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Fortnightly Magazine - September 1 1997

Pricing Transmission Constraints

Your editorial in the June 1, 1997 issue ("PJM's Brave New World," p. 4) provided a perceptive analysis of the Pennsylvania transmission pricing debate. As you point out, standard economics defines the value of a transmission constraint as the difference between the price of electricity on one side of the constraint and price on the other side. There can be no dispute over this statement; however, this straightforward theory is not always correctly applied.

In the case of electricity, the marginal running cost (or energy price) cannot be used to determine the value of a constraint.

Byline: 
Miles O. Bidwell, Jr.
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Ratepayers Win Compensation as Oregon OKs Enron/PG&E Merger

Regulated customers of Portland General Electric Co. will receive compensation both for lost profits and for future, anticipated efficiencies under the final decision issued by the Oregon Public Utility Commission that approved the merger between PGE and Enron Corp.

Under the approved merger plan, Enron will absorb the utility's corporate parent, Portland General Corp.

As a result of negotiations between the merging companies and the commission's staff, Enron has agreed to guarantee "monetary compensation and benefits" to Oregon ratepayers in the amount of $141 million.

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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The Wires Charge: Risk and Rates for the Regulated Distributor

Open-access tariffs hold the key to capturing the gains promised by electric restructuring.

In a restructured electric industry, unbundling the cost of the wires from power generation may well prove more important than dealing with stranded costs. In fact, stranded costs eventually will take care of themselves, whether by direct recovery, indirect recovery or no recovery. Without proper unbundling, however, a restructured industry could force competitors to pay inflated access fees to the distribution utility.

The matter has drawn a lot of attention.

Byline: 
Michael T. Maloney, Robert E. McCormick, & Cleve B. Tyler
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Pilot Program Nearly Perfect

In reference to your May 15 article, "Report Finds Problems With Choice Pilot" ("Headlines," p. 16), following is the industrial customers' response to the report.

STATEMENT

On May 7, 1997, a group of large industrial consumers of electricity on the Illinois Power Co. system, referred to as the Illinois Industrial Energy Consumers, filed a response to a recently submitted report by Illinois Power Co., pertaining to the Direct Energy Access (DEAS) report.

Byline: 
Martin A. Suhoza
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California Identifies Diablo Canyon Sunk Costs

The California Public Utilities Commission has valued sunk costs for the Diablo Canyon nuclear generating plant at $3.287 billion. The ruling forms the basis for future ratemaking treatment for the plant assets by its owner, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., according to industry restructuring under way in the state.

The approved rate plan includes an overall rate freeze and a bond-financed 10-percent rate reduction for residential and small commercial customers. Both are called for under the state's new electric industry restructuring law (Assembly Bill 1890).

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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Metering in Real Time: A New Cost Equation for Electric Utilities

Is it now worth the investment to install smart meters, complete with two-way communication?

The meter has always been the "cash register" in the basic operations of the utility business. Now it is also becoming a vital communications link, carrying information between a utility and its customers. The meter can supply information critical to customer retention and value-added marketing, as well as more effective system operations.

In choosing from among the wide range of metering options available today, a utility should find a technology that fits its business model.

Byline: 
Jack King
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Customers Come First

Bruce Radford's May 15 "Frontlines" (p. 4) commentary on the Sears Tower/QST cogeneration project misses the point. I would like to correct his misconceptions and clarify the issues by looking at them from a marketplace viewpoint rather than a utility-based viewpoint.

First of all, the Sears Tower's savings are more than an "allegation." QST's proposed cogeneration facility for the Sears Tower will reduce the cost of electric power supply to the tower by about $2 million per year compared to what it costs under ComEd's current rates.

Byline: 
J. Mark Elliott
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NJ Updates Plan to Modernize Phone Network

As it concluded its first review of an alternative rate plan for local telephone service, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved a series of telecommunications network upgrades and associated network modernization program for Bell Atlantic-New Jersey.

The original rate plan, approved in 1993, had combined the promise of a modernized telephone infrastructure with rate deregulation for certain competitive services and a freeze on rates for residential phone service. (See, Re New Jersey Bell Tel.

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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Meter Markets: A New Value Proposition

An interview with Ralph Masiello

and Sue Scott of ABB

The big, traditional projects in automated meter reading have really stalled, because utilities are no longer assured of a return on investment."

That warning comes from Ralph D. Masiello, vice president and general manager, ABB Power T&D Co. Inc., the leading manufacturer of electric meters in North America.

"We used to understand the economics of AMR. Just compare the cost of AMR against the cost of metering. But now the economics have changed.

Byline: 
Bruce W. Radford
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A Merger of Equals

While I read with interest and appreciated your story on electric and natural gas convergence ("Electric/Gas Convergence, Meter to Meter," May 1, 1997, p. 26), I must bring to your attention a misinterpretation concerning the proposed merger of Pacific Enterprises and Enova Corp.

In the second paragraph of your story, you said that Enova "is set to acquire Southern California Gas Co.

Byline: 
George I. Minter
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