Law & Lawyers

FERC's Plan for Electric Competition

WHY IS ELECTRICITY COMPETITION NOT WORKING? The principal reason is the failure of Order 888 to accommodate the economic and technological constraints of wholesale power markets.

Soon after Congress passed the Energy Policy Act of 1992, to give authority to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to compel electric utilities under its jurisdiction to wheel power for others, the FERC correctly recognized that piecemeal wheeling orders wouldn't work well without a tariff. A tariff would make the service quickly available to the user without the need for time-consuming negotiation.

Byline: 
Wallace Edward Brand
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Frontlines

THE LAST FEW TIMES I'VE HIT THE ROAD FOR A INDUSTRY conference or speaking engagement, someone invariably has come up to tell me how my picture on this page seems to be getting younger. OK, I confess. Like many other columnists, I've probably carried on too long with the same old photo.

Byline: 
Bruce W. Radford
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People

UTC, The Telecommunications Association, appointed William R. Moroney its executive director. He replaces Mike Meehan, UTC's executive director since 1988. Moroney previously served as president and CEO of the Multimedia Telecommunications Association.

LG&E Energy Corp. named Frederick James Newton III senior vice president of human resources and administration. Previously, Newton was senior vice president of human resources for Woolworth Corp.'s Champs Sports Division.

Commissioner Heather F. Hunt has resigned from the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

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Renewable Energy: Toward A Portfolio Standard?

DEREGULATION PRESENTS WHAT IS PERHAPS THE BEST opportunity yet for renewables to stake a lasting claim in the electricity market.

Since most energy from renewable sources still isn't priced competitively with fossil-fueled technologies, many restructuring proposals at state and federal levels include various support mechanisms intended to drive down the renewable generation costs. The initial added expense is a necessary trade-off, advocates say, for the resulting reductions in emissions and energy price volatility.

Byline: 

Lisa Prevost

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Green Power Takes Off with Choice in Electricty

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES, A GROWING NUMBER of consumers are able to choose who supplies their electric power and, perhaps more importantly, where that power comes from. Evidence is mounting that this ability to exercise choice may give a long-needed shot in the arm to the deployment of renewable energy technologies.

National polls consistently reveal that between 40 and 70 percent of those sampled say they would pay a premium for environmental protection or for renewable energy, and utility company surveys reinforce those findings.

Byline: 
Blair G. Sweezey, Ashley H. Houston and Kevin L. Porter
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Energy Storage: It's Not Just Load Leveling Anymore

ACCORDING TO ONE RECENT SURVEY, MORE THAN HALF THE U.S. population now lives in states with customer choice. Moreover, industry executives expect 20 to 50 percent of these customers to choose a new electricity supplier by year end. %n1%n

With changes expected in the way electricity is generated, delivered and sold, exerting pressure on prices, what does the future hold for energy storage technologies?

After all, restructuring efforts appear most active in the highest-cost states -- those with average electricity prices running above 7 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Byline: 
Christine E. Platt and Jonathan W. Hurwitch
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Frontlines

THE PRICING TURMOIL THAT STRUCK MIDWEST POWER markets during the week of June 22, with allegations of price gouging and calls for a wholesale price cap imposed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (see Docket EL98-53), made for good copy but has obscured what's really going on.

"In the pleadings to FERC, I saw no evidence of price gouging," says attorney Jeffrey Watkiss, who represents power marketers who have asked the Commission for wholesale market reform.

Byline: 
Bruce W. Radford
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People

ALLYSON K. DUNCAN joined the Kilpatrick Stockton firm as counsel after having served as a commissioner on the North Carolina Utilities Commission since 1991. Prior to her appointment to the commission, Duncan served as a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Two commissioners at the Wisconsin Public Service Commission resigned. Cheryl L. Parrino, chairwoman, resigned after 22 years with the PSC. She recently was appointed CEO of Universal Service Administrative Co. Daniel J. Eastman resigned to rejoin the private sector.

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News Digest

State PUCs

STRANDED COST RECOVERY. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission allowed Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. to recover $2.9 billion of a requested $4.5 billion in stranded costs, cutting a higher $4-billion allowance proposed earlier by an administrative law judge. The utility petitioned for reconsideration on June 26, after CEO William F. Hecht had called the decision "unacceptable," and noting that the PUC's written order, received June 15, appeared "even more injurious" to the company that the PUC's June 4 bench order.

Byline: 
Lori A. Burkhart, Phillip S. Cross and Beth Lewis
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