asset value and return on capital, not lost revenues.
On July 3, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) submitted its report to the Governor and General Assembly on retail electric competition (PUC Docket No.
I-940032).
Labor got on well with monopoly.
But now, if experience is any guide,
expect a stiff fight for benefits, jobs, and wages.
At this very moment, utility chief executive officers (CEOs) are planning for the future.
in energy service companies to boost earnings beyond the normal growth rate?Going on the "defensive-offensive."
In the early 1990s, flush with utility money from its corporate parent, Entergy Systems and Service, Inc. began expanding to provide competitive energy services.
What to Do With All that CASH?Seeing no need to build, utility managers are looking
to invest. Can they be trusted
with stockholder money?With little of the fanfare that surrounds the debate on utility competition, robust cash flows and declining capital outlays have created forces that will reshape the industry no matter how competitive restructuring unfolds. Cash generation already exceeds investment in core utility activities, and the differential will grow sharply over the next several years.
Two Companies,
Two StrategiesThe question is whether to own or lease,
but each route offers its own advantages.
With deregulation nipping at their heels, utilities are looking for ways to gain and maintain
customers. Aggressive utilities are seeking new customers outside of their service territories and offering competitive prices, new products, and new services.
Six weeks ago I wrote a column ("$70,000 an Hour," July 15, 1996, p. 4) about nuclear waste, the Department of Energy (DOE), and the billions of dollars paid in by electric utilities that lie stranded in the federal nuclear waste fund.
On July 23 a federal appeals court ruled that DOE must establish a repository and begin accepting high-level nuclear waste for storage, beginning January 31, 1998. (See, Indiana-Michigan Power Co. v. DOE, D.C. Cir.
Lisa S. Beal was hired by the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America as environmental affairs director. She comes from the Hazardous Waste Management Association, where she was transportation/safety manager.
Commissioner Stan Wise was elected second v.p. of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. Wise is vice chair of the Georgia Public Service Commission.
The City of Anaheim Public Utilities hired Dale Tarkington away from Arizona Public Service Co.
Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. (CEI) customers will soon be able to earn "frequent flyer" points for using electricity or replacing gas appliances with electric ones. Under the program, planned for Spring 1997, customers receive one point for every kilowatt-hour they use each month. Points can be redeemed for electric appliances, such as night lights, air purifiers, and electric grills.
A Terra Group study, State Regulators See New Role for Munis in Deregulated Electric Markets, finds that regulators increasingly see themselves as advocates for residential and small commercial customers, who likely will be hurt by deregulation.
Virginia Power, Allegheny Power, Centerior Energy, and Ohio Edison have agreed to jointly manage their interconnected transmission systems. The alliance will schedule and coordinate bulk-power transactions, determine reimbursement for wholesale use of utility transmission facilities, resolve member disputes, and handle transmission system accounting. However, each member will retain ownership of its facilities. The alliance will follow the General Agreement on Parallel Paths (GAPP), which includes procedures to coordinate the flow of wholesale power among utilities.