Illinois regulator Ruth Kretschmer takes a stand against deals that would rub out competitors.

I can't recall seeing a more cogent, convincing andpassionate plea for utility regulators to get off their backsides and actually take a stand on something, as when just the other day, I came across the dissenting opinion issued Sept. 23 by Ruth Kretschmer, of the Illinois Commerce Commission. There she takes her own agency to task for voting (3-2) to approve the proposed mega-merger between the telephone giant SBC Communications Inc.

State PUCs

Gas Appliance Repair.

But who gets a slice of the pie?

In August the Bonneville Power Administration released its proposed wholesale electric rates for the five-year period from 2002 to 2006. The controversial proposal is subject to five months of scrutiny, including eight public hearings from Sept. 30 through Oct. 14, with adoption of final rates expected early in 2000.

In this era of emerging competitive markets, relatively low-priced federal power is prized by wholesale customers in the BPA's Northwestern U.S. service territory.

The T&D grid, once deemed a bottleneck, will now face pressure from both ends. Is it still the same old monopoly?

Some 30-odd years ago physicist and philosopher Thomas S. Kuhn coined the phrase "paradigm shift" to describe a radical change in a mental framework for interpreting facts. His key work, "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions," published in 1962, focused on the role of paradigms in scientific thought - such as the Copernican sun-centered solar system or Planck's work in quantum mechanics.

California again is the proving ground. Analysts see DG as the biggest issue since the PUC first mapped its "vision" for retail competition.

Lessons learned from Cinergy's losses in commodity markets.

After a second summer of extreme weather, contract defaults and consequent financial losses to energy companies, the financial community and shareholders are holding utilities ever more accountable when it comes to managing risk, say analysts. Moreover, they're showing zero tolerance for failure.

On Aug.

The minimum stake that marketers must bring to the table.

Conventional wisdom says any commodity marketer requires scale and scope in order to succeed. But what constitutes scale and scope? Some specifics follow.

* Size. Balance sheet of sufficient size and strength to withstand the volatility of commodity prices. Minimum total asset base of $20 billion.

* Flexibility.

Options and insurance each has a niche, but price collars are cheaper and more adaptable to market risk and customer behavior.

During the summers of 1998 and 1999, wholesale prices in the Midwest soared to $7,000 or more per megawatt, in comparison to a more typical summer price of $30 to $50 per megawatt. In a competitive environment, electricity suppliers - that is generators, utilities, marketers, etc. - will offer a variety of pricing products ranging from flat rates to real-time pricing (RTP). By varying degrees, price risk will be passed to the end-user.

A retiree from Kansas writes the FERC to ask why it lets utilities "punish" their customers.

When senior citizens with time on their hands start taking an interest in utility regulation, you just know that's big trouble for bureaucrats. Ask James Hoecker, chairman of the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Last month Hoecker opened his email box to find a short message from one Hersch Davis, a retiree from Wichita, Kan. Davis wrote the chairman on Sept.

Commissioner Lauren "Bubba" McDonald of the Georgia Public Service Commission was appointed to a three-year term on the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' (NARUC) Committee on Electricity.

Peabody Group named Jiri Nemec, previously group executive of Northern Appalachian operations, group executive of Midwest operations. Nemec replaced Mathew A. Haaga, who resigned. James A. Beck Jr., previously group executive of Southern Appalachian operations, was appointed to oversee all of Peabody's Appalachian operations in West Virginia.

David W.