Southwestern Public Service Co. (SPS) and Public Service Co. of Colorado (PSCC) have promised to credit Texas ratepayers a minimum of $3 million in annual bill savings (em one part of the settlement proposed on July 8 in their merger case before the Texas Public Utilities Commission (PUC). According to SPS, the proposed settlement represents an agreement reached between it, the staff of the Texas PUC, and five intervenors in the merger case.
The PUC's administrative law judge has suspended the proceeding so the various parties can finalize details. Although one of the five intervenors abstained, the Office of Public Utility Counsel (OPUC), the utilities feel that OPUC's concerns have been addressed. Another intervenor, Golden Spread Electric Co-op., the largest wholesale customer of SPS, will receive cost-based backup service from SPS as well as economic dispatch for Golden Spread's future generation resources.