falls below seven days of average use.

To restore power, a member would pay at least $100 plus any amount owed. The filing says reconnection may take up to three working days because of possible weather conditions, outages or system issues. No reconnect or late fees would apply if service is restored before the account closes.

Enrollment would require a residential account with a remote-disconnect meter and a MyGVEA account. Members with a registered health alert, which covers homes with someone seriously ill, elderly, disabled or on life support, could not join. Members with an old balance could join under a deferred payment plan, paying a third of the debt up front, with a third of each later top-up going toward the rest.

Golden Valley has about 41,097 residential accounts. The filing says every member has a smart meter, 96% of those meters can be disconnected remotely and about 82% of members have an online login.

A Second Attempt at Prepaid Power

Golden Valley first filed a prepaid pilot in 2009. The commission suspended it for investigation after commission staff, the Department of Law's public advocacy section and member Glenn Shaw raised concerns. Regulators approved only a first phase, running through Jan. 1, 2011, and Golden Valley dropped the program. The new filing says some concerns "could not be resolved at that time, primarily due to GVEA lacking the technology," and points to smart meters and online accounts as the change.

At a Sept. 22 board meeting, Member Services Manager Melissa Connor and Regulatory Manager Daniel Heckman presented the prepaid plan and said they expected it to be available by the end of November, pending commission approval. The board recap listed no application fee and said power would be "automatically restored once the payment is made." The filing adds the $35 fee, the Dec. 24 start, the rule waivers, the morning-of notice and the wait of up to three working days.

The commission has not said whether it will suspend the filing for investigation, as it did in 2009.