Idaho Power (IP) has filed a notice of settlement with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC), its first step toward gaining approval to accelerate amortization of accumulated deferred investment tax credits (ADITC) when year-end return on equity (ROE) falls below 11.5 percent. If the PUC agrees, the agreement would remain in effect from 1995 through 1999.
Montana Power Co. (MP) has asked the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) for a $34.9-million (9.84 percent) electric rate hike, and a $12-million (10.45 percent) natural gas hike. It also offered a preferred alternative electric and gas rate plan.The alternative plan would serve as a transition mechanism to a more competitive environment, limiting additional rate filings through 1998 and reducing this year's request by $14 million for electric and $3.5 million for natural gas.
Central Illinois Light Co. (CIL) has asked the Illinois Public Utilities Commission to approve two retail wheeling pilot programs named 'Power Quest.' One is aimed at industrial customers, the other at commercial/residential customers, although participation is strictly voluntary.Customers participating in Power Quest will purchase their electricity from sources other than CIL, and then contract with CIL to deliver the power through existing lines. The customer will pay the supplier for the energy and CIL for the delivery.
MidCon Corp. named Dennis M. Lawler power marketing v.p. in its MidCon Power Services Corp. unit. Lawler comes from Consolidated Natural Gas Co.
In a promotion, Mark Kugelman will manage account sales for Parker Hannifin Corp.'s Power Distribution Group.
The American Gas Association (A.G.A.) elected chairmen for its financial and administrative, operating, marketing and legal sections: Bruce R. Debolt, senior v.p. and CFO of Northwest Natural Gas Co.; Frederick L.
Question: What is your relationship with the state legislature? Do lawmakers in your state show interest in utility regulation? Should PUCs work more closely with state legislatures?Response by Boyce Griffith, Chairman, West Virginia Public Service Commission:
The West Virginia PSC's relationship with the legislature is good. The West Virginia legislature has been active in utility regulation. I believe West Virginia utilities already work closely with the legislature and will continue to do so.
Question: Will your commission still be around in the year 2000? If so, what will it look like? Are you restructuring your commission with the same fervor you devote to electricity, gas, and telecommunications?Response by Nancy McCaffree, Chair, Montana Public Service Commission:
As a regulator I have had the opportunity to listen to economists, energy planners, and other professional soothsayers. I have come to the conclusion that the only certainty pertaining to future forecasts is that they will be wrong 100 percent of the time.
State and federal regulators and the industries we regulate have donned life jackets. It's as if we are boating down the unexplored Grand Canyon with John Wesley Powell1 in 1869. We share a vague vision of what lies at the mouth of the canyon, but the rapids are treacherous and uncharted.
On the river, boatmen and women often scout the tough rapids from the shore. Back on the river, they carefully set themselves up at the proper position and angle, then apply deft, sometimes powerful, strokes at crucial moments.
Twenty-five centuries ago, 300 steadfast Spartans, defending their sacred Greek turf, held up Xerxes's Persian army at the pass at Thermopylae just long enough for the Persians to lose the opportunity to conquer Greece. The world would have been quite different if the Spartans had just "given way."Contemporary state public utility regulators number just about that of those plucky Spartans.
The costs of providing telephone service to rural America are much higher than for more urban areas of the country. By definition, small rural subscribers are scattered throughout large geographic areas. In rural areas, the average number of subscribers per route mile runs about 6.3; the average number of subscribers per square mile is 4.4.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has set for hearing a request by Koch Gateway Pipeline Co. (KGP) to charge market-based rates for firm and interruptible natural gas transportation services (Docket No. RP95-362-000). First, however, the FERC must conclude Docket No. RM95-6-000, which will delineate the circumstances under which it may approve market-based rates.