News Digest

State PUCs

Electric Shopping Credits. The New York Public Service Commission OK'd a proposal by Consolidated Edison Co. to adopt a floating-rate shopping credit for generation supply that would reflect prices published by the New York Independent System Operator. Any difference between actual costs and market-based costs would be shared in a 90-10 ratio between ratepayers and utility stockholders.

The PSC also approved a one-time flat payment of $65 to encourage residential and small commercial customers to switch to a competitive supplier (industrial customers would receive an extra 0.2 cents per kilowatt-hour), despite objections from ConEd that any credit in excess of market price would violate the terms of the utility's 1997 restructuring orders.

The PSC said it would revisit the issue within a year, as it expected market structures to change soon, with the addition this summer of a capacity market at the NY ISO, and other advances regarding competitive metering and a move toward a single-bill format. .

Electric Transition Costs. The Arkansas PSC set guidelines to govern the recovery of transition (stranded) costs by electric utilities that would deny recovery of any costs already reflected in current rate levels, such as for employees now focusing on devising plans to implement retail choice.