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).
The Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) has upheld a previous ruling finding it prudent for Michigan Consolidated Gas Co. to lock in a reasonable cost of gas through a series of gas-supply contract elections of alternative prices tied to the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange) gas futures market. The PSC commented on its earlier ruling, however, to clarify that its remarks on the relatively small effect of the pricing decisions on the overall cost of gas for the local distribution company (slightly more than 1 percent) did not constitute a new policy.
Dominion Resources, Inc. (DRI) has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to declare its proposed "impacted megawatt mile (IMM)" tariff a just and reasonable method of pricing transmission service.
The IMM tariff would base electric transmission prices on the actual flows that result from each transmission service, taking account of the size and distance of power flows on all affected lines, the direction of the flows, line loadings, and the costs of relieving any congestion.
Harkening back to the pre-Order 636 era, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued two orders approving firm-to-the-wellhead rates for Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp. (Docket Nos. RP92-137-016 and RP93-136-000) and Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. (Docket Nos. RP91-203-000 and RP92-132-000).
In initial decisions, one administrative law judge had approved firm-to-the-wellhead rates in the Tennessee case; another had deemed them anticompetitive in the Transco case.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has set for hearing the proposed merger of Public Service Co. of Colorado (PSCC) with Southwestern Public Service Co. (SPS), directing that an initial decision be issued by January 31, 1997 (Docket No. EC96-2-000).
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has rejected a request by NorAm Gas Transmission Co. for confidential treatment of its negotiated rates, saying that it would no longer accept for processing any rate sheets marked "confidential" or "privileged" (Docket Nos. RP96-200-002 and RP96-200-003). But Commissioner James J. Hoecker did note that rate disclosure could result in competitive harm, something the FERC should investigate in the future. t
Lori A. Burkhart is an associate legal editor of PUBLIC UTILITIES FORTNIGHTLY.
Sound bites from state and federal regulators.
Metering and Service Termination. Pennsylvania proposes two new meter-testing formats for LDCs: 1) a statistical sampling method that categorizes meters based on technology, design, manufacture, model, and operating characteristics; and 2) a variable interval approach that ties the retirement rate for a meter category to level of accuracy. Docket No. L-00960116, Mar. 28, 1996 (Pa.P.U.C.).
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.