Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

More than a year and a half after commissioners Hoecker and Massey first raised eyebrows in various concurring and dissenting opinions by suggesting changes in the merger approval process for electric utilities, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on December 18 issued Order 592, a "policy statement" designed to "update and clarify" the criteria it will use to ensure that mergers remain consistent with the public interest.

Backing away from the historical six-part merger approval test established in 1966 in the Commonwealth Edison case, the FERC announced that it would ap

Illinois has yet to face the issue, but when it does, it may find the road blocked by jurisdictional rules at the FERC. According to estimates by Moody's Investor Service, the state of Illinois would face stranded costs of nearly $6 billion if it should mandate retail wheeling to allow the state's electric utility customers to choose their own supply of electricity.

Talk runs gamut from "rocket docket" to "Just go slow." A merger announcement kickstarted NARUC's annual conference last year. This year, in San Francisco, there was little difference in conference chatter. Only this time, MCI Communications Corp. and British Telecommunications Plc were the suitors, in a $20 billion corporate marriage.

Regulators had better get used to the "M" word, noted speaker John E. Hayes, Jr., chairman of Western Resources Corp.

Incumbent monopolists won't command high premiums

if newcomers can rebuild capacity from scratch at a cheaper price.

At first glance, many of the nation's regional markets for wholesale electric generation appear monopolistic. In some of the 18 regional power markets we have identified, the leading companies account for 75 to 90 percent of the area's generating assets. In other markets, where the concentration problem does not yet seem as pressing, mergers and acquisitions threaten to raise levels of concentration of ownership in generation.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has announced two policy changes in its first final order on negotiated rates under its policy statement on Alternatives to Traditional Cost-of-Service Ratemaking. The FERC will now require pipelines to file either negotiated rate contracts or tariff sheets that reflect the essential elements of their negotiated rate agreements. In addition, pipelines will no longer be permitted discounted adjustments to their recourse rates.

The case involved NorAm Gas Transmission Co. (Docket No. RP96-200-001).

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has conditionally approved market-based power-sales rates for Plum Street Energy Marketing, Inc., an affiliate of Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. (NMP) (Docket No. ER96-2525-000). It also set for hearing the issue of whether transmission constraints result in market dominance by NMP or its affiliate.

Plum Street's application to market and broker electric power states that it would not market power to NMP unless so authorized by the FERC.

The spectre of retail competition in electricity presents some difficult but solvable technical problems in creating new markets. It could lead to a new world of regulation. At the least, it will expose some currently protected utilities to potential losses that could prove substantial.

This prospect of losses has inspired some high-cost utilities to mount a formidable defense of the status quo, coupled with an aggressive offense to shape the transition.

How the electric industry uses DSM and IRP to build load, ignoring basic truths found in fuel-cycle analysis.It was during the early 19th century that General von Clausewitz announced his nine principles of warfare.

Imagine That!

A Stock-price Premium for DSMA rise in DSM spending (as a percentage of total expenditures) indicated

an increase in market-to-book ratio.

For electric utilities, financial and managerial attributes such as rate of return or the dividend payout ratio often exert a strong positive effect on the market-to-book (M/B) ratio (em the ratio of the company's stock price divided by book value.

The U.S.