Kelly B. from Riverside, CA. I'm pulling my hair out trying to track down the correct effective dates for PG&E's TOU-GS-3-A schedule changes. CPUC website shows one date, PG&E tariff book shows another, and my client swears their November bill used different peak hours than what I'm seeing online. Has anyone else run into this mess with California tariff effective dates? I need to model 18 months of billing but can't figure out which version of the rate was effective when.
PG&E TOU-GS-3-A rate schedule effective dates nightmare
David C. from Seattle. Not California specific but I've seen similar issues with PSE up here. Sometimes the utility posts proposed tariffs before CPUC approval, and Google searches pull up the wrong versions. Try searching the CPUC docket directly for the TOU-GS-3-A proceeding number. The actual approval order will have the specific effective date language.
Patricia W. from Tucson. Arizona utilities do this too - post tariffs before regulatory approval. Kelly, what specific changes are you tracking? Peak hour shifts, rate level changes, or season date modifications? That might help narrow down which CPUC docket to search.
Patricia, it's the peak hours that seem to have changed. My client's November bill shows peak charges during hours that don't match the current tariff sheet. David, I'll try the docket search - do you know if CPUC uses a specific numbering system for PG&E rate cases?
Randy Dawson here. California dockets typically follow format like A.XX-XX-XXX for applications or R.XX-XX-XXX for rulemakings. For PG&E general rate cases, search CPUC website for "PG&E GRC" and look for the most recent proceeding. Kelly, also check if there was a Tier 2 advice letter that modified just the time periods - those can have different effective dates than the main tariff. PG&E sometimes files advice letters to adjust TOU periods seasonally. The advice letter database on CPUC site might have what you need.
Randy, that advice letter tip was perfect! Found Advice Letter 6847-E from September that changed the TOU periods effective October 1st. Peak hours shifted from 4-9 PM to 5-8 PM on weekdays. No wonder my client's bill looked wrong - I was using the old schedule. Thanks everyone for the help navigating California's tariff maze.
Eddie K. from North Las Vegas. Kelly, glad you found it. NV Energy does similar mid-year adjustments via advice letters. Always worth checking the advice letter database when tariff effective dates don't make sense. Learned that lesson the hard way on a big commercial audit.