With a CTC likely to cover stranded costs,
aggregators must somehow find power cheap
enough to offer real savings.
Retail aggregation: Wherever you stand, it appears 1998 could be the year of reckoning.
By then (em say those watching the future of aggregation in the "leader" states of California, New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire (em rulemakings will have sorted out the issues of stranded costs, distribution, and reliability. Widespread blocs of schools, businesses, and residents will start wielding buying power. Or will they?
Trials . . .
New Hampshire is set to begin its pilot program for retail electric competition on May 28.1 However, that start date assumes that the state's franchised electric utilities first will have met requirements set by the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to file unbundled tariffs for transmission,
distribution, and charges to recover administrative and stranded costs. (At press time, PUC hearings on the compliance tariffs were set for April 1-5.)
Some 3 percent of New Hampshire's electric load is up for grabs. Residential and small commercial customers may participate in the pilot either individually or as part of an aggregated "Geographic Area of Choice" (GAC). Any GACs participating in the pilot will be selected randomly by their franchised utilities under the oversight of the PUC, along with the names of firms that would procure power on their behalf. After customers are selected, the aggregation of customer loads will be permitted to lower entry barriers for small customers.