The Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC) has implemented a rate rebalancing plan to coordinate the pricing of services provided by telecommunications local exchange carriers (LECs) with recent efforts to open the local market to competition. According to the PSC, existing LECs that support underpriced local service with excessive access charges are at a significant disadvantage when they enter a competitive, price-regulated environment.

The Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) has reaffirmed an earlier decision requiring Consumers Power Co., a natural gas local distribution company (LDC), to absorb revenue losses associated with special discounts granted to large transportation customers under contracts and tariffs approved by the PSC. While directing the LDC to reduce base gas rates by $11.73 million, the PSC ruled that Consumers had failed to prove that the discounts were justified by cost of service or that the load-retention aspects of the discounts conferred a general benefit on ratepayers.

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has found a "qualitative assessment" of the external costs associated with supply options sufficient to approve an initial integrated resource plan (IRP) for Hawaii Electric Light Co., Inc.

While approving a proposal by Marbel Energy Corp., owner of an independent gas and oil production business, to acquire Northeast Ohio Natural Gas Corp., a natural gas local distribution company (LDC), and Ohio Intrastate Gas transmission Co., an intrastate gas pipeline, the Ohio Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has directed both the LDC and the pipeline to offer nondiscriminatory open access to all of their service offerings. The PUC explained that the open-access condition would further competition in the state's natural gas industry.

The Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) has directed Virginia Electric and Power Co., a subsidiary of Dominion Resources, Inc., to adopt conflict-of-interest standards to govern board of director membership. The SCC also directed the utility to file an annual independent audit of its affiliate transactions and to cooperate with commission staff in determining whether "Virginia Power is paying for duplicative executive services" from its holding company parent. The action grows out of an SCC investigation into a 1994 public dispute between the utility and Dominion Resources.

While reviewing interconnection issues generic to competition in the telecommunications local exchange market, the Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) has mandated that local exchange carriers (LECs) offer all basic local exchange services for resale at wholesale rates to competitors as well as affiliates.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has approved a performance-based gas-purchasing plan for Minnegasco, a natural gas local distribution company (LDC).

The incentive plan contains two benchmarks for measuring the utility's gas-purchasing performance: 1) a market-based benchmark with demand and commodity components, and 2) a comparison benchmark consisting of a volume-weighted, average, total annual gas cost per million British thermal units for the state's three largest LDCs (after Minnegasco itself).

While setting fuel-cost, adjustment-clause rates for Ohio Power Co., a subsidiary of American Electric Power Co., Inc. (AEP), the Ohio Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has ruled that the utility may include emissions-allowance-trading brokerage fees as an expense in determining its new electric fuel-component rate. The PUC found the brokerage fees "directly and justifiably related" to the sale of emission allowances, hence qualified for recovery under adjustment-clause regulations.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has approved Jersey Central Power and Light Co.'s offer to help a local qualifying cogeneration facility (QF) switch its status to that of an exempt wholesale generator (EWG). The QF, NRG Generating (U.S.), Inc., a subsidiary of Northern States Power Co., seeks the change in classification due to concerns about potential future reductions in the need for steam at its host industrial facility owned by Du Pont de Nemours and Co.

The Superior Court of New Jersey has upheld a state regulatory decision authorizing Bell Atlantic-New Jersey, Inc., a local exchange carrier (LEC), to switch from traditional regulation to a new price-cap plan. The new plan sets rates for noncompetitive LEC services by offsetting the annual inflation factor by a separate factor for cost savings due to productivity gains. For its part, the LEC agreed to accelerate deployment of new technologies, including a fiber-optic telecommunications network for the state. See, Re New Jersey Bell Telephone Co., 143 PUR4th 297 (N.J.B.R.C.