DG

KCPL first with meters, automation; APS second for T&D management.

IF THE 1997 ULTRA COMPETITION CAN SERVE AS A GUIDE, then perhaps the forgotten "wires" business offers the next great opportunity for new applications in information technology.

That's the lesson of this year's contest, which saw Kansas City Power & Light Co., and Arizona Public Service Co. win the top two prizes. Each company gained recognition for IT applications designed in large part to modernize electric utility distribution systems.

The California Public Utilities Commission issued its final order on unbundling rates for generation, transmission and distribution functions performed by the state's three largest investor-owned utilities on Aug. 1.

The commission also determined how to calculate transition costs and addressed customer billing and education issues. (Decision 97-08-056, Docket A. 96-12-009 et al.)

The utilities affected are Pacific Gas and Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Southern California Edison.

Rates by Function.

In two separate cases, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the first time has approved an analytical framework for examining vertical market power concerns raised by convergence mergers of gas and electric companies. This new framework applies when market power in one sector (such as natural gas) threatens competition in another (e.g., electricity).

In the first case, the FERC on June 25 conditionally approved the disposition of jurisdictional facilities in the proposed merger of two holding companies, Enova Corp.

While I read with interest and appreciated your story on electric and natural gas convergence ("Electric/Gas Convergence, Meter to Meter," May 1, 1997, p. 26), I must bring to your attention a misinterpretation concerning the proposed merger of Pacific Enterprises and Enova Corp.

In the second paragraph of your story, you said that Enova "is set to acquire Southern California Gas Co.

California regulators have issued a series of important rulings this spring as they continue to move forward with restructuring the state's electric utility industry.

On May 6, the California Public Utilities Commission accelerated the pace of its industry reform by ordering all electric utilities in the state to allow direct access to alternate electricity suppliers for all customers on Jan. 1, 1998.

Corporations will need FERC approval for a merger simply because they own paper assets that qualify as utility property.

In three companion orders issued April 30, 1997, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission tried to stake out new jurisdictional turf. It attempted to expand its jurisdiction under section 203 of the Federal Power Act to cover "convergent" mergers and reorganizations involving electric utility holding companies and power marketers.

The California Public Utilities Commission elected members to two boards overseeing energy efficiency and low-income programs. The board for energy efficiency programs members are: Acting Chair Sara Steck Myers, CEERT; Dave Gamson, CPUC commissioner advisor; Michael Messenger, California Energy Commission; Peter Miller, Natural Resources Defense Council; Mark Thayer, San Diego State University; Ortensia Lopez, Greenlining Institute; Charles Goldman, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory; Michael Shame, UCAN; and Don Schultz, CPUC Office of Ratepayer Advocates.

Enova/PE merger finds

California utilities learning

how to "micro-unbundle."

here's a meter war ticking away out West, pitting natural gas against electricity.

Enova Corp. is set to acquire Southern California Gas Co. through a merger with the gas utility's parent company, Pacific Enterprises. This strategy raises a tantalizing question: Can the new, merged company sell electricity "through" SoCalGas meters, using customer contacts on the gas side to grab market share in electricity from Southern California Edison, whose territory overlaps that of SoCalGas?

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has denied a request by a large noncore gas user for a waiver from eligibility limits imposed under a real-time pricing (RTP) experiment for gas transportation service approved by the CPUC in 1994 for San Diego Gas and Electric Co. (SDG&E).

In an earlier ruling, the CPUC had restricted eligibility for the RTP experiment to a maximum of 10 customers per year, and had excluded electric generation and cogeneration customers from eligibility.

Moody's Investors Service has confirmed the debt ratings of California's three largest IOUs (em Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PGE: Sr. Secured A2), San Diego Gas and Electric Co. (SDG&E: Sr. Secured A1), and Southern California Edison Co. (SCE: Sr. Secured A2) (em following passage of AB 1890, the California legislature's restructuring bill.

Moody's says that legislative endorsement of stranded-cost recovery is a favorable development for utility creditors, but notes that ultimate recovery depends on regulatory approval.