BEFORE THE ARKANSAS PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

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1 DISCLAIMER This electronic version of an APSC document is for informational purposes only and is not an official document of the Commission. An official copy may be obtained from the Secretary of the Commission. 06/3/00 BEFORE THE ARKANSAS PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION IN THE MATTER OF A GENERIC PROCEEDING ) TO DETERMINE IF METERING, BILLING AND ) DOCKET NO U OTHER CUSTOMER SERVICES ARE ) COMPETITIVE SERVICES ) REBUTTAL TESTIMONY OF JERRELL CLARK EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ARKANSAS ELECTRIC ENERGY CONSUMERS, INC. ON BEHALF OF ARKANSAS ELECTRIC ENERGY CONSUMERS

2 AEEC, Inc. Direct Testimony of Jerrell Clark Docket No U JUNE 3, 000 Q. PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME. A. My name is Jerell Clark. Q. ARE YOU THE SAME JERRELL CLARK WHO PREVIOUSLY FILED PREPARED TESTIMONY ON BEHALF OF ARKANSAS ELECTRIC ENERGY CONSUMERS, INC. ("AEEC") IN THIS DOCKET? A. Yes, I am. Q. HAVE YOU READ THE TESTIMONY OF THE OTHER PARTIES IN THIS DOCKET? A. Yes, I have. Q. DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS REGARDING THE TESTIMONY OF THE OTHER PARTIES? A. Yes. With the exception of the electric cooperative industry, there is an emerging consensus that it is in the public interest to declare billing competitive and exempt from rate regulation. Q. HAVING EVALUATED THE OTHER PARTIES' ARGUMENTS, ARE YOU PERSUADED TO CHANGE YOUR POSITION ON ANY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE IN YOUR DIRECT TESTIMONY? A. I would make some limited changes to my earlier recommendation. Q. PLEASE EXPLAIN.

3 AEEC, Inc. Rebuttal Testimony of Jerrell Clark Docket No U A. Most parties recommend that market participants be required to support the bill ready format for providing billing information. They recommend optional support of the rate ready format. After reviewing the other parties' testimony, AEEC now concurs with this recommendation. The parties' arguments that requiring support of the rate ready format could jeopardize the January 1, 00 retail open access start date are of particular concern. I assume that the Commission would be open to revisiting the issue if the absence of a rate ready billing option proves to be a substantial barrier to entry by competitive energy service providers ("ESPs"). Q. ARE THERE OTHER AREAS WHERE AEEC STILL HAS CONCERNS? A. Yes. There are still differences of opinion on whether electric utilities ("EUs") should be required to support EU consolidated billing. While some parties object to making this a requirement, they still seem to recognize that there may be situations in which this type of arrangement would be desirable. Even though they might be opposed to mandatory EU support of consolidated billing, they are not opposed to making it optional by agreement between the EU and the ESP. Q. WOULD MAKING THIS AN OPTIONAL PROVISION RELIEVE AEEC'S CONCERNS? A. No. The EU would still be in a position to decide discriminatorily whether to offer this service. The Commission should require EUs to support EU consolidated billing. As I stated in my Direct Testimony, I am recommending only that EUs be required to offer this option, not that the Commission dictate the cost or terms of the option. Q. DOES THIS CONCLUDE YOUR TESTIMONY? 3

