Competition, Confusion, and Chaos: The Metering Muddle
With no system in place to collect data, retail choice brought gridlock to England and Wales in 1994.
Commission
Competition at the Meter: Lessons From the U.K.
Competition
at the Meter: Lessons
From the U.K.Metering lies at the heart of electric competition, but may work best as a "natural" monopoly controlled by the distribution utility.Metering represents one of the more complex issues in retail electric competition (em one that suffers from major misperceptions.
Utility Abandons Standby Generation Control Pilot
The Virginia State Corporation Commission has authorized Virginia Electric and Power Co. to suspend a pilot program for its Standby Generation Control System. (For prior ruling approving the program, see Re Virginia Electric Power Co., 162 PUR4th 363 (Va.S.C.C. 1995).)
The approved pilot authorized the utility to install control equipment on a mixture of customer- and utility-owned generators. Virginia Power would then operate the control system to provide extra generation during peak.
Maine Finds Electric Price Cap Unnecessary
The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has decided to forgo a formal price-cap plan for Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. (BHE), an electric utility, finding that traditional regulation would better maintain the proper balance of shareholder and ratepayer interests. The PUC had approved a price-cap mechanism for Central Maine Power Co., another of the state's investor-owned electric utilities (see, Re Central Maine Power Co. 159 PUR4th 209 (Me.P.U.C.
Court Oks PUC Review of "Sham Transaction" Claim
The Ohio Supreme Court has cleared the way for state regulators to review a complaint by Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. that American Electric Power (AEP), a utility holding company, used one of its electric generating subsidiaries, Ohio Power Co., as a "straw man" to circumvent the state's utility service territory laws and serve one of its retail customers.
Maine Oks Jump in Price Cap
The Maine Pubic Utilities Commission (PUC) has allowed Central Maine Power Co. to boost rates by 1.26 percent under an alternative rate plan approved in late 1994. The increase is based in part on an indicated inflation rate of 2.55 percent for the last quarter of 1996.
The PUC found considerable disagreement on whether the rates proposed by the utility would capture the full benefits from restructuring a number of the utility's purchased-power contracts with qualifying cogeneration facilities (QFs).
Leasing "Dark" Fiber: Not a Telecom Service
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has ruled that the leasing of "dark" optical fibers in telecommunications cable facilities owned by Idaho Power Co.
LEC's Anti-slamming Program Draws Fire
The Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) has directed Ameritech Michigan, a telecommunications local exchange carrier (LEC) to discontinue its advertising campaign for a special program billed as a protection against "slamming" (em i.e., switching a customer's long-distance service without their knowledge or consent.
Vehicle Refueling Stations Still Not Exempt
While permitting Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas and Electric Co.
Oregon Unbundles LEC Rates
The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) has unbundled services offered by the state's major local exchange carriers (LECs) into a series of network building blocks, pricing the new service offerings in conformance with policies adopted in earlier cases. The ruling retains statewide average rates for local exchange service across all density and distance categories.
The PUC also required the LECs, U S WEST Communications, Inc. and GTE Northwest, Inc., to impute the price they charge to other carriers for basic network functions when setting their own prices.