New England Electric System

Off Peak

April 23, 1996

On behalf of our members, we want to express our continuing appreciation for the leadership you and your colleagues are showing in seeking enactment of S. 1317, a bill to repeal the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, while assuring appropriate consumer and investor protection. As you know, the '35 Act imposes duplicative, unnecessary, and burdensome requirements that are outdated and do not reflect current circumstances in the gas and electric utility industry.

NEES Proposes Transmission Sub

The New England Electric System (NEES) has filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission for authority to separate

generation and transmission, and to create a

transmission subsidiary called NEES Transmission Services, Inc. NEES Transmission has filed proposed transmission tariffs at the FERC that would give its wholesale customers, including New England Power Co.

Financial News

New England Electric System (NEES) and the majority leaders of both houses of the Rhode Island Legislature have proposed legislation that would restructure the state's electric utility industry. The legislation provides for full recovery of all stranded costs, and phases in open access for all retail customers by January 2001. Although customer choice would come about relatively quickly, rates would not decline much in the near term because a transition charge shields NEES from most of the restructuring risk.

States Consider Employee Compensation Costs

While authorizing Providence Gas Co., a natural gas local distribution company (LDC), to raise its rates by a total of $3.99 million, the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC) reduced the LDC's proposed expense allowance for executive incentive compensation by 60 percent, to match the portion of a performance incentive award designed to reward shareholders. The PUC said that 40 percent of the

performance-based awards under the company's executive incentive payment rules were based on criteria related to cost of gas and operations and maintenance expense.

Frontlines

As I began to write this column, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) was slated in less than 30 minutes (this time, for real) to unveil its final proposed plan to restructure the electric utility industry. After the deed was done, on Wednesday, December 20, I logged on to ftp.cpuc.ca.gov and downloaded the text of the two opinions, issued by California commissioners Daniel Fessler and Jessie Knight.

Financial News

Annual Annual EPS

Close Close Percent 52-Wk 52-Wk Div Div Book P/E Last

Company Region 06/30/95 10/02/95 Change High Low Rate Yield Value Ratio 12 Mos.Electric UtilitiesAEP Company Inc. Midwest 35.13 36.13 2.85 36.50 30.50 2.40 6.64 22.68 14 2.63

Unicom Corp.

Financial News

Annual Annual EPS

Close Close Percent 52-Wk 52-Wk Div Div Book P/E Last

Company Region 03/31/95 06/30/95 Change High Low Rate Yield Value Ratio 12 Mos.Electric Utilities

AEP Company Inc. Midwest 31.75 35.13 10.63 35.75 29.00 2.40 6.83 22.68 13 2.68

Unicom Corp. Midwest 23.75 26.63 12.11 27.75 20.63 1.60 6.01 24.39 14 1.90

Union Electric Co.