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Law & Lawyers

W.Va. Approves LDC Price-cap Plan

The West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved a new incentive regulation plan for Mountaineer Gas Co., a natural gas local distribution company (LDC). The plan creates price caps that are slightly below current rates and assigns the LDC the risks and benefits of any efficiency gains or losses during the three-year plan period. The settlement also calls for a $3-million rate reduction, and forbids the utility to file for a rate increase during the three-year period. Mountaineer fully assumes the risks and benefits of the fluctuating gas market.
Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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MCI to Provide Local Telephone Service

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (URC) has authorized MCI Telecommunications Corp., an interexchange carrier, to provide certain local business telephone services in the Indianapolis area on a two-year trial basis. These services (em which MCI will resell under an agreement with Hancock Rural Telephone Corp., a local exchange carrier (LEC) (em were previously offered exclusively by either Hancock or Ameritech Indiana, another LEC serving the Indianapolis area. The trial program is the result of a settlement agreement between MCI and Hancock.

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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N.J. Requires LDC to Offer Capacity Release

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has approved a two-year capacity-release program for Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G), a natural gas local distribution company (LDC), as part of an ongoing effort to unbundle gas services. Other LDCs in the state have already incorporated capacity-release programs, but PSE&G argued that it was without surplus year-round pipeline capacity. The LDC said gas marketers should obtain their own capacity at lower rates through either long-term contracts with the pipelines or through capacity release from other parties.

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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Utah Approves Sharing of Capacity-release Revenues

The Utah Public Service Commission (PSC) has authorized Mountain Fuel Supply Co., an LDC, to increase rates by $3.7 million. The LDC will collect the revenue deficiency by assessing a fee of $12.00 per month for 12 months on new residential premises. The charge is designed to recover increased capital and operating costs due to new customer growth in the LDC's service territory. The new rule permits the LDC to record 20 percent of the credits as distribution nongas revenues, while passing the remaining 80 percent back to ratepayers through its fuel-cost adjustment clause.

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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N.C. Approves Heat Pump R&D

The North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) has authorized Duke Power Co. to implement a research and demonstration pilot project on residential geothermal heat-pump systems. The program is designed to overcome existing market barriers and will target new home builders with incentives of up to $3,500 per system to offset installation costs. According to Duke Power, program costs could be recovered from customers in future rate proceedings because participation will result in the installation of energy equipment that exceeds federal appliance efficiency standards.

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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Utilities to Monitor Cellular Radiation

Scientific studies have not indicated any

"obvious relationship" between prolonged lower-level radio frequency (RF) radiation exposure and increased disease in humans, according to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The CPUC's investigation into electromagnetic fields (EMF) and RF radiation at cellular radio telephone facilities found cellular power densities consistently below current industry exposure standards.

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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Virginia Sends Message to City

The Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) has exercised jurisdiction and declared that the City of Falls Church must obtain its approval before attempting to condemn electric facilities owned by Virginia Power Co. (Vepco). Vepco had filed a petition with the SCC, claiming that Falls Church intended to oust the utility from serving the area. Falls Church failed to contest the petition or respond to allegations that the SCC did not have jurisdiction. The utility's petition alleged that the city plans to condemn Vepco meters and other facilities.

Byline: 
Lori A. Burkhart
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Frontlines

As I began to write this column, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) was slated in less than 30 minutes (this time, for real) to unveil its final proposed plan to restructure the electric utility industry. After the deed was done, on Wednesday, December 20, I logged on to ftp.cpuc.ca.gov and downloaded the text of the two opinions, issued by California commissioners Daniel Fessler and Jessie Knight.

Byline: 
Bruce W. Radford
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Looking for a Market Rate

Looking for a Market Rate:

Anchor Glass Tries to Shake JCP&L Stranglehold

By Joseph F. Schuler, Jr.

Why assume that a city or town

can't run a power plant?

It wasn't a demand for a $2-million rate cut. It was a request for a rate in line with neighboring New Jersey utilities.

That's how Walter J.

Byline: 
Joseph F. Schuler, Jr.
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Transmission or Distribution? Reengineering Cost-of-Service Studies for the Emerging Competitive Market

Why will cost-of-service studies continue to prove useful in a competitive market?

Cost is one of more than a dozen factors to consider in setting prices, whether in a regulated environment or a competitive regime. However, the relative significance of these factors will change under competition, when understanding the true cost of an individual service will actually become more important than under regulation.

Byline: 
John S. Ferguson
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