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Fortnightly Magazine - August 1996

PP&L Resources Seeks Piece of SWEB

Power Markets Development Co., a subsidiary of PP&L Resources, Inc., is negotiating to acquire a minority interest in British electric distribution company South Western Electricity Board (SWEB). It has submitted a proposal to purchase an interest in Southern Investments-UK, the holding company for SWEB, from Southern Electric International (SEI), which acquired SWEB last fall. Should the purchase go through, SEI intends to maintain majority ownership and management control of SWEB. t

Lori A. Burkhart is an associate legal editor of PUBLIC UTILITIES FORTNIGHTLY.

Byline: 
Lori A. Burkhart
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Court Considers Inflation Adjustments, Advertising Costs

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has asked the state Public Utility Commission (PUC) to explain 1) why it disallowed a substantial portion of advertising costs in setting rates for National Fuel Gas Corp., a local distribution company (LDC); and 2) why it had rejected the LDC's request for a separate inflation adjustment of 2.58 percent for 17 cost elements.

The court found the PUC's rationale (em that the LDC's advertising was "in essence targeted to seek and retain load" (em insufficient, since recovery of costs associated with similar advertisements had been allowed in

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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Perspective

Professor Peter Navarro, who teaches economics and public policy at the University of California at Irvine, writes in the Harvard Business Review (January-February 1996) that "[t]he deregulation of the electric utility industry represents an important opportunity to enhance the country's competitiveness and improve the standard of living for its citizens. ...

Byline: 
Edward L. Flippen
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N.C. Assigns New Gas-service Areas

The North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) has made preliminary assignments of unfranchised gas-service areas to local distribution companies (LDCs), pursuant to a 1995 state law. An earlier NCUC order sought applications from LDCs (see, Re Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity for Natural Gas Service, 164 PUR4th 591 (N.C.U.C. 1995)).

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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