DC

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that natural gas local distribution companies (LDCs) in California are no longer immune from antitrust actions caused by their activities in the natural gas vehicle (NGV) industry. The decision clears the way for a federal district court to hear a complaint lodged against Southern California Gas, a local distribution company (LDC), by two California corporations engaged in the NGV refueling business.

Sound bites from state and federal regulators.

Storm Damage Costs. Hawaii rejects proposal by electric utility for statewide surcharge to recover hurricane damage costs. Says that "regulatory compact" requires utility to quickly repair damage and restore service to consumers in return for recovery of all prudently incurred costs. Dkt. No. 94-0097, Aug. 7, 1996.

Gas-supply Incentives. Missouri increases LDC's rates by $9.5 million.

It was the week before Thanksgiving. On the train ride home (I live in downtown Washington, DC, in an old, sprawling apartment building that once claimed Huey Long and Richard Nixon as tenants), my attention was drawn to a frazzled female lawyer sitting in the seat next to me, who was feverishly making notes in the margins of a thick, serious-looking, legal-sized document.

I confess. I like to read over people's shoulders, but often lose interest after the first few words. This case was different, though.

preference before diving into telecommunications.Electric utilities would enjoy a strong measure of credibility with consumers should they decide to enter the telephone business.

That finding comes from a recent nationwide survey of more than 1,000 households, drawn from counties with a population of at least 85,000 (see box for details).

After reviewing an application by National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp., a local distribution company (LDC), to increase its purchased-gas cost rate, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has ordered the LDC to credit its sales customers with revenues collected from the transportation class as penalties for exceeding the current 10-percent limit on delivery imbalances. The PUC explained that costs for storage capacity due to overdeliveries by transportation users should be paid for by the class of customers responsible for such costs.

Sound bites from state and federal regulators.

Telco Interconnection Rules. Federal appeals court enjoins pricing aspect of rules published August 8 by the Federal Communications Commission to govern sale at wholesale of local exchange service elements by Bell system local carriers to new competitors (who would resell such elements to provide competitive local telephone services). Finds possibility of irreparable harm plus likelihood that Bell carriers might prevail on the merits of jurisdictional issues. No. 96-3406, Oct. 15, 1996 (8th Cir.).

The Massachusetts Attorney General and the New England Electric System (NEES) have unveiled a plan to restructure electric utilities in Massachusetts (em "Consumers First."

The plan would allow all residential and business customers of investor-owned utilities to choose their electric supplier on January 1, 1998, and mandates that all customers receive a minimum 10-percent reduction on monthly bills. Existing purchased-power contracts would be honored, and approved utility investments recovered, subject to independent market valuations.

About a year ago I stuck my neck out to predict that electric utilities might end up with stranded investment in transmission lines. I suggested that financial commodities trading-longs, shorts, and hedges-might supplant physical product movements. It's happened in natural gas, where the interstate pipelines have suffered from "decontracting" and capacity "turnback"-a phenomenon that has tended to move from West to East.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has clarified an earlier ruling on sharing revenues that local distribution companies (LDCs) receive from certain interruptible services and capacity-release transactions. In that ruling, the DPU had established that LDCs could retain 25 percent of margins above a designated threshold. Re Interruptible Transportation/Capacity Release, D.P.U. 93-141-A , Feb.

The North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC) has directed Northern States Power Co., a local distribution company (LDC), to eliminate three "nongas" cost components from its purchased-gas adjustment (PGA) clause: 1) gas transportation credits, 2) recovery of costs associated with certain interconnection facilities, and 3) tax credits resulting from the 1986 Tax Reform Act.