Idaho Power

Can NERC Juggle All Three En Route to Open Access?

At the year's start, the North American Electric Reliability Council decided to leave its "peer pressure" policy behind and require mandatory compliance with its reliability standards. As NERC grapples with its new policy, Public Utilities Fortnightly asked eight industry representatives how they might ensure reliability in a restructured electric industry.

It had taken time for NERC to arrive at this point, but itÆs official: Mandatory sanctions and business incentives will soon be used to enforce compliance.

But not for long (em as power producers and

customers get more creative in matching plants with loads Dynamic scheduling is a "sleeper" issue in the move toward electric competition. Industry players are debating independent system operators. They are focusing on issues of governance and the form of transmission pricing. Consequently, they are ignoring critical issues concerning ancillary services. These services are not receiving the attention they deserve.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has authorized Idaho Power Co. to stop paying a "capacity adder" to qualifying cogeneration facilities in addition to its own monthly variable energy cost as payment for nonfirm energy.

The adder, 3 mills per kilowatt-hour, originally was devised by the commission to compensate the QFs for the aggregate-system-capacity benefits provided by the QF suppliers. Nevertheless, due to lack of participation in the QF rate-schedule offering, little was provided to the utility in terms of reduction of capacity needs.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has allowed Idaho Power Co. to terminate an "industrial efficiency" conservation program designed to promote the installation of energy efficient equipment by both industrial and large commercial users through the use of grants awarded by the utility.

The commission found that the way to implement such goals is changing in light of electric industry restructuring, while declaring its continuing support for utility investment in conservation and renewable-based resources.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has ruled that electricity futures contracts or other types of "derivatives" or risk management instruments (e.g., options, forward contracts, swaps, etc.) do not fall subject to certain state regulations that exact fees and require PUC approval for security issues by utilities.

It distinguished the two categories: risk management instruments aim to shelter utilities from losses, while security issues usually provide a source of funding. Utilities, it said, need not file a confidential copy of its risk management plan with the commission.

Idaho Power Co. (IP) has joined with Intermountain Gas Co., U S WEST, and TCI Cable in the Joint Utilities Trench Program, which places electric, gas, and telecommunications, wires, cables, pipes, and conduits into a single trench rather than individual trenches for each service provider.

The arrangement applies to new residential and commercial subdivisions, apartment complexes, and residential services. By using a single, joint trench, developers expect to reduce overall installation time for electric, gas, and telephone service in a new subdivision by as much as 70 percent.

The Board of Trustees of the Western Systems Coordinating Council (WSCC) has endorsed a new reliability compact that would require mandatory compliance and enforcement of established electric system reliability protocols in the Western U.S.

WSCC said it is taking a leadership role in overhauling the existing "voluntary" reliability management process and replacing it with a new framework to strengthen the roles, responsibilities, and authorities of WSCC and the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC).

Jay P. Lukens, formerly a principal at Energy Market Economics, Inc., was hired by The Economic Resource Group, Inc., as managing director and principal of the company's new Houston office.

Edison Source tapped Aram G. Sogomonian, a former executive at Enron Capital and Trade Resources as its new corporate risk management v.p. Sogomonian was Enron's director of risk analytics and asset price, and also has worked at Unocal.

Larry Grossman, a senior v.p. at Cassidy & Associates, was retained by the Council on Superconductivity for American Competitiveness as executive director.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has modified the method electric utilities must use to conduct avoided-cost negotiations with qualifying cogeneration facilities (QFs). A new interim standard for large QF projects (greater than 1 megawatt) calculates avoided costs based not on displaced purchases from a single, hypothetical power plant, but on information in the utility's resource plan.

John L. Carter was elected to Tucson Electric Power Co.'s board of directors. He replaces J. Burgess Winter, who resigned. Carter recently retired as executive v.p. and CFO of Burr-Brown Corp.

Madison Gas and Electric Co. promoted Terry A. Hanson to v.p. and treasurer. Hanson, who joined the company in 1981, had been treasurer.

Connecticut Natural Gas Corp. promoted two executives and hired a third.