American Public Power Association

Mark your calendars for April 29, 1996. That's the date of the "filing of the century," according to Donald Garber, group manager for strategic plans and projects at San Diego Gas & Electric Co.

Garber is talking about plans to file a draft operating agreement at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the proposed California Power Exchange. The April filing will mark an important step in executing the December 20 order by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

Susan F. Tierney, former assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Energy, has joined The Economics Resource Group, Inc. as a managing consultant.

UGI Corp. has hired William D. Katz as v.p.-corporate development. He succeeds R. Paul Grady, now v.p.-sales/

operations of UGI's AmeriGas Propane subsidiary.

Stephen D. Chesebro', Tenneco Energy's CEO, was promoted to chairman. Edward J. Casey, Jr. joins the company as president and COO.

A couple weeks ago, on a beautiful Sunday morning, I picked up my briefcase and wandered down to the Potomac river shoreline to catch up on my summer reading list. There, on the Virginia side, gazing across the river at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and Capitol dome, I gathered strength to tackle a foot-high mound of paper.

United Water has named Robert A. Gerber, Jr. v.p. of corporate law for United Water Management & Services, a subsidiary.

AstroPower, Inc., a semi-conductor company specializing in photovoltaic energy conversion and optoelectric technology, has appointed Dr. George W. Roland v.p. and g.m. of its solar power business.

Eldon A. Cotton, assistant g.m.-power for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, was named president of the American Public Power Association.

Robert S. Silberman has joined California Energy Co. Inc., the largest independent geothermal power producer in the world, as senior v.p. of project development and implementation.NUI Corp. has appointed James R. Van Horn general counsel and corporate secretary. Van Horn was previously senior v.p., general counsel, and secretary at Citizens First Bancorp. Inc.

The interim board of directors of WorldTel has elected Sam Pitroda chairman.

On a purely intellectual level, it is difficult to justify the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA). Sixty years after passage, PUHCA has become an anachronism (em a fact well articulated in comments filed in response to the Concept Release on the modernization of the Act issued last November by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).1 More recently, the SEC's Division of Investment Management actually recommended a conditional repeal (see sidebar).

Sithe/Independence Power Partners, L.P., an independent power producer (IPP), has filed a petition at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) alleging that Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. (NMP) has been overcharging for electric transmission. Sithe believes NMP has been calculating transmission losses on an incremental basis; FERC policy requires that transmission losses be calculated on an average basis.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has denied a petition for rehearing filed by the City of Morgan City, LA, contesting the ability of the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), formerly the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), to interfere in the city's condemnation of the service territory of a rural electric cooperative (Case No. 93-4295).

Sherrie Rutherford was named v.p. and general counsel of NorAm Gas Transmission, the pipeline and gas marketing subsidiary of NorAm Energy Corp. She succeeds Dale Earwood, who was promoted to president, NorAm Field Services.

MCN Corp. named Thomas J. Connelly director, investor relations. He previously was director, project finance.

Michael R. Weber was named manager, environmental affairs, for CMS Generation Co., the independent power subsidiary of CMS Energy Corp.

Paul L.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) chairman Craven Crowell wants TVA to be able to compete with other utilities for customers outside its service territory. Congress established the territorial boundaries in 1959, limiting TVA and distributors of TVA power to the areas they served as of July 1 of that year. Speaking at the American Public Power Association in Washington, DC, on February 1, Crowell said he has commissioned a study by Palmer Bellevue to examine how to remove the "fence" that prevents TVA from expanding.