Nevada Power Co. (NP) has announced a tentative agreement for the largest rate reduction in its history, reflecting lower purchased power prices, lower overall fuel costs, and improvements in efficiency.

Idaho Power Co. (IP) has joined with Intermountain Gas Co., U S WEST, and TCI Cable in the Joint Utilities Trench Program, which places electric, gas, and telecommunications, wires, cables, pipes, and conduits into a single trench rather than individual trenches for each service provider.

The arrangement applies to new residential and commercial subdivisions, apartment complexes, and residential services. By using a single, joint trench, developers expect to reduce overall installation time for electric, gas, and telephone service in a new subdivision by as much as 70 percent.

Southern California Gas Co. (SCG) has begun using monthly forecasts to set prices for its core commercial and industrial natural gas customers, ending the practice of forecasting gas costs more than one year in advance and then computing the bill using a projected, annual weighted-average cost of gas (WACOG).

Monthly gas pricing is expected for residential customers when the California PUC reaches a decision in SCG's Biennial Cost Allocation Proceeding.

Commonwealth Electric Co. (CE) has postponed an electric retail pilot program for five industrial customers, fearing that market prices could run 5-percent higher than what the participants pay under regulation. Last summer, CE had predicted that program participants could save 15 percent off their electric bills.

CE and its consultant, Koch Energy Services Inc., attributed the jump in market prices to concern about possible power shortages follwing a shutdown of four nuclear power plants in New England.

The California Public Utilities Commission has approved an interim competitive transition charge (CTC) for Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PGE), effective until the PUC adopts a permanent, industry-wide CTC.

PG&E would collect the charge (39 percent of the current bundled rate) from any customer existing its system before January 1, 1998, the start of electric competition in California.

PG&E spokesman Tony Ledwell said less than a dozen customers had indicated they would attempt to leave the PG&E system early.

The Consumer Choice Partnership, backed by Central Illinois Light Co. (CILCO), has unveiled a set of "principles" to send to Illinois legislators in hopes of encouraging legislation to bring electric competition in Illinois as soon as possible, for all customer classes, with limited recovery of transition costs.

CILCO is the state's only major utility not to back a bill introduced last November (proposed by the Illinois Coalition for Responsible Electricity Choice) that would phase-in retail choice through 2005.

Massachusetts-based New England Electric System (NEES) plans to sidetrack possible opposition by offering first rights to firm service on a proposed 25-mile electric transmission line to any potential users who will support the line during its permitting phase.

The new line, a 600-megawatt, high-voltage, direct-current (HVDC) submarine transmission cable from Connecticut to Long Island, would begin and end on utility property, requiring no new land takings and presumably raising few environmental issues.

The Board of Trustees of the Western Systems Coordinating Council (WSCC) has endorsed a new reliability compact that would require mandatory compliance and enforcement of established electric system reliability protocols in the Western U.S.

WSCC said it is taking a leadership role in overhauling the existing "voluntary" reliability management process and replacing it with a new framework to strengthen the roles, responsibilities, and authorities of WSCC and the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC).

Sears, Roebuck and Co. selected Enova Energy as a partner in a "regional energy alliance." Enova Energy, an Enova Corp. subsidiary, will design and install a technical learning center at Sears' Tucson, AZ department store. The company also will provide energy services at other Sears stores in several western states. The learning center will be one of a nationwide system of energy-efficient stores used as models and for the testing and training of facility operations equipment. All of the store's services will be aimed at improving energy efficiency and reducing costs.

Jay P. Lukens, formerly a principal at Energy Market Economics, Inc., was hired by The Economic Resource Group, Inc., as managing director and principal of the company's new Houston office.

Edison Source tapped Aram G. Sogomonian, a former executive at Enron Capital and Trade Resources as its new corporate risk management v.p. Sogomonian was Enron's director of risk analytics and asset price, and also has worked at Unocal.

Larry Grossman, a senior v.p. at Cassidy & Associates, was retained by the Council on Superconductivity for American Competitiveness as executive director.