Northern Illinois Gas "reluctantly" has

withdrawn its performance-based rate proposal from the Illinois commission. Under the proposal, NIG would have compared its total annual gas supply costs against a market-based benchmark, and the difference would have been shared between NIG and its customers. Presently, natural gas supply costs are recovered directly from customers without mark-up.

NIG had filed its proposal in response to an amendment to the Illinois Public Utilities Act authorizing the commission to approve performance-based rates on an experimental basis.

The Ohio Public Utilities Commission has approved Columbia Gas of Ohio's "Customer Choice" program, which allows customers to purchase natural gas from other suppliers starting in April (Case No. 96-1113-GA-ATA).

About 170,000 customers in the Toledo area will be eligible to participate, making it one of the largest pilot programs in the nation. The utility anticipates that the program eventually will be available to all of its customers.

A coalition of congressmen and private-interest groups has put the Rural Utilities Service on its hit list, aiming to save taxpayers about $11.5 billion over five years.

Dubbed "Stop Corporate Welfare," the coalition has targeted 12 programs. The RUS is first on the roster.

The coalition group notes that the RUS subsidizes loans for electric cooperatives, which serve 10 percent of the population. The group also says that loans to co-ops are made at interest rates not only below the Treasury's borrowing costs but well below that of investor-owned utilities.

Enron Corp. has purchased wind-power developer and manufacturer, Zond Corp. of Tehachapi, Calif., and plans to form a new business unit, the Enron Renewable Energy Corp., which will be responsible for developing renewable energy sources for Enron.

"Renewable energy will capture a significant share of the world energy market over the next 20 years, and Enron intends to be a leader in this very important market," says Kenneth Lay, Enron Chairman and CEO. According to predictions by the American Wind Energy Association, global wind capacity should reach 23,500 MW by 2005. (em LB

NIPSCO has agreed

to acquire IWC Resources Corp., the parent of Indianapolis Water Co., for $288 million, prompting a look at credit ratings.

In response to the agreement, Moody's Investors Service is considering a ratings downgrade of IWC ('A1' senior secured). Moody's also confirmed the ratings of NIPSCO Industries, Inc. ('baa3' preferred stock) and its operating subsidiary, Northern Indiana Public Service Co. ('A2' senior secured).

New Jersey-American Water Co., the largest water utility in New Jersey, has acquired the Howell Township Municipal Water System for $35.1 million, in what NJAW believes to be the largest private acquisition of a municipal water system in the U.S.

NJAW President Daniel L. Kelleher noted that Howell Township residents would experience an immediate 5-percent water rate cut, and rate stability.

Transfer of utility ownership also benefits municipalities, Kelleher says, by turning hidden equity into capital to use for community needs.

AEP Communications Inc., the new telecommunications arm of American Electric Power Inc., has agreed with Sprint Communications Inc. to jointly construct a 150-mile fiber-optic line between Charleston, W. Va., and Roanoke, Va.

AEP and Sprint will share the expenses of building the fiber-optic line. The new line will allow AEP to provide its parent company with network upgrades, while Sprint will add alternate routing and additional capacity between the two cities. Construction begins this spring. (em LB

The 700,000-customer Northern California Power Agency and Enron Capital & Trade Resources, an Enron Corp. subsidiary, have formed an exclusive strategic alliance to offer improved energy services while allowing NCPA to compete in a deregulated electric market.

Upon reaching a final agreement, Enron will provide the agency with a comprehensive package of services, including sale of natural gas and financial and risk management products.

In a unique agreement with two of its largest industrial customers, PECO Energy Co. has purchased USX Corp.'s Fairless Works power plant in Bucks County, Pa. The plant will burn landfill gas purchased from Waste Management Inc., which owns two nearby landfills.

The Fairless Works site hosts the sheet- and tin-finishing operations of the U.S. Steel Group of USX Corp., along with several other industrial plants. PECO now will own the USX power house with two steam turbine generators, which produce up to 60 MW of electricity and 200,000 pounds of steam per hour.

Four U.S., Canadian and British organization formed a $5.3 million venture to develop ultrasonic tools for detecting stress corrosion in natural gas an liquid pipelines. The consortium includes the Gas Research Institute, British Gas plc, the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, and PRC International. The new device will allow inspection of a wider range of gas pipelines. Field testing was expected to begin in 1998.

Conoco Global Power, Inc. and Western Resources' The Wing Group are among investors in a 160-megawatt (MW), natural gas-fired power plant in Columbia.