Become a PUF Member Organization

Fortnightly Magazine - March 15 1995

Wisconsin "Comparable" Network Service Moves to FERC

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has reviewed network transmission tariffs filed by Wisconsin Public Service Corp. (WPS) and Wisconsin Electric Power Co. (WEPCO) in compliance with a Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) order requiring a FERC tariff that provides network service comparable to the service the utilities reserve for themselves. The case arose out of applications filed at the PSC by four utilities in late 1990 and early 1991.

Byline: 
Lori A. Burkhart
Read Entire Article

Gas May Find New Futures in Kansas

The Kansas City Board of Trade has asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to approve a natural gas futures and options trading contract for a summer launch. The designated delivery point is the Permian/Waha Hub in West Texas, operated by Valero Transmission Co. Kansas City Board chairman Don Hills says the western gas futures contract is necessary because gas prices differ significantly across the country, due to seasonal weather extremes and the diverse origins of supply.

Byline: 
W. Lynn Garner
Read Entire Article

Financial News

The process of determining how to implement utility competition is often cast as a struggle between two opposing camps: shareholders and ratepayers. There are, of course, two other major players, managements and regulators. The bipolar view tacitly assumes that shareholder and management interests coincide, and that regulators have customer interests at heart. Neither assumption is altogether valid. Shareholder interests deviate from management interests in important ways, just as the interests of the entrenched regulatory bureaucracy diverge from the public interest.

Byline: 
Charles M. Studness
Read Entire Article

Nuclear Waste Still Home Less

The Mescalero Apache Tribe has rejected a proposal by a consortium of electric utilities to create a temporary nuclear waste storage site on tribal lands in Mescalero, NM. According to Northern States Power Co. chairman James Howard, the coalition will increase its efforts via federal legislation, or its lawsuit against the Department of Energy: "While we are encouraged by recent industry legislative developments, we also are hopeful that the new spirit being expressed by the members of the 104th Congress will refocus attention on a monumental consumer problem." (em LB

Byline: 
Lori A. Burkhart
Read Entire Article

Making Sense of Peak Load Cost Allocations

Usage of utility services is rarely uniform across the day, month, or year. Dramatic increases in loads often appear at particular times of the day or in particular seasons of the year. Telephone utilities may choose not to meet extreme peak demands, but electric, natural gas, sewer, and water utilities usually do not enjoy that option. Failure to meet peak demands can lead to catastrophic consequences for both the customer and the utility, and can draw the attention of regulators.

Byline: 
Thomas Michael Power
Read Entire Article

Williams to Pump Cash Into Transco

To further their pending merger, the Williams Companies Inc. has offered to reduce Transco Energy Co.'s cost of capital via a $950-million shot in the arm. The merger will create the second biggest U.S. pipeline company in terms of pipeline miles, but the largest in terms of gas delivered (about 4 trillion British thermal units annu-ally). The recapitalization plan, however, must first be approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Byline: 
W. Lynn Garner
Read Entire Article

Court Reject FCC's Flexible Pricing Again

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been rebuffed yet again by the courts in its effort to relax tariff filing requirements for nondominant common carriers. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit thwarted the FCC's latest attempt, rejecting proposed rules that would permit the nondominant carriers to file a range of rates rather than fixed rates tied to a schedule of charges.

The courts had earlier overturned a series of FCC rulings.

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
Read Entire Article
V