On Friday March 5th, Energy Edge filed an emergency petition seeking tax relief on February electricity invoices for consumers exposed to the high Day-Ahead and Real-Time energy prices as well as Day-Ahead Ancillary Service prices. Energy Edge is requesting that charges for state sales tax, gross receipts tax (“GRT”) and the Public Utility Commission Assessment fee (“PUCA”) be capped for the month of February.
Each of the above taxes are applied as a percent against the total cost of the electricity and most of the cost of transmission and distribution charges (“T&D”) invoiced to the customer by their Retail Electric Provider (“REP”). Thus, the larger the invoice for electricity, the more taxes incurred by the consumer. Below are the rates for each tax that are applied against a customer’s invoice for electricity.
- State sales tax: 25%
- GRT: 997% (for customers inside the city limits of a city with a population over 10,000)
- PUCA: 1667%
Energy Edge has requested the PUC work with the appropriate state entities and implement a cap on the amount of state sales tax, GRT and PUCA that can be assessed to customers who were exposed to market-based prices for the month of February 2021. Energy Edge recommended the cap be set to reflect the amount of taxes a customer would have paid based on the average cost of the real-time market and Day-Ahead A/S for the month of January 2021 or implement another solution that yields a similar result.
To view the entire petition, click here.