ISO

Special Report

Talk runs gamut from "rocket docket" to "Just go slow." A merger announcement kickstarted NARUC's annual conference last year. This year, in San Francisco, there was little difference in conference chatter. Only this time, MCI Communications Corp. and British Telecommunications Plc were the suitors, in a $20 billion corporate marriage.

Regulators had better get used to the "M" word, noted speaker John E. Hayes, Jr., chairman of Western Resources Corp.

Wisconsin Issues ISO Rules

Finding an independent system operator (ISO) prerequisite to electric industry restructuring, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) has issued a detailed set of "minimum standards" for developing and operating an ISO.

The PSC says that the ISO must function independently of generators and must operate the transmission system to protect consumers and sellers of power from anticompetitive use of the wires. In addition, the ultimate responsibility for safety and reliability must be vested in one entity at all times.

The Road to Legislation

The California legislature had taken an interest in electric restructuring from early on in the debate. Through policy committees of the Assembly and Senate, it had signaled that the CPUC would need the blessing of the lawmakers before it would be allowed to pursue the ideas spelled out in the commission's Final Policy Decision. Moreover, the December 1995 decision had drawn a divided reaction. Some parties had sought relief from the outcome of the December 1995 order.

Something for Everyone: The Politics of California's New Law on Electric Restructuring

Early on in the debate, the legislature had signaled the commission that it would need the blessing of lawmakers to pursue its agenda.This past August, during the waning days of a two-year session, the California Legislature unanimously passed a landmark bill to deregulate the state's $23-billion electric utility industry.

The new law, known as "Assembly Bill (AB) 1890, largely reaffirms the broad outlines of the December 1995 Final Policy Decision issued b

1996 Regulators' Forum

As electric restructuring rockets to the top of state public utility commission agendas, regulators find themselves pushed in every direction. Pushing the hardest, in most cases, are legislators, who, like commissioners, are being lobbied by utilities, industrial consumers, and sometimes, residential customers. Each party has its agenda. Some wield more clout than others.

Public Utilities Fortnightly asked eight commissioners about the demands of restructuring and about an issue particular to their state.

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ERCOT Turns into Nation's First ISO

The Texas PUC has approved a plan creating the nation's first independent system operator (ISO) from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). The ISO will be governed by an 18-member board, with three members each from IOUs, municipal utilities, electric co-ops and river authorities, transmission-dependent utilities, IPPs, and power marketers.

A key part of the ISO plan is an electronic transmission information network (ETIN), which ensures equal access to transmission system information, such as available transmission capacity, product offerings, and prices.

California Backs Loans for WPEX Software

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has authorized Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Southern California Edison Co., and San Diego Gas and Electric Co. to guarantee notes totaling $250 million for loans to two trust funds to support the development of computer hardware and software for the state's proposed independent system operator (ISO) and power exchange (WEPEX), but commissioner Jesse J. Knight has dissented, worrying about cost control.

As noted in a parallel story ("PUC Loans Would Bolster ISO, Power Exchange," Headlines, p.

PJM Pool Moves Forward

PECO Energy Co. has filed its "Open Market Plan" at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for restructuring the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) power pool. PECO is the only member not joining a majority PJM restructuring order filed July 24 with the FERC.

The plan proposes an independent system operator (ISO) and electric transmission service priced on a regional, postage-stamp basis. The wholesale market would be based on bilateral transactions, with a residual pool for hourly energy.