FERC

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has allowed an Oregon state court jurisdiction over a contract dispute between Portland General Electric Co. (PGE) and Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) (Docket No. EL94-92-000).In 1987, the FERC accepted a contract for PGE to sell SCE long-term system power and for a mutual exchange of capacity and energy. In 1994, SCE filed a complaint in Oregon state court, alleging that PGE had defaulted on the contract by closing the Trojan nuclear plant. SCE argued that its continued performance under the contract was excused.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has agreed to set a hearing on the reasonableness of American Electric Power Co.'s (AEP) nonfirm, offpeak hourly rate for electric transmission service (Docket No. EL95-4-000).Commonwealth Edison Co. (CE) has alleged that Indiana Michigan Power Co., an AEP operating company, overcharges for hourly, nonfirm transmission services provided during offpeak hours.

The National Hydropower Association (NHA) has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reform its regulations governing the relicensing of hydroelectric projects. No legislation would be involved.

A new coalition of 82 varied organizations (em including businesses, consumers, environmentalists, and utilities (em has announced support for the California Public Utility Commission's (CPUC's) majority proposal to restructure the electric industry.

For a good half a century, electric regulation has meant law, accounting, and economics. But no more. Now it's all about computers, telecommunications, and file-transfer protocols. Forget about CWIP, AFUDC, double leverage, and interest synchronization. They are all irrelevant.

Are utilities working at top productive capacity? A novel look at 19 investor-owned electrics in the Sun Belt.

Major restructuring is expected to hit investor-owned utilities (IOUs) over the next decade. Competitive market forces, in place of rate-of-return regulation, will require many companies to evaluate their resource allocations. No longer will singular adjustments in resource use suffice when both capital and labor resources must be realigned.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has adopted a final rule for nuclear plant decommissioning trust funds that will allow greater investment flexibility and enable funds to take advantage of changing market conditions (Docket No. RM94-14-000). The rule aims to improve the returns earned on funds contributed through wholesale electric rates, thereby decreasing the amount collected from ratepayers.

For the first time, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued opinions disallowing income tax allowances in the cost of service with respect to income from limited partnership interests held by individuals. In Lakehead Pipe Line Co., Ltd. Partnership, the FERC found that allowing a tax allowance for limited partnerships made up of individuals would give the investors an after-tax return on equity higher than they are entitled to (Docket Nos. IS92-27-000, et al.).

With this issue I've finished up my first 12 months as full-time editor of PUBLIC UTILITIES FORTNIGHTLY. During that time, I've tried to adhere to few simple rules. If I'm lucky, I'm batting four out of five:

s Trust ideas, not facts

s Welcome different views

s Don't shy from difficult subjects

s Make it easy to read

s Take a day off now and then.

Someone once said that an editor's job is twofold: "Simplify and exaggerate." That advice may sound peculiar, but one could do worse.