The Ohio Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has granted rate increases for Toledo Edison Co. and the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. (subsidiaries of Centerior Energy Corp.) in the full amount requested, but at the same time has recommended that Centerior remove from its regulatory books $1.25 billion in electric utility assets over a five-year period.
I don't know about you, but the Internet is driving me carzy. Every week I discover a half-dozen new home pages to add to my reading list. Some may view NetscapeÔ as an investment play. I see it as drama.
As a magazine editor (em someone who gets paid to follow the news (em I feel guilty if I don't click on every link and download every file. I call it the "obligation to surf." And the problem grows worse as more government agencies post their decisions online.
William T. O'Connor, Jr. has been hired as nuclear assessment manager at Detroit Edison's Fermi 2 nuclear power plant. He comes from Toledo Edison's Davis-Besse nuclear plant, where he was regulatory affairs manager.
Daniel Bollom, WPS Resources Corp. CEO, has been promoted to chairman of the board. Larry Weyers, senior v.p.-power supply and engineering, was promoted to president and COO of both WPSR and Wisconsin Public Service Corp., one of WPSR's holdings.
A new Standard & Poor's (S&P) report, Direct Access Threatens Utility Revenues, predicts that electric utility revenues would decline 6 to 16 percent ($10 to $26 billion) if retail direct access is implemented. S&P bases its findings on two scenarios: In the severe case, direct access occurs immediately for all customer classes and no surcharge mechanism recovers lost revenues. The more reasonable scenario assumes that only large commercial and industrial (C/I) users will exercise their right to choose direct access and that 50 percent of C/I lost revenues will be recovered in rates.
John Anderson is jumping out of his shoes. And his socks, too. His group, the Electricity Consumers Resource Council (ELCON, where Anderson serves as executive director) may at last get its way.During a few weeks in October, a good half-dozen energy industry players (em including utilities and regulators (em came out in favor of customer choice for electric and gas service.
Ohio Edison Co. has asked the Ohio Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to reduce rates and cap base rates until 2006, thereby extending its present rate freeze for an additional 10 years. The plan, which is supported by the Office of Consumers' Counsel and the Industrial Energy Users-Ohio, would decrease base rates, currently frozen at 1990 levels, by almost $600 million over the next 10 years. Residential and small business rates would decrease by $1 a month until January 1, 2001, and by $1.50 per month thereafter.
Centerior Energy Co. (CE) has signed a power-marketing agreement with Citizens Lehman Power L.P. to make long-term power sales outside of CE's Northern Ohio service territories. CE will make available 550 megawatts of generating capacity from five presently idle fossil-fuel plants. This capacity will support the development of a number of "creative" wholesale power sales packages. The plants, owned by CE subsidiaries, are Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co.'s Lake Shore Plant and Toledo Edison's Acme Station. (em LB
W. Lynn Garner is senior writer and Lori A.
The Ohio Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has approved a merger agreement between Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. and Toledo Edison Co. The utilities, wholly-owned subsidiaries of the same holding company (Centerior Energy Corp.), argued that the PUC had no statutory authority to review the details of the merger and should either dismiss or approve the application.
On December 6, the jury in a three-month-old trial found that Westinghouse Electric did not engage in fraud by supplying two nuclear reactors with allegedly faulty steam generators to Duquesne Light Co. and four co-owners of the Beaver Valley I and II nuclear plants. The utilities had sought $350 million in compensatory damages, and originally charged Westinghouse with RICO violations, breach of contract and warranty, as well as fraud. But in October, U.S.