After reviewing gas supply and related matters as part of a general rate case for Centra Gas Ontario, Inc., the Ontario Energy Board has directed its technical staff to develop a mechanism to separate the utility's commodity sales from its transportation and distribution functions. The Board said the move was necessary because competition in the sale of natural gas and the introduction of indexed pricing had made regulation of the utility's existing tariffed services difficult.

demand-side management (DSM) costs claimed by Potomac Electric Power Co. in a recent rate case. While agreeing that Potomac had failed to justify 100-percent recovery of its DSM costs, the court remanded the case to the PSC for a better explanation of why 25 percent represents an appropriate amount for the disallowance.

The Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) has reaffirmed its earlier approval of special manufacturing contracts submitted by Detroit Edison Co. to supply power to Chrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co., and General Motors Corp. Opponents had argued that the PSC erred by approving the price discounts while deferring consideration of their rate treatment as well as their effect on existing competitive programs.

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (URC) has denied an Indiana Gas Co., Inc. request for rate recovery of environmental costs associated with three of its instate manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites. The URC found that the local distribution company (LDC) had assumed the associated environmental liability in purchasing the properties, and that the costs were not related to providing gas service to current ratepayers.

Following an established policy disallowing rate recovery of executive incentive compensation awards, the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has rejected ratepayer funding for a salary plan administered by GTE Hawaiian Telephone Co., Inc. The PUC denied the carrier's attempt to differentiate its executive incentive plan by asserting that the plan was not a "bonus or extra compensation," but part of a total salary package set at a level competitive with market compensation.

The Arizona Corporation Commission (CC) has approved new rules that allow telephone companies to provide basic dial tone service in competition with existing monopoly providers. The competitive companies may also provide intraLATA toll service.

While setting a new gas cost adjustment rate for Delmarva Power & Light Co., a combined electric and gas utility, the Delaware Public Service Commission (PSC) found the utility's unaccounted-for-gas incentive program unnecessary because it had accomplished its objective, as evidenced by a steady decline in the rate of unaccounted-for gas. The PSC approved a $300,000 incentive award for the current adjustment. Re Delmarva Power & Light Co., PSC Dkt. No. 94-123F, March 21, 1995 (Del.P.S.C.).In another case, the PSC allowed Chesapeake Utilities Corp.

Traditional utility regulation has been unable to prevent the electric rates of some utilities from rising far above those of neighboring companies. Two factors are responsible for this failure. First, regulators lack the means to keep seemingly reasonable but unnecessary costs from creeping into rates. Second, ratemaking considers a utility's costs in isolation and does not use peer benchmarks to true up rates.

Political pressure helped limit rate increases for nuclear plants during the 1980s.

The Southwest Regional Transmission Association (SWRTA) has filed amended bylaws with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), incorporating two FERC conditions: 1) comparable transmission service, and 2) a single regional transmission plan. To achieve comparability, each transmitting member subject to FERC jurisdiction under sections 205 and 206 of the Federal Power Act will file comparable transmission service tariffs with the FERC.