Fortnightly
News Digest
January 15, 1999
By Lori A. Burkhart, Phillip S. Cross and Beth Lewis
Generating Plants
New England Nukes. Entergy Nuclear Generating Co. announced on Nov. 18 that it would buy Boston Edison's 670-megawatt Pilgrim nuclear plant for about $120 million and take over decommissioning and the trust fund, valued at $400+ million. Entergy said it would reduce decommissioning costs by an estimated $154 million, to $220 million.
New England Fossil. Just two weeks after FPL Group filed suit in federal district court to avoid honoring its agreement to buy 1,185 MW of non-nuclear generating capacity from Central Maine Power Co., the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Maine Public Utilities Commission approved the purchase. Docket Nos. EC98-45-000, ER98-3507-000, Nov. 25, 85 FERC ¶61,272; Docket No. 98-058, Nov. 23, 1998 (Me.P.U.C.).
FPL says it sued to block the sale following a ruling issued in October by the FERC (see "Transmission & ISOs," page 14), which asked the New England Power Pool to review how new plant construction in New England might affect transmission constraints. FPL claims that CMP now cannot deliver on its contractual promise that FPL Energy could operate the power plants in a manner "substantially consistent" with CMP's historical operation of the assets, as access to the market, particularly NEPOOL, was a fundamental part of the agreement.
Arizona Settlement. Arizona regulators were to review a settlement reached Nov. 5 between Tucson Electric Power Co. and the commission staff that would allow the utility to divest its generation assets while recovering 100 percent of stranded costs, through 2008, based on book value differential. The deal also would allow TEP to form a transmission company and to acquire specific transmission assets owned by Arizona Public Service.
Montana Sales. The Montana Public Service Commission approved the sale of PacifiCorp's Montana-based distribution facilities to Flathead Electric Cooperative Inc., which will take over service to PacifiCorp's 36,000 Montana customers. The $4 million net gain would be allocated $1.25 million to distribution system improvements in PacifiCorp's existing territory and $2.75 million to PacifiCorp's residential and small commercial customers. Docket No. D98.10.218, Order No. 6103a, Nov. 2, 1998 (Mont.P.S.C.).
Meanwhile, PP&L Global (a subsidiary of PP&L Resources Inc.) announced Nov. 2 that it would buy 13 generating plants located in Montana with more than 2,600 MW of generating capacity for $1.59 billion. It would buy one coal-fired plant and 11 hydroelectric facilities from Montana Power Co., and acquire the controlling interest in a four-unit, coal-fired plant from Montana Power, Portland General Electric Co. and Puget Sound Energy.
New York Divestiture. The New York Public Service Commission ok'd the sale of all fossil-fueled generating assets of New York State Electric & Gas Co. to AES NY Inc. and Mission Energy Westside Inc., for $1.85 billion. NYSEG is the first New York utility to receive PSC approval for generation divestiture. The sale price represented $732 per kilowatt. Case 96- E-0891, Nov. 4, 1998 (N.Y.P.S.C.).
Midland QF Plant. Michigan regulators denied a petition by Consumers Energy Co. for a declaratory ruling to ok an auction of rights to purchase power from the Midland Cogeneration Venture Limited Partnership, calling the move premature since the petition stated no particular facts. Case No. U-11811, Oct. 12, 1998 (Mich.P.S.C.).
Gas Pipelines
Canadian Price Structure. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, the Small Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. and its subsidiary, NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd., unveiled a new framework and pricing structure Oct. 26 for gas transportation tolls on the NGT system, moving away from nearly two decades of postage-stamp pricing to better align with interests in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
Vector Project. The FERC granted certification on non-environmental issues for the Vector gas pipeline project, linking Joliet, Ill. and St. Clair, Ontario via Indiana and Michigan, with a maximum peak-day capacity of 1 million dekatherms per day, provided the project is placed in service within two years. Docket Nos. CP98-131-000 et al., Oct. 19, 1998, 85 FERC ¶61,083.
Mergers & Acquisitions
AES + CILCORP. Virginia-based power plant developer AES Corp. announced Nov. 23 that it would purchase a Midwest-based energy services company, CILCORP, the parent company of Central Illinois Light Co., for about $65 per share, or $885 million.
