Fortnightly Magazine - August 1997

Two California watchdog groups, The Utility Reform Network and Utility Consumers Action Network, have filed a joint protest at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission against the proposed structure of California's independent system operator and power exchange (Docket Nos. EC96-19-003 and ER96-1663-003).

The groups believe the proposed structures would hurt small consumers. They noted that although small consumers use about one-third of the state's electricity, they only have two votes out of 26 in both the PX and the ISO.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved a request by KN Energy Inc. to convert its 900-mile Pony Express Pipeline from oil to natural gas (Docket No. CP96-477-000). The pipeline was expected to begin operating in August, carrying natural gas from several points in the Rocky Mountains to Kansas City.

Through a separate regulatory authority, subsidiary KN Interstate will construct a 36-mile Riverside lateral to the Kansas City market. The FERC approved rolled-in rate treatment for the pipeline.

The project garnered praise from the FERC.

Nine members of the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Power Pool filed a revised plan at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to establish an independent system operator for the Mid-Atlantic power market.

The utilities have been battling with lone dissenter PECO Energy over the details of the ISO.

The nine utilities, dubbed the "supporting companies," agree on the form that an ISO should take. In November 1996, the FERC had rejected ISO proposals by both parties as having failed to comply with Order 888.

Through two orders issued on June 11, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has set policy on return on equity for interstate natural gas pipelines (em specifically, the component of long-term dividend growth in the discounted cash flow model.

In both cases, the FERC applied the long-run growth rate of the economy, as measured by the U.S. gross domestic product. (See, Re Northwest Pipeline Corp. Opinion No. 396-B, Docket Nos. RP93-5-025 and RP93-96-005; Re Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Co., Docket Nos.