Nearly three years on from the Yellow Book,1 after many long hours and thousands (em if not millions (em of pages, and following much bitter debate (linked with some murky politics), the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) by a 3-2 majority has at last published an Order2 to introduce competition for retail customers.
The decision contains four main proposals:
s market structure
s access for custo
The Government of Mexico on November 8 revealed its new natural gas regulations at a special conference of industry executives in Mexico City. The new rules promote use of natural gas; create a competitive, market-driven gas industry; encourage private investment; enhance customer choice; and protect the environment. Private-sector transmission, distribution, and storage of gas were all previously controlled by the state.
Conference attendee Thomas A. Page (em chairman of San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
jü( )l, n: A unit of energy measurement equal to a watt-second.
San Diego Gas & Electric signed a power-sales contract with Salt River Project (SRP) for 100 Mw of firm capacity and energy for 1996. SRP will gross about $12 million from the sale.
A Siemens Power generation research team claims a new world record in high-temperature, solid-oxide fuel cells for use in power generation plants. The team achieved an output of 10.7 Kw, operating on hydrogen and oxygen at 950°C.
In a little over a year, the electric utility industry has seen six significant mergers.1 This trend toward consolidation most likely will increase as the industry becomes more competitive.
In a recent article ("The Efficient Utility: Labor, Capital, and Profit," Sept. 1, 1995), Taylor and Thompson attempt to measure the
economic efficiencies of 19 investor-owned utilities.
The authors use a method of efficiency measurement proposed by M.J. Farrell in a pioneering paper published nearly 40 years ago.
When the Salt River Project (SRP) held a series of focus groups in 1994, one participant said he related to our products and services, and felt he received good value for his monthly payments. Unfortunately, a few questions later, we discovered that he did not live in our service area, his bill was higher than he thought, and he wasn't particularly pleased after all.
We were more than a little taken aback.
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.
California regulators and the utilities they oversee have been talking a lot in recent years about competition. But just being able to "talk the talk" isn't enough (em utility companies and the regulators who monitor them have got to "walk the walk." And on that score, they've just barely begun to crawl. Despite all the marketing hype, the monopoly mindset is still very apparent among industry officials and regulators.Take California's energy industry, for example.
American Medical Association, and the California Medical Association have filed briefs with the California Supreme Court stating that they find no link between cancer and electromagnetic fields (EMF) from electric transmission lines: "The physics and cellular biology, combined, strongly indicate that it is not scientifically reasonable to believe that 60 Hz magnetic fields increase the incidence of cancer." The briefs were filed in a case involving San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), which is being sued by the Covalt family, who claim that EMF from power li