Central Illinois Light Co.,which serves about 250,000 retail customers, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of AES. The acquisition gives AES Corp. its first U.S. distribution company. AES also has more than 100 generating plants worldwide.
AEP + C&SW. Citing problems with data and assumptions used in the competitive screen to measure market share and market power, and also with factors "external to the screen," the FERC has forced a hearing to review the proposed merger between American Electric Power and Central & Southwest Corp. It will not review retail effects in Ohio, however, even though Ohio regulators said they lacked time and resources to consider the issue. Docket Nos. EC98-40-000 et al., Nov. 10, 1998, 85 FERC ¶61,201.
AEP and CSW also have submitted a rate settlement to the Texas Public Utilities Commission, which, if approved, would cut rates about $180 million during a six-year period for Texas customers of the three CSW electric subsidiaries in Texas.
CMS + Panhandle. CMS Energy bought Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co. and Trunkline Gas Co. from Duke Energy for $2.2 billion, for a cash payment of $1.9 billion and the assumption of existing Panhandle debt of $300 million. The purchased assets include 11,500 miles of mainline gas pipe extending from the Texas Gulf Coast to Michigan and from the Kansas/Oklahoma mid-continent to Michigan, with a combined capacity of 3.5 billion cubic feet per day, plus 70 billion cubic feet of underground gas storage facilities.
Bell Atlantic + GTE. The Delaware Public Service Commission declined to review the proposed merger of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp., saying the deal would not change the fact that Bell Atlantic was the state's "predominant telecommunications provider." PSC Docket No. 98-433, Oct. 23, 1998 (Del.P.S.C.).
It won approval in North Carolina, where regulators said it would encourage competition in local calling. Docket No. P-19, Sub 306 et al., Oct. 30, 1998 (N.C.U.C.).
Transmission & ISOs
Regional Coordination. The FERC has opened a proceeding to solicit views from state utility commissions on setting up regional electric transmission districts. The action stems from the U.S. Department of Energy's Sept. 29 transfer of authority to the FERC under Section 202(a) of the Federal Power Act to allow the Commission to divide the nation into regional districts to promote electric transmission interconnection and coordination.
The FERC said it would hold one or more conferences in January or early February. Docket Nos. ER98-1438-001, EC98-24-001, Nov. 24, 1998, 85 FERC ¶61,250.
Midwest Transco Initiatives. In a rehearing order, the FERC asked FirstEnergy Corp. to provide more information on its plans to transfer $1 billion in transmission assets into a new subsidiary, American Transmission Systems Inc., as a first step toward creating a regional transmission company. The new transco would own and operate transmission on a for-profit basis. Docket No. EC97-5-002, Nov. 10, 1998, 85 FERC ¶61,203.
Meanwhile, Northern States Power Co. and Alliant Energy on Nov. 6 announced plans to develop a publicly traded transco to serve the upper Midwest, not affiliated with either company. Alliant also was reevaluating is membership in the new Midwest ISO. Said Eliot Protsch, Alliant's vice president of energy delivery, "An independent transmission company is the logical evolution of an ISO."
California ISO. The FERC, denying requests for a public conference on the issue, has directed the California ISO and the California Power Exchange to amend their bylaws to allow persons not residing in California to sit on their governing boards. The FERC also asked the two bodies to remove the California Electricity Oversight Board from an active role in appointing members to the ISO or PX boards. It explained that the Oversight Board was created only to help start up the ISO and PX. Docket Nos. EC96-19-028 et al., Nov. 24, 1998, 85 FERC ¶61,263.
Earlier, the FERC had allowed market-based pricing for all sales of ancillary and replacement reserve electricity services to the California ISO, but had extended authority to the ISO to continue to enforce rate caps in the ancillary services market to maintain reliability, noting a lack of incentive to sell ancillary services at cost-based rates. Docket Nos. ER98-4497-000 et al., Oct. 28, 1998 (F.E.R.C.).
Conflicts of Interest. The FERC ruled that in order to attract electric utility experts, it will allow the employees, officers and directors of the Midwest ISO to retain certain pension benefits with member utilities. The ruling relaxes rules imposed in September that barred ISO employees from any financial interest in ISO members. Docket Nos. ER1438-001, EC98-24-001, Nov. 24, 1998, 85 FERC ¶61,250.
