Commercial and industrial

TWO WEB SITES ARE VYING FOR THE TITLE OF "FIRST Internet-based market for energy," one on the East Coast, the other out West. When last we checked, each traded only in natural gas, but each had plans in the works to expand to include electricity.

STILL TRADING BY PHONE. Southern California Gas Co. and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. went live on Nov. 19 with their on-line, shareholder-funded, "retail shopping center for natural gas," known as Energy Marketplace (www.energymarketplace.com).

GPU Energy has filed electric restructuring proposals for its subsidiaries with the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission, calling for stranded cost recovery through a customer charge.

The filing for subsidiaries Metropolitan Edison Co. and Pennsylvania Electric Co. estimates stranded costs of $641 million and $372 million, respectively. The utilities want to recover stranded costs through implementation of a competitive transition charge paid by all customers using GPU Energy's distribution system.

Each year hundreds of oil or electric customers call Boston Gas to ask about fuel-switching. What do they look for?A gas utility can boost sales only one way-by gaining new customers. And in today's slowly growing economy, conservation trends limit growth opportunities. The average household today uses two-thirds the energy of 15 years ago.

Commercial and industrial customers of Consumers Power Co. paid almost $500 million above their actual cost of service to subsidize residential customers over the past five years, claims John W. Clark, Consumers Power senior vice president. "The current subsidy of residential electric rates by Michigan industry is shortsighted and costs Michigan jobs," he told a business roundtable in Detroit.