N.M. Approves "New Century" Merger
The New Mexico Public Utility Commission has authorized, subject to a series of conditions, the proposed merger of Southwestern Public Service Co.
Fortnightly Magazine - April 15 1997
Utilities File Suit Against Arizona
Arizona Public Service Co. has filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of Maricopa County to challenge rules adopted by the Arizona Corporation Commission in December 1996 to open the state's electric industry to competition over a four-year period starting in 1999.
Byline:
Lori A. Burkhart
Tennessee Reviews Gas Promotion Costs
While authorizing Nashville Gas Co. to increase rates by $4.417 million, the Tennessee Regulatory Authority has modified its existing policy on the treatment of advertising expenses in gas rate cases.
The authority abandoned a past policy limiting advertising recovery to 0.5 percent of the company's gross revenues. It also ordered a 50-50 sharing between ratepayers and shareholders. It granted, however, the LDC's request for full recovery of both payroll and nonpayroll "sales promotion" costs, rejecting allegations the costs should be treated as advertising expenses.
Byline:
Phillip S. Cross
N.J. Utility Raises Emissions Disclosure Issues
Public Service Electric & Gas Co. has asked the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to impose mandatory environmental disclosure requirements on all power providers who wish to compete in the state's market.
Specifically, the utility wants an environmental consumer protection standard requiring all sellers planning to compete in New Jersey periodically to disclose their system-wide emission rates or that of the source from which power is produced.
Byline:
Lori A. Burkhart
Off Peak
Everybody's got an opinion on electric competition, and they're dying to be asked.
Last year the Colorado Public Utilities Commission opened Docket No. 96Q-313E, In the Matter of the Inquiry Into Electric Utility Industry Restructuring. Then, after weighing several options, and rather than preempt the policy discussion, the PUC mailed a 26-page questionnaire to 360 people identified as "having an interest" in electric utility issues, including investor-owned electric utilities, rural electric cooperatives, municipal utilities and others.
What it learned could fill a book ....
Distributed Generation: Report Finds Benefits
A new report found advances in distributed electric generation, noting a pronounced shift since the early 1990s toward on-site generation, as electronic control systems now allow for remote dispatching, and combustion turbine engines are smaller, more powerful and offer increased energy efficiency.
North American Distributed Generation System Markets, produced by Frost & Sullivan, said that the Clean Air Act of 1972, and subsequent amendments made over the last 25 years, have influenced technologies.
Byline:
Lori A. Burkhart
Palm Springs Develops Utility
The Palm Springs City Council has approved a contract with Portland General Corp., the parent company of Portland General Electric, which specifies the roles and responsibilities of both parties as the city establishes a new utility, "City of Palm Springs Energy Services."
Last December, Palm Springs had selected Portland General to become the city's new energy services partner to help it develop a municipal utility to compete in a deregulated marketplace.
Byline:
Lori A. Burkhart
Oglethorpe Divides Company, Develops New Contracts
Oglethorpe Power Corp. recently completed an extensive restructuring that transformed the generation and transmission power cooperative into three specialized companies better able to compete in a restructured electric market.
In addition, the company's board of directors has approved a deal that would allow Morgan Stanley Capital Group to supply Oglethorpe Power Co. one-half of its power needs for up to eight years. The deal has been presented to the 39 Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs) for final approval.
Byline:
Lori A. Burkhart, and Elizabeth Striano
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