CL&P

Brownout Credit Card Cost Connecticut Utility

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has asked the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control to order a one-time, 25-percent credit on bills of Connecticut Light & Power customers, claiming the threat of brownouts and blackouts has reduced service quality. That translates into about $33 million in customer credits.

Blumenthal also asked that the DPU order additional credits of the greater of $10, or 15 percent, in any month with one day of brownouts or blackouts, and $15 or 20 percent, for two days of problems.

Frontlines

This fight is for the heart and soul of regulation everywhere. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) won the first round on February 22, but I think there's more to come.

The fight involves incentives for nonutility generators (NUGs). It also touches on PURPA (em the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (em which guarantees a market to cogenerators or power producers (QFs) who qualify. But more important, this battle involves regulatory philosophy.

FERC to States: No QF Rates Higher than Avoided Cost

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has ruled that states may not set rates higher than a utility's avoided cost for power purchases from qualifying facilities (QFs) (Docket Nos. EL93-55-000 and

EL87-53-003). The new rule comes as part of a case in which Connecticut Light and Power Co.