MAPP Region. The Mid-Continent Area Power Pool voted against setting up an independent system operator and a regional tariff. The MAPP executive committee now has to decide what steps to take. The ISO task force and tariff task force had spent more than one year developing the two proposals.
New England Power Pool. The FERC asked the New England Power Pool to file a new plan by March 31, showing how it will address transmission access and constraints, upon finding that its system impact studies erred by assuming that all new proposed generation projects would be built, producing unreliable estimates of transmis
sion expansion costs. Docket No. ER98-3853- 000, Oct. 29, 1998, 85 FERC ¶61,141.
State PUCs
Unsanctioned Competition. While New Mexico has yet to adopt legislation or rules setting up retail choice for electric consumers, the state public utilities commission has granted a certificate of public convenience to Residential Electric Inc. to sell electricity as a public utility in three cities already served by Public Service Co. of New Mexico. PNM must provide unbundled transmission, distribution and ancillary and customer services to REI. Case Nos. 2867, 2868, Nov. 30, 1998 (N.M.P.U.C.).
Gas Choice Pilots. Noting a possible increase in bad debts, the Ohio Public Utilities Commission agreed to suspend an order that had directed Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co. to purchase all receivables of marketers for whom it was providing billing services under natural gas pilot programs for retail choice. CG&E noted that one marketer on its system that claimed a 65 percent share of sales showed a 16.4 percent bad-debt ratio (accounts more than 90 days delinquent), whereas CG&E's bad debt ratio was only 6.5 percent. Case No. 98-595-GA-COI, Nov. 19, 1998 (Ohio P.U.C.).
Retail Gas Competition. In a policy statement on the future of the state's natural gas industry, the New York Public Service Commission declared that "the most effective way" to achieve competition in the state's retail gas market is for local distribution companies to "cease selling gas." The PSC expects to undertake discussions with each of the state's LDCs to design individualized plans to "effectuate our vision."
Nevertheless, the PSC appears to have stopped short of actually mandating that LDCs must exit the merchant function. However, it directed that as of April 1, LDCs must stop assigning pipeline capacity rights to retail customers who migrate from bundled sales service to transportation-only service. Case 93-G-0932, Case 97-G-1380, Nov. 3, 1998 (N.Y.P.S.C.).
Stranded Gas Capacity Costs. The New York PSC also asked for comments on how to allocate stranded costs incurred for natural gas pipeline capacity when customers taking bundled sales service migrate to transportation-only service. The comments were due Dec. 14. Case 98-G-1785, Nov. 20, 1998 (N.Y.P.S.C.).
Environmental Disclosure. The New York PSC has adopted an environmental labeling process to inform consumers about sources of air emissions from electricity they buy. The label would appear on energy bills by April 2000, describing fuel sources and selected air emissions. Case 94-E-0952, Nov. 4, 1998 (N.Y.P.S.C.).
Gas Industry Restructuring. Responding to Senate Bill 1602, which bars any substantive move toward gas industry restructuring prior to Jan. 1, 2000, the California Public Utilities Commission set a timetable for drafting a proposed restructuring policy, after which it will vote on whether to send the plan to the state legislature. Hearings were to be completed by this month, with briefs due by Jan. 29. R. 98-01-011, Decision 98-10-028, Oct. 8, 1998 (Cal.P.U.C.).
Gas System Expansion. Addressing a state law enacted in September, the North Carolina Utilities Commission proposed rules on how natural gas local distribution companies or new prospective franchisees may apply to use state funds raised by new general obligation bonds for building new gas system infrastructure. Docket No. G-100, Sub 75, Nov. 16, 1998 (N.C.U.C.).
Renewable Energy. The North Carolina Utilities Commission asked for comments on a proposal by the state's solar energy association to allow net metering for retail electric customers to offset their utility bills by self-generation using photovoltaic, wind, biomass, micro-hydro or solar thermal technology. It would cap unit size at 10 kilowatts for residential users and 100 kW for commercial, institutional or industrial users. Docket No. E-100, Sub 83, Nov. 18, 1998 (N.C.U.C.).
Fuel Cost Adjustments. The Michigan Public Service Commission allowed Detroit Co. to withdraw its request to terminate its power supply cost recovery mechanism. The company said it might still need PSR adjustments, since the "current course" of deregulation in Michigan might still require utilities to offer bundled service. Case No. U-11449, Oct. 26, 1998 (Mich.P.S.C.).
