FERC

"When they come to town ... we'll ... accompany them to Capitol Hill ... to make their trip to Washington a 'two-fer,' if you will."

Paul Rodgers knocked NARUC on its ear last July when he announced his resignation as executive of that century-old association.

Rodgers, also general counsel, had served the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners for more than 30 years.

His unexpected move came in the midst of strategic planning at NARUC.

Sound bites from state and federal regulators.

Gas Curtailment. New York PSC approves updated curtailment and interruption tariffs for many of the state's natural gas local distribution companies. It had asked the LDCs to develop new rules to reflect growing competition and ensure gas deliveries for core customers during a supply crunch. Case 93-G-0932, March 24, 1997 (N.Y.P.S.C.).

T & D Classification. New York PSC opens proceeding to distinguish between electric transmission and distribution facilities.

In a notice of proposed rulemaking, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has posed a new method of funding the Gas Research Institute, while extending the present funding method for one year (see, FERC Docket Nos. RM97-3-000 and RP97-149-000).

The current funding mechanism allows GRI-member pipelines to discount a FERC-approved GRI surcharge, then remit to GRI only those funds recovered. The FERC noted that this mechanism threatens GRI's research, development and demonstration efforts.

New York state's electric utilities in a joint filing at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have called for creation of an independent system operator, a power exchange and a reliability council, termed the "New York State Reliability Council."

The proposal stems from a collaborative process and is intended to complete the transition to full compliance with FERC Order 888. It includes numerous provisions:

• New York ISO. Would control state's bulk power transmission facilities;

• Transmission Pricing.

The proposed merger of Northern States Power Co. and Wisconsin Energy Corp. to form Primergy has been called off because of delays by regulatory authorities at both the federal and state levels.

"After thorough consideration, we have mutually agreed to terminate our plans," said Richard A. Abdoo, Wisconsin Energy chair, president and CEO.

Senate panel lobs shots at FERC's slow merger approvals.

Wall Street analysts and shareholder reps are urging Congress to help electric utilities recover stranded costs during nationwide deregulation to prevent a "cratering" of energy stocks.

One analyst recently testified that investors never expected 100-percent recovery. Another suggested that federal legislators should let states hammer out their own solutions.

But determining fair compensation state by state won't be easy, as witnesses and lawmakers conceded at recent hearings on Capitol Hill.

The American Arbitration Association, in response to a growing level of interest by the electric and natural gas industries, has established the "National Energy Panel" to resolve disputes through mediation and arbitration.

The new panel is composed of 33 of the nation's leading energy industry experts and will resolve a range of disputes involving production, contracts, finance and marketing.

Speaking on June 11 in Washington, D.C., at a symposium sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Rep. dan Schaefer (R-Colo.) was heard to say that he would have his electric restructuring bill out of committee by the end of July. He said his bill would mandate electric competition by 2000--just the sort of deadline that Texas Public Utility Commission Chair Robert Gee likes to call a "Hong Kong" clause.

Will the millennium bring the dawn of customer choice? Here we are, halfway through 1997. Hong Kong is now Chinese, but in America we are still ratepayers.

Subsidies? Maybe. But how about reciprocity? Should Congress let PMAs, munis and co-ops decline open access?

Until recently, most congressional debate on utility deregulation has focused on the future of investor-owned utilities and independent power producers and marketers. Lobbyists for government-owned or cooperative-owned power companies have tried to downplay their clients or to seek exemptions.

Downsizing has trimmed the work force, but utilities may have given up those savings by going outside to purchase labor, goods and materials. Electric utilities might be overlooking the obvious (em the rapidly increasing costs of purchased goods and services (em while trying too hard to trim internal costs through downsizing and personnel cuts.

While utilities cut labor costs by less than 1 percent per year from 1992 to 1995, the costs of purchased goods and services rose by an average of more than 4 percent each year (see Chart 1), according to a study of utility economics by A.T.