Salt River Project has appointed Capitol Hill veteran Renee Eastman manager of federal affairs. Eastman previously served four years as a representative for Sun Company, the nation's largest independent oil refiner and marketer.
Peter M. Schwolsky, former executive v.p. at New Jersey Resources Corp., has joined Columbia Gas System as senior v.p. He will become chief legal officer of the corporation later this year.
Commission (CPUC) moved a tortured step closer to deciding how it will reform its regulation of the
state's electric utilities when it
adopted a Proposed Policy Decision in its proceeding on competition by a 3-to-1 vote on May 24. The Proposed Decision retreats from the free-market approach the CPUC took when it presented its "Blue Book" proposal in April 1994.
Massachusetts Gov. William Weld and Lt. Gov. Paul Cellucci have filed a proposal with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) that would require all Massachusetts electric utilities to develop deregulation plans by the end of 1995.
In the proposal, the Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources (DOER) asks the DPU to issue a June 16 restructuring timetable that schedules a final order around August 1.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has reaffirmed earlier rulings establishing performance-based rate mechanisms for Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, Inc., citing its authority to implement modified versions of a capacity-release sharing mechanism and an incentive mechanism for purchased gas costs.
The Virginia Corporation Commission has approved an $8.3-million repayment by Virginia Power (VP) for excessive fuel costs resulting from a 1991 coal-hauling contract with CSX Transportation Inc. The contract became the focus of attention during a dispute last year between the utility and its corporate parent, Dominion Resources, Inc. (DRI).
Commission staff found in a January report that DRI chairman and CEO Thomas E. Capps had pressured VP into the contract, which was expected to benefit the company.
Up until now, cost-of-service ratemaking has provided relatively stable rates, while enabling utilities to attract enormous amounts of capital. Of late, however, regulators appear to be heeding the argument that changing markets warrant a second look.
The Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) has called for additional research on Wisconsin dairy farms to determine what impact electromagnetic fields (EMF), direct current, and ground currents may have on dairy cattle. According to the PSC, Wisconsin farmers have been noticing behavioral changes in their milking herds for some years now (em changes that affect milk production.
Utility regulators in Minnesota and Nevada have opened dockets on electric utility restructuring, citing (Minnesota) the Energy Policy Act of 1992 as having lifted barriers to wholesale competition, and seeking (Nevada) recommendations on alternative ratemaking.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) said it would view open competition as "one part of a continuum of possible change," from traditional vertical integration to full deregulation.
Texas Gov. George Bush on May 26 signed into law a comprehensive bill, H.B. 2128, that makes sweeping changes in the way the state regulates telecommunications. The bill allows competitors to provide local exchange services by obtaining a certificate of operating authority (COA) or to resell local services through a service-provider certificate of operating authority. The COA is designed for facilities-based local exchange, and requires competitors to serve customers within a 27-square-mile area within 30 days of customer request.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities has decided to phase-out existing demand-side management (DSM) incentives for the state's natural gas local distribution companies (LDCs). It said that any claims by LDCs for future recovery of lost margins and incentives will be examined in light of changes in the gas industry and the DSM marketplace. It added that the LDCs should propose a phase-out of their lost margin and DSM incentive programs in conjunction with proposals for incentive-based ratemaking or in their future DSM cases. Re Boston Gas Co., D.P.U. 94-15, Apr.