Gas Marketers. The Maine Public Utilities Commission will investigate whether to regulate private natural gas marketers. Docket No. 98-786, Oct. 20, 1998 (Me.P.U.C.).
Load Profiling. The Maine PUC also adopted rules governing the process, methods and terms by which electric transmission and distribution utilities will develop the hourly load estimates for competitive generation suppliers and carry out monthly reconciliations. Docket No. 98-496, Oct. 13, 1998 (Me.P.U.C.).
Renewable Portfolios. The New Mexico Public Utility Commission required Public Service Co. of New Mexico to collect a surcharge of one-half of one percent from all customers to finance acquisition of 5 MW of solar power through direct ownership or by a power purchase contract, through an open public bidding process.
The PUC rejected claims that the plan was flawed because it ignored the system benefits of small-scale, distributed solar generation. Case No. 2787, Oct. 27, 1998 (N.M.P.U.C.).
PBR Plans. The Alabama Public Service Commission allowed Alabama Gas Corp. to set up an emergency reserve fund under its "Rate Stabilization and Equalization" rate-making formula to dampen effects of natural disasters or force majeure events. Docket U-3896, Oct 6, 1998 (Ala.P.S.C.).
Gas Imbalances. In reopening rates for the state's three major investor-owned gas local utilities, the Connecticut Dept. of Public Utility Control authorized marketers to trade daily imbalances among themselves, provided that any one trade occurs between marketers using the same pipeline and the same utility. It also ok'd surcharges for each utility to assess against marketers in "cashing-out" imbalances. Docket Nos. 95-02-07 et al., Oct. 28, 1998 (Conn.D.P.U.C.).
Electric Avoided Costs. Noting that their value had "steadily diminished," the New York PSC ended the practice of requiring New York Power Pool members to file semi-annual updates of long-run avoided costs, used to evaluate demand-side management plans and set rates for qualifying cogeneration facilities. It said that no new QF contract had been signed since the early 1990s with prices based on LRAC updates. Case 93-E-0175, Nov. 10, 1998 (N.Y.P.S.C.).
Interruptible Rates. The Arkansas Public Service Commission, reviewing a bid by Entergy Arkansas Inc. to modify its interruptible electric tariff, rejected a proposal by its staff to allow termination of service to any customer failing to interrupt usage twice during a 12-month period. Instead, a failure to interrupt would boost the level of consumption billed at firm demand rates. Docket No. 96-360-U, Order No. 35, Oct. 16, 1998 (Ark.P.S.C.).
Distribution Tariffs. Suggesting that some sort of pro forma distribution-only tariff might be needed to effect retail electric competition, the Illinois Commerce Commission asked utilities, staff and interest parties to comment on methods used to measure cost of service and non-rate conditions of delivery services. No. 98-0680, Oct. 13, 1998 (Ill.C.C.).
Nuclear Decommissioning. North Carolina regulators have issued guidelines on the cost and funding of nuclear plant decommissioning, to ensure that state rules coordinate with new financial assurance rules issued in September by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Docket No. E-100, Sub 56, Nov. 3, 1998 (N.C.U.C.).
Courts
Nuclear Waste Disposal. Citing the U.S. Supreme Court's 1996 Winstar ruling as precedent, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims has found the U.S. Dept. of Energy in partial breach of contract for its failure to accept spent nuclear fuel from utilities for permanent disposal, as required under the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act and court rulings. DOE lost on three of four separate counts: (1) breach of contract, (2) breach of implied contractual duty of good faith and fair dealing, and (3) taking of property without compensation. Yankee Atomic Elec. Co. v. U.S., No. 98-126C, 1998 WL 756563, Oct. 29, 1998 (Ct.Fed.Cl.).
Depreciation Rates. A federal appeals court has ruled that Federal Power Act sec. 302 does not require electric utilities to obtain approval from the FERC before changing depreciation rates. However, it suggested that sec. 302 would not bar the FERC from requiring such approval. Alabama Pwr. Co. v. FERC, No. 97-1725, 1998 WL 785622, Nov. 13, 1998 (D.C.Cir.).
