Follow the arrows as California's direct access workshops map out who will have access to electric customer data.
In its latest order implementing direct access for electric customers, the California Public Utilities Commission told Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric to conduct workshops to recommend rules on the release of customer information in a deregulated electric industry.
The PUC offered guidelines.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission is expanding its investigation into the unbundling of natural gas local distribution services and rates.
The staff investigation follows a report on gas industry restructuring to the state Legislature by Hagler Bailly, a consulting firm, and a commission hearing on the report. According to the commission, this "next step" in the review process is designed to solicit further input from stakeholders and to refine the issues into an unbundling framework.
CalEnergy Company Inc. subsidiary CE Electric Inc. in mid-July appeared poised to take over New York State Electric & Gas Corp. But NYSEG fought the hostile takeover and won.
Although NYSEG had asked the New York Public Service Commission and the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York to intervene, in the end, CalEnergy cited "lack of shareholder support" as its reason for terminating its bid.
A takeover attempt. CalEnergy Company Inc.
The New York Public Service Commission has asserted authority to mandate direct-access pilot programs to give supply choice to energy consumers, noting that state authority is crucial to filling a regulatory "vacuum," since the Federal Power Act withholds authority from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to mandate retail wheeling.
The case involved a pilot program developed by Dairylea Cooperative Inc.
The Georgia Public Service Commission has established standards for issuing certificates to marketers to compete under the state's Natural Gas Competition and Deregulation Act.
Under the standards, candidates must show their creditworthiness. To compete, a marketer must prove that its capital base or other financial resources can withstand the business and financial risk and absorb losses that might occur in providing firm gas service to retail customers.
S.B. 215, which was signed into law in April, established a regulatory framework to deregulate the gas industry.
Unexpected price increases for natural gas during the past winter heating season have stimulated action by state regulators across the country. Most recently, North Carolina and New Mexico have approved changes in adjustment clause and billing rules to temper the effect on consumers.
North Carolina. The North Carolina Utilities Commission opened a generic proceeding to consider shortening the notice period required for changes to benchmark natural gas commodity rates by local distribution companies.
The Tennessee Valley Authority has unveiled a 10-year business plan that includes a 50-percent debt reduction and a 15-percent reduction in the total cost of power by 2007.
"Our goals for 2007 are to reduce the wholesale cost of power from the current 4.11 cents per kilowatt-hour to 3.46 cents, slash TVA's debt in half to $13.8 billion and respond to changing customer needs," said TVA CFO David Smith.
The Ten Year Business Outlook recommends a price increase in 1998 (em its first in 10 years (em which should boost TVA's revenues 5.5 percent.
The New York Public Service Commission has authorized Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., to set up an emissions reduction credit pool to assist economic development efforts in the state.
It also approved the utility's plan to fund the pool with more than $700,000 of existing deferred credits owed to ratepayers from previous sales of sulfur-dioxide allowances.
The company plans to sell the credits at market value and as part of special discount electric service tariff offerings.
Central and South West Corp. has settled its pending litigation with El Paso Electric Co., resolving issues surrounding the 1993 termination of their proposed merger.
Central and South West will pay El Paso Electric $35 million, while both utilities have agreed to release all future claims against each other. In April, a bankruptcy judge ruled that Central and South West owed El Paso Electric a $25-million merger termination fee under their agreement, and said Central and South West also might owe an additional $18 million in interest.
Responding to directives from its Legislature, the Maine Public Utilities Commission has directed local-exchange telephone carriers to lower their per-minute, common-line charge by 20 percent, but without changing the access charge rate structure.
At the same time, it rejected a proposal by New England Telephone and Telegraph Co. to adjust the local carrier's recently approved price-cap plan to reflect a predicted erosion in revenues. The PUC found no evidence that a cut in access rates would depress local carrier revenues.
