Joules

Entergy Corp. signed a letter of intent to acquire National Security Service, a security monitoring company that operates in North Carolina and Alabama. Entergy claims the acquisition places it among the top alarm companies in the country.

K Energy, Inc. has begun "Simple ChoiceSM" (em energy, communications, and "infotainment" services in one package, paid with one bill.

People

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has a five-member slate for the first time in over three years. Recently sworn in were Nils J. Diaz and Edward McGaffigan, Jr. Diaz was a professor of nuclear engineering sciences at the University of Florida; McGaffigan, a former foreign service officer, was a senior science and defense advisor to U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). William T. Russell, NRC director of nuclear reactor regulation (NRR), retired September 30. Frank J.

Frontlines

About a year ago I stuck my neck out to predict that electric utilities might end up with stranded investment in transmission lines. I suggested that financial commodities trading-longs, shorts, and hedges-might supplant physical product movements. It's happened in natural gas, where the interstate pipelines have suffered from "decontracting" and capacity "turnback"-a phenomenon that has tended to move from West to East.

The Road to Legislation

The California legislature had taken an interest in electric restructuring from early on in the debate. Through policy committees of the Assembly and Senate, it had signaled that the CPUC would need the blessing of the lawmakers before it would be allowed to pursue the ideas spelled out in the commission's Final Policy Decision. Moreover, the December 1995 decision had drawn a divided reaction. Some parties had sought relief from the outcome of the December 1995 order.

Stranded Cost Recovery: All FERC'ed Up

Stranded-

Cost

Recovery: All FERC'ed Up

By Michael T. Maloney, Robert E.

McCormick, and Chad A. McGowan

The "lost-revenues" approach in Order 888 ignores the fact that cash flow drives

asset valuation . . .

. . . the key to measuring uneconomic investment.

Something for Everyone: The Politics of California's New Law on Electric Restructuring

Early on in the debate, the legislature had signaled the commission that it would need the blessing of lawmakers to pursue its agenda.This past August, during the waning days of a two-year session, the California Legislature unanimously passed a landmark bill to deregulate the state's $23-billion electric utility industry.

The new law, known as "Assembly Bill (AB) 1890, largely reaffirms the broad outlines of the December 1995 Final Policy Decision issued b

1996 Regulators' Forum

As electric restructuring rockets to the top of state public utility commission agendas, regulators find themselves pushed in every direction. Pushing the hardest, in most cases, are legislators, who, like commissioners, are being lobbied by utilities, industrial consumers, and sometimes, residential customers. Each party has its agenda. Some wield more clout than others.

Public Utilities Fortnightly asked eight commissioners about the demands of restructuring and about an issue particular to their state.

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Off Peak

Arizona would wager on electric competition, hedge its bet with a solar portfolio.Looking for a new way to promote renewable energy?