Gas Pipelines. In three recent cases, the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. has remanded FERC decisions involving rights between interstate gas pipelines and shippers, asking the commission to justify its ruling:
n Imbalance Penalties. Why the FERC failed to require NorAm Gas Trans. Corp. to flow through revenues to shippers collected from imbalance penalties. Amoco Prod. Co. v. FERC, 158 F.3d 593 Oct. 23, 1998 (D.C.Cir.).
n Curtailments. Whether exemptions from curtailment rules granted by Texas Eastern Trans. Corp. to certain gas users with emergency needs were reasonable, even with payment of compensation to curtailed customers, since exemptions favored users who failed to plan for supply shortages. Process Gas Consumers Group v. FERC, 158 F.3d 591, Oct. 23, 1998 (D.C.Cir.).
n Rate Suspensions. Why the FERC ok'd a five-month suspension period for new rates filed by Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp., and then refused to put the change into effect immediately for a pipeline customer whose rates would have fallen. NE Energy Associates v. FERC, 158 F.3d 150, Oct. 20, 1998 (D.C.Cir.).
Municipal Condemnations. The Virginia Supreme Court has held that a municipality seeking to condemn private electric utility facilities within city limits must obtain approval from the state PUC, upon proof that the takeover will serve the public interest. Town of Blackstone v. Southside Elec. Co-op., Inc., No. 980564, 1998 WL 774337, Nov. 6, 1998 (Va.).
Line Relocation Costs. A Washington state court has ruled that a public utility district can charge a private developer for costs required to relocate transmission lines, even though state law requires PUDs to pick up line relocation costs necessary for building public roads. Sundquist Homes Inc. v. Snohomish Co. PUD No. 1, 965 P.2d 1148, Nov. 2, 1998 (Wash.App.).
QF Contracts. A federal appeals court allowed a PURPA-qualified cogenerator to appeal a state PUC order to gain the right under its contract with an electric utility to boost the level of power sales at above-market avoided-cost rates, since the PUC lacked jurisdiction to interpret the contract. Crossroads Cogen. Corp. v. Orange & Rockland Utils., Inc., No. 97-5470, 1998 WL 744598, Oct. 27, 1998 (3d Cir.).
Municipal Telephone Service. The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 did not preempt an Iowa law barring municipalities from offering local telephone service. Iowa Tel. Asso. v. City of Hawarden, No. 97-83, 1998 WL 734321, Oct. 21, 1998 (Iowa).
Power Markets
California PX. The California Power Exchange has received its first investment ratings from Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's. Moody's assigned the PX a short-term issuer rating of Prime-1, with a stable rating outlook, while Standard & Poor's assigned it an 'A-1' issuer credit rating.
Both companies said a key ratings consideration is that most of the power transactions involve the three largest California investor-owned utilities. The legislatively mandated use of the PX by the three utilities until 2002 links its credit quality to theirs during a four-year transition period. Moody's warned, however, that as competition increases and IOUs are replaced in the PX by generating, power marketing and energy service companies, the new participants are unlikely to be able to meet the minimum credit standards of the pool on a stand-alone basis.
Midwest Price Spikes. The Ohio Public Utilities Commission on Nov. 19 issued a report to the Ohio General Assembly warning that June's electric supply outages could recur, but noting that an appropriately structured transmission system with competition in generation could lessen the possibility.
Refuting the FERC's staff report (which found only a remote chance of recurrence), the Ohio report predicts that the balance of generation supply and customer demand may become even more precarious, with federal environmental rules limiting releases of nitrogen oxide emissions. Access the report, Ohio's Electric Market June 22-26, 1988, What Happened and Why, at http://www.puc.ohio.gov/
Business Wire
Automated Power Exchange, which offers a bilateral spot market in California to match buyers with sellers in competition with the California Power Exchange, has announced plans to open a new electric commodity exchange in New York.
Starpower Communications, a joint venture company between RCN Communications and PEPCO Communications, a subsidiary of Potomac Electric Power Co., signed an agreement to become the District of Columbia's first competitive video provider. Starpower also would offer competitive local and long-distance telephone service, as well as high-speed Internet access. Starpower says soon it will be able to provide services to 9,000 residences over its fiber-optic network.
After four years of development, Southern Electric goes live with a new customer management system from IBM. The single IBM system replaces 27 separate systems previously used by Southern Electric to manage 2.6 million customers across the United Kingdom. The system runs from a central IBM S/390 mainframe and is connected to more than 1,500 IBM PCs. The new system allows Southern Electric to save on costs and offer enhanced services to customers.
Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp. announced new orders worth about $1.1 billion. The orders are to supply 41 gas turbines to power producers worldwide.
PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. acquired Applied Decision Analysis Inc., a California company specializing in applying quantitative analytical techniques to corporate strategic investment decisions. The ADA group will form the analytical core of PwC's market and asset strategies service in the firm's financial advisory services practice. ADA is staffed with a professional staff of about 55.
CNG International Corp. and El Paso Energy International Co. purchased two natural gas pipelines in Western Australia from the Broken Hill Pty Co. Ltd. for about $75 million. The purchase includes the 134-mile, high-pressure Pilbara Pipeline that serves BHP's hot briquetted iron plant and a 15-mile extension to production facilities in Burrup. The pipelines will be operated by Epic Energy Australia. CNG and El Paso Energy share controlling interest in Epic Energy.
Indus International formed a strategic alliance with Deloitte Consulting and PeopleSoft Inc. The partnership was formed with the intent of providing integrated business solutions to the utility and energy industry. One customer is Omaha Public Power District, which serves more than 275,000 customers.
EPRI, the research arm for investor-owned electric utilities, was preparing to field test and evaluate small microturbine generation systems for commercial markets, able to run on natural gas, propane or other hydrocarbon fuels. It will evaluate some 25 "beta series" prototypes in the 30-200 kW range.
The Gas Research Institute (GRI) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have joined to develop an advanced robotic system to repair "live" (operating) steel natural gas lines from inside the pipe. During a three-year, $3.5-million program, researchers envision a system that will require only a single excavation to launch the device, with a range of up to 1,000 feet in either direction from the entry point. By eliminating the need for shut-offs and major excavations, GRI expects its system will save 30-50 percent over conventional repair methods.
Studies & Reports
Industrial Energy Use. The U.S. industrial sector will increase its demand for energy by 1.3 percent annually during the next 20 years (or 25 percent over the period), according to a report from the Gas Research Institute and Energy and Environmental Analysis Inc., "1998 Industrial Trends Analysis."
The report predicts that industrial consumption will rise from 27.3 quadrillion Btu in 1995 to 35.1 quad Btu in 2015, encouraged by low, flat energy prices. For more information, call GRI at 703-526-7832.
Average Electric Rates. Industrial customers in 1997 paid the lowest prices for electricity in 17 years, according to figures released Nov. 3 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Average residential prices rose slightly from 1996 to 1997, however.
Said EIA administrator Jay Hakes, "Four straight years of price declines for industrial customers suggest they've been using their size ¼ [and more competition] to win concessions for electric utilities."
The average price for all U.S. electric customers was 6.85 cents per kilowatt-hour in 1997. Hawaii showed the highest average price (12.49 cents per kWh), followed by New Hampshire (11.66 cents) and New York (11.13 cents). The lowest average prices were found in Idaho (3.87 cents), Kentucky (4.03 cents) and Washington state (4.04 cents).
See Electric Sales and Revenue 1997 and Electric Power Annual 1997-Volume II at ftp://ftp.eia.doe.gov/pub/electricity.
Electric Reliability
Load Following. In a case of first impression, the FERC authorized Kentucky Utilities to impose a separate charge for load following service even for customers who already buy system protection services.
It denied arguments that the LF charge would double-recover costs for generation plants also used for system protection, and added that a 3 percent requirement for spinning reserve, imposed by the East Central Area Reliability Council, did not obviate the need for the LF charge, since spinning reserve and load following are separate services. Opin. No. 432, Docket No. ER-854- 000, Nov. 25, 1998, 85 FERC ¶61,274.
Computerized Grid Management. Commonwealth Edison joined the Consortium for the Intelligent Management of the Electric Power Grid, a group that aims to develop a computer-based management system for the nation's electric power grid to ensure reliability in times of severe natural disasters or other crises.
Along with ComEd, CIMEG is composed of three universities and the Tennessee Valley Authority. CIMEG was awarded a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the Electric Power Research Institute and the Department of Defense to develop a reliability system targeting prediction, modeling and faster computing. It expects to develop prototype software by 2003, which will be tested in the service territories of ComEd and TVA.
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