The Efficient Utility: Labor, Capital, and Profit

Are utilities working at top productive capacity? A novel look at 19 investor-owned electrics in the Sun Belt.

Major restructuring is expected to hit investor-owned utilities (IOUs) over the next decade. Competitive market forces, in place of rate-of-return regulation, will require many companies to evaluate their resource allocations. No longer will singular adjustments in resource use suffice when both capital and labor resources must be realigned.

Global Power Projects: Evaluating Market Potential

The Geneva summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev signaled the beginning of the end of the Cold War. With a diminished threat of East-West confrontation, countries throughout the world gradually reoriented their priorities (em away from politico-military security and toward economic development. To paraphrase Woodrow Wilson, the end of the Cold War had made the world "safe for capitalism."Now, 10 years later, with a few notable exceptions in the Balkans and elsewhere, evidence abounds to support that appraisal, from Argentina to Prague to Manila.

Mass. Requires Innovative Financing for Water Plant

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has granted preliminary approval to a water utility's proposal to "project finance" the cost of a new treatment facility required to comply with federal and state laws. The utility, Massachusetts-American Water Co., had proposed forming a special purpose corporation solely to finance the plant. The new corporation would lease the facility to the utility, using the payments to repay tax-exempt bonds issued under the financing plan.

Arkansas Approves Fuel Clause Treatment for Test Energy

According to the Arkansas Public Service Commission (PSC), the Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp treated ratepayers fairly when it used its fuel adjustment clause to recover the value of test energy produced at one of its hydroelectric facilities. The PSC rejected a claim by its staff that the recovery was misplaced because no fuel costs were actually incurred for generating the test energy. The PSC said the co-op deserved a credit for the value of the energy because the value of the hydroelectric plant would be reduced by the same amount under the approved accounting treatment.

New Jersey Approves Gas to Electric Pricing

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has approved a change in the method used by Public Service Electric and Gas Co. to determine the price of gas paid by its electric division to its gas division for volumes needed to generate electricity. The new method adds two types of service beyond the current all-interruptible classification. The new "dedicated" volumes will only be subject to interruption at temperatures of 20 degrees or below. In addition, demand charges will be estimated based on monthly volumes rather than fixed historical annual volumes.

Nuclear Storage at Issue iin Minnesota Decommissioning Case

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has reaffirmed an earlier decision

allotting another

14.8 years of service to two Prairie Island nuclear units owned by Northern States Power Co. The PUC turned back claims that it should shorten the remaining life estimate because the utility might be unable to secure offsite storage for spent fuel from the plant.

North Dakota Approves Certificates in Local Exchange Site

The North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved new certificates for local telephone service for 68 exchanges sold by U S WEST Communications, Inc. to a group of independent telephone companies in the state. The PSC had prepared to perform a full examination of the $137.5-million sale, when the state legislature passed a new law eliminating its jurisdiction over the disposition of tangible assets by U S WEST.

Va Asserts Authority in Mini Case

The Virginia Corporation Commission has rejected claims that it has no jurisdiction over disputes involving attempts to municipalize electric service. The case involves a dispute between Virginia Electric and Power Co. and the City of Falls Church, VA.

Maine Approves LEC Price-cap Plan

The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has approved a regulatory reform plan for New England Telephone and Telegraph Co., a telephone local exchange carrier (LEC). The plan includes a price cap program for "core" services (em that is, nondiscretionary services such as basic exchange and toll services. The price-cap structure and pricing rules will not apply to the LEC's noncore services.

N.H. Finds Power to Open Electric Franchises

In an important case involving electric retail competition, the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has made a series of legal rulings favoring a proposal by Freedom Electric Power Co. to purchase and resell power to end users currently served by Public Service Co. of New Hampshire (PSNH). The PUC ruled that franchises granted to electric utilities in the state are not exclusive and that the proposed activities would make the energy company a public utility if approved and implemented.