Standard & Poor's has revised its business profile scale for public power agencies to give investors more details to figure out each rated utility's ability to compete in a deregulated market.

It expanded its five-point scale to a 10-point scale, similar to the rating system used for investor-owned utilities. A "1" rating is the "most capable of competing," so that investors can better gauge a public power's ability to meet competitive challenges and market developments, such as separation of generation and transmission facilities.

Having approved a performance-based ratemaking mechanism for Southern California Gas Co., the California Public Utilities Commission is free to rule on the merger of Pacific Enterprises (parent company of SoCal Gas) and Enova Corp., which owns San Diego Gas and Electric Co.

The PBR should reduce annual revenues by $160 million. If earnings exceed the authorized 9.49-percent rate of return, then a portion will be returned to customers.

The PBR is effective for five years.

WPS Resources Corp. and Upper Peninsula Energy Corp., which have a history of working together on power sales and emergency dispatch, are merging.

WPS Resources Corp.'s main subsidiary, Wisconsin Public Service Corp., is an electric and gas utility serving 400,000 customers. Upper Peninsula Energy Corp.'s main subsidiary, Upper Peninsula Power Co., has 48,000 electric customers.

The acquisition is structured as a stock swap valued at $71.4 million. Holders of Upper Peninsula common stock will receive 0.90 shares of WPS stock for each share held.

Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co.

Central and South West Corp. has settled its pending litigation with El Paso Electric Co., resolving issues surrounding the 1993 termination of their proposed merger.

Central and South West will pay El Paso Electric $35 million, while both utilities have agreed to release all future claims against each other. In April, a bankruptcy judge ruled that Central and South West owed El Paso Electric a $25-million merger termination fee under their agreement, and said Central and South West also might owe an additional $18 million in interest.

The Tennessee Valley Authority has unveiled a 10-year business plan that includes a 50-percent debt reduction and a 15-percent reduction in the total cost of power by 2007.

"Our goals for 2007 are to reduce the wholesale cost of power from the current 4.11 cents per kilowatt-hour to 3.46 cents, slash TVA's debt in half to $13.8 billion and respond to changing customer needs," said TVA CFO David Smith.

The Ten Year Business Outlook recommends a price increase in 1998 (em its first in 10 years (em which should boost TVA's revenues 5.5 percent.

The Georgia Public Service Commission has established standards for issuing certificates to marketers to compete under the state's Natural Gas Competition and Deregulation Act.

Under the standards, candidates must show their creditworthiness. To compete, a marketer must prove that its capital base or other financial resources can withstand the business and financial risk and absorb losses that might occur in providing firm gas service to retail customers.

S.B. 215, which was signed into law in April, established a regulatory framework to deregulate the gas industry.

CalEnergy Company Inc. subsidiary CE Electric Inc. in mid-July appeared poised to take over New York State Electric & Gas Corp. But NYSEG fought the hostile takeover and won.

Although NYSEG had asked the New York Public Service Commission and the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York to intervene, in the end, CalEnergy cited "lack of shareholder support" as its reason for terminating its bid.

A takeover attempt. CalEnergy Company Inc.

Follow the arrows as California's direct access workshops map out who will have access to electric customer data.

In its latest order implementing direct access for electric customers, the California Public Utilities Commission told Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric to conduct workshops to recommend rules on the release of customer information in a deregulated electric industry.

The PUC offered guidelines.

Robert L. Digan II was hired by Semco Energy as its senior v.p. and CFO. Digan joins SEMCO from Supershuttle International.

United Cities Gas Co. has promoted Ann S. Baldwin from purchasing assistant manager to purchasing manager.

Scott B. Foster has left the International Energy Agency in Paris to join Cambridge Energy Research Associates. CERA also hired Gary Hunt, former COO at East Bay Municipal Utilities. He will serve as the company's North American electric power project director. Hunt will advise clients on responses to changes in the electric power business.

My electric company, Potomac Electric Power Co., has announced a joint venture with RCN Corp. of Princeton, N.J., to offer local and long-distance telephone service to callers in Washington, D.C., and nearby areas, plus cable television and high-speed connections to the Internet. With stockholder money, PEPCO would compete head-on against Bell Atlantic, which won approval from the Federal Communications Commission on Aug. 14 for its $25-billion merger with NYNEX.

Reporting the story, The Washington Post quoted PEPCO President John M.