4 AEEC, Inc. Rebuttal Testimony of Jerrell Clark Docket No U 1 A. Yes. 4

5 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, Stephen N. Joiner, hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing has been served upon the following persons on June 3, 000. Ashley Chicot Electric Coop., Inc. Post Office Box 431 Hamburg, Arkansas rmoore@ashley-chicot.com Valerie F. Boyce Ark. Public Service Commission 1000 Center Street Post Office Box C-400 Little Rock, Arkansas valerie_boyce@psc.state.ar.us Steven K. Strickland, Director Entergy Arkansas, Inc. 45 West Capitol Ave., 5th Floor Post Office Box 551 Little Rock, Arkansas 703 sstrick@entergy.com Robert Agee Arkansas Valley Electric Coop. Post Office Box 47 Ozark, Arkansas 7949 bkoch@aveec.com Charles Kaszuba Central & Southwest 48 Travis Post Office Box 1106 Shreveport, Louisiana ckaszuba@csw.com Robert M. Lyford Arkansas Electric Coop. Post Office Box Little Rock, Arkansas blyford@aecc.com Don Smothers Carroll Electric Coop. Corp. Post Office Box 4000 Berryville, Arkansas nplagge@carrollecc.com James Huggins Clay County Electric Coop. Corp. Post Office Box 459 Corning, Arkansas 74 W. H. Frizzell, Manager C & L Electric Coop. Corp. Post Office Drawer 9 Star City, Arkansas rjohnson@clelectric.com Ron Moore Wayne Honeycutt Craighead Electric Coop. Corp. Post Office Box 7503 Jonesboro, Arkansas whoneycutt@cess-ark.com Gene Sweat Farmers Electric Coop. Corp. Post Office Box 400 Newport, Arkansas 711 gsweat@farmersecc.com Charles Cosby Ozarks Electric Coop. Corp. Post Office Box 848 Fayetteville, Arkansas 7701 mjohnson@ozarksecc.com Leon Philpot Rich Mountain Electric Coop., Inc. Post Office Box 897 Mena, Arkansas mmcdaniel@rmec.com J. D. Todd Petit Jean Electric Coop. Corp. Post Office Box 37 Clinton, Arkansas 7031 jdtodd@pjecc.com Larry Hellums Mississippi County Electric Coop. Post Office Box 7 Blytheville, Arkansas 7315 lhellums@mceci.com Ron Plumlee North Arkansas Electric Coop., Inc. Post Office Box 1000 Salem, Arkansas 7576 rplumlee@naeci.com Oklahoma Gas & Electric Bob Anthony, Mgr. Reg. Affairs Post Office Box 31 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Jeff Broadwater Entergy Arkansas, Inc. Post Office Box 551 Little Rock, Arkansas

6 Dave Gibson Empire District Electric Company Post Office Box 17 Joplin, Missouri 6480 Alton Higginbotham First Electric Coop. Corp. Post Office Box 5018 Jacksonville, Arkansas 7076 James Tidwell Ouachita Electric Coop. Corp. Post Office Box 877 Camden, Arkansas Ron Easley South Central Arkansas Electric Post Office Box 476 Arkadelphia, Arkansas 7193 Wayne Whitaker Southwest Arkansas Electric Coop. Post Office Box 1807 Texarkana, Arkansas Chris Potter Central & Southwest Post Office Box 1106 Shreveport, Louisiana Ron Cockmon Woodruff Electric Coop. Corp. Post Office Box 1619 Forrest City, Arkansas 7335 M. Shawn McMurray Arkansas Attorney General's Office 33 Center Street, Suite 00 Little Rock, Arkansas 701 James A. Reed City Water and Light Plant Post Office Box 189 Jonesboro, Arkansas 7401 Michael O. Parker Horne, Hollingsworth & Parker Post Office Box 3363 Little Rock, Arkansas 703 North Little Rock Utilities c/o Mac Bryson Post Office Box 159 North Little Rock, Arkansas 7115 Hope Municipal Water & Light Plant 105 North Elm Street Hope, Arkansas Lawrence E. Chisenhall, Jr. Chisenhall, Nestrud & Julian 400 West Capitol Avenue, Suite 840 Little Rock, Arkansas 701 Osceola Light and Power Company 316 West Hale Osceola, Arkansas 7370 Charles J. Harder Assistant General Counsel Reliant Energy Arkla 401 West Capitol Avenue, Suite 10 Post Office Box 751 Little Rock, Arkansas 703 Gary D. Tomlin, II Controller Nucor Steel-Arkansas Post Office Box 30 Armorel, Arkansas 7310 Scott Wulff Controller Nucor-Yamato Steel Company Post Office Box 18 Blytheville, Arkansas 7316 Peter J. Mattheis Brickfield, Burchette & Ritts, P.C. 105 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW Eighth Floor, West Tower Washington, DC 0007 David R. Matthews Matthews, Campbell, Rhoads, McClure, Thompson & Fryauf, P.A. 119 South Second Street Rogers, Arkansas 7756 Scott C. Trotter 6

7 Hill Gilstrap Perkins Trotter & Warner 1 Information Way, Suite 00 Little Rock, Arkansas 70 strotter@hgpw.com J. Mark Davis Wright Lindsey & Jennings 00 West Capitol Avenue, Suite 00 Little Rock, Arkansas West Capitol Avenue, Suite 1800 Little Rock, Arkansas 701 jselig@mwsgw.com Searcy W. Harrell, Jr. Harrell & Lindsey, P.A. Post Office Box K Camden, Arkansas Stephen N. Joiner Alan W. Decker Central and South West Corporation 1616 Woodall Rodgers Freeway Post Office Box Dallas, Texas adecker@csw.com John S. Selig Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, P.L.L.C. 7