Stranded commitments (SC), because they are potentially huge, may be a show stopper for increased competition in the U.S. electricity industry. Utility shareholders, industrial customers, and small commercial and residential customers are likely to wage tough battles before state and federal regulatory commissions as they seek to reduce their exposure to these costs.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a final order requiring Texas Utilities Electric Co. (TU) and its affiliate, Southwestern Electric Service Co., to provide network transmission service to Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas Inc. (Docket No. ER94-1385-000). Network service allows multiple points of receipt and delivery at a single system rate. Tex-La, a customer of Texas Utilities and a bulk-power supplier for seven distribution cooperatives in Texas, is seeking to buy power from third parties and transmit the power over TU's transmission system.