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Law & Lawyers

Conn. Reviews Executive Compensation

The Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) has finished investigating levels of compensation for selected utility officials. The study followed allegations by the state's Attorney General that certain pay increases to state officials appeared excessive and might contribute to higher utility costs or "adversely affect economic development" in the state.

In particular, the Attorney General cited executive salaries at Connecticut Natural Gas Corp. and Connecticut Energy Corp., parent corporation of Southern Natural Gas Co.

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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AT&T No Longer Dominant in Florida Market

The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) has found that the state's long-distance telecommu-nications market is

sufficiently competitive to permit equal levels of regulation for AT&T Communications of the Southern States, Inc. and all other interexchange carriers.

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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Wisconsin Uses Bidding Threat as DSM Incentive

The Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) has decided to add a "performance mechanism" to its regulations governing demand-side management (DSM) efforts. The PSC found that some utilities were no longer meeting the DSM goals set in their rate cases.

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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Pipelines Gain Rate Flexibility

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved a policy statement, Alternatives to Traditional Cost of Service Ratemaking for Natural Gas Pipelines, giving pipelines greater flexibility to use market-based, negotiated/ recourse, incentive, and other alternative rates (Docket Nos. RM95-6-000 and RM96-7-000). Pipelines may negotiate new rates with customers, but may not negotiate services that might degrade open-access service under Order 636. The FERC is still considering what type of service flexibility it should allow.

Byline: 
Lori A. Burkhart
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Off Peak

As this snapshot look at the seven utility mergers announced since January 1995 demonstrates, traditional patterns are no longer being followed. A number of the announced transactions did not fit squarely into either the merger-of-equals model (little or no premium, fairly even equity and board split, CEO succession plan) or the acquisition model (high premium, disparate equity and board split, no CEO succession plan).

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Arkansas Oks Weather Normalization for LDC

The Arkansas Public Service Commission (PSC) has authorized Arkla, a division of Noram Energy Corp. and a natural gas local distribution company (LDC), to apply a weather normalization adjustment to billings from November through April. Finding that the new clause did not constitute a "general rate increase," the PSC rejected procedural objections that it failed to meet certain notice requirements.

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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LDC Aggregates Transportation Loads

The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved a proposal by Peoples Gas System, Inc. to make gas transportation service available to customers that use more than 500,000 therms of natural gas, in the aggregate, at multiple delivery points within its service territory. To qualify, the multiple facilities must be directly owned and operated in the name of a single customer of record. The rates will be the same as those charged under the otherwise applicable sales tariff, less the purchased-gas adjustment charge.

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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LDC Acts to Retain Large Customers

The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has authorized Northern Utilities Co., a natural gas local distribution company (LDC), to offer a special rate to extra-large firm sales customers. The new offering is designed to enable large customers with flat loads to obtain gas service at a rate that better reflects the lower nongas cost of service for such customers. Unusually large customers

wishing to take service under the new rate must demonstrate that their load is largely flat and, thus, maximizes the nongas costs of serving their needs.

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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Low-usage Customers Bumped from Dsm Program

Despite complaints from customers, the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved Florida Power Corp.'s plan to reduce incentive payments under existing load-management rate programs by one dollar, and

to limit eligibility to customers that use at least 600 kilowatt-hours. The PSC said the usage limitation would "restore the cost-effectiveness" of residential load management, which is designed to reduce peak demand, not energy usage.

Byline: 
Phillip S. Cross
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