Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the task force.
My name is Eva Teig, and I am senior vice president for external affairs and corporate communications for Dominion Resources and Virginia Power.
Thank you for the opportunity this morning to present our companies' thoughts on the consumer education plan proposed earlier this month by the State Corporation Commission. In our view, the Commission and its staff have developed a comprehensive, sound, and well thought-out plan.
The proposal is consistent with the expectations of the General Assembly and the directions provided to the Commission in the Virginia Electric Utility Restructuring Act. The plan will provide consumers with much of the information they need to make informed decisions. And by giving consumers the means to make intelligent choices, the plan increases the likelihood that electric supply competition will get off to a good start in the Commonwealth.
However, we suggest that the program's timetable be accelerated. Education efforts need to start as soon as possible to make sure consumers are prepared for competition's arrival.
The report has several strong features.
• First, the plan is based, in large part, on suggestions and recommendations that the Commission received from a large number of stakeholders with an interest in restructuring. This input assured that the Commission would have the benefit of a wide variety of viewpoints while developing its findings.
We were especially pleased when the Commission set up a special working group to help develop the plan. The working group provided a valuable forum for the exchange of ideas and the sharing of concerns. Its broad based makeup included representatives of
utilities and cooperatives, competitive suppliers, consumer and community organizations, and state agencies, among others. Each of these organizations brought its own unique thoughts and perspectives on what it takes to create a workable and effective education program. This forum helped the Commission develop a plan that will provide valuable assistance to consumers as they enter the new competitive energy market.
And we're pleased that this collaborative approach will continue with the creation of the Virginia Energy Choice Education Advisory Committee proposed in the report. This stakeholder group will serve as an ongoing monitor for the education process. Whenever the program needs fine-tuning, the education advisory committee will be able to suggest changes and alterations.
• The Commission's plan makes use of many different avenues to reach consumers, instead of concentrating all its resources on a single medium such as television. The plan calls for a wide variety of outreach efforts, including the Internet and radio and newspaper advertisements.
An especially good feature of this plan is the grassroots outreach, aimed at providing information to hard-to-reach consumers, or those with special needs. Organizations, such as community groups, that have close ties to these consumers will serve as the conduit for information on customer choice. We believe this aspect of the plan will help ensure that all Virginians have the knowledge they need to evaluate competing offers and make decisions in their own best interests.
• We're pleased that the Commission will collaborate with other state agencies in providing information to customers.
The Commission, quite correctly, will take the lead. This is consistent with the recommendations that Virginia Power and many other stakeholders made during the legislative review that led to the Restructuring Act.
But we also felt the program could be strengthened if the Commission worked with other agencies involved in areas such as consumer protection and energy assistance. The report recognizes that organizations such as the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of Social Services, and the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy will play an important role in the education initiative. This collaboration should make the program even more effective in reaching consumers.
• Finally, we believe the Commission's proposal contains both adequate funding and a reasonable timetable for consumer education. The plan calls for the outreach efforts to begin in 2001, well before the phase-in of customer choice from 2002 to 2004.
As I said earlier, we believe the education program should begin even sooner - in July 2000. Education efforts need to start as soon as possible to give customers an adequate amount of time to familiarize themselves with retail choice before they have to make decisions. Many states have waited too late to begin their education programs - and they've found that customers didn't have enough time to prepare for competition.
The report recognizes that the Commission's education efforts must be coordinated closely with other organizations - such as the state's incumbent utilities - that will also be providing information to consumers as competition approaches. Virginia Power will be pleased to work with the Commission to ensure that the state's electric customers enter the new era of competition with a sound base of knowledge and information.
I'd be happy to answer any questions.