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Fortnightly Magazine - April 1 1998
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ENTERGY REPLIES. In the Feb. 1, 1998 article "Reliability or Profit: Why Entergy Quit the Southwest Power Pool" (p. 30), authors David Dismukes and Fred Denny allege that they have uncovered a "subplot" in Entergy's transfer from the Southwest Power Pool to Southeastern Electric Reliability Council. The fact of the matter is Entergy's rationale for the transfer was clean and above-board. It simply made more sense for Entergy to join SERC for loop flow, reliability and security reasons.

Entergy agrees with Dismukes and Denny that it prefers to retain control of the operation and maintenance of its transmission system. Entergy has had an excellent record of operating and maintaining the transmission system in an efficient and reliable manner for decades. Entergy's knowledge of the operational and engineering characteristics of the system makes it the best qualified to continue to operate and maintain it. Entergy has put in place safeguards determined appropriate by FERC to ensure that non-affiliated wholesale entities obtain access to the transmission system on a comparable basis with Entergy Operating Companies and their affiliates.

With this in mind, if Entergy's regulators determine that someone else is better qualified to operate the transmission system, and that changes to the manner in which Entergy currently operates and maintains the transmission system are warranted as a result of the restructuring of the electric utility industry, Entergy has committed to work with regulators to facilitate such changes. To date, though, none of our regulators have determined such changes are warranted.

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