Gas customers pay the price

Journal Article · Sat Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1995 · Fortnightly

OSTI ID:96025

Cross, P S

Who will pay the costs incurred by regulated utility companies as they shift to competitive markets under plans engineered at the federal and state levels? This question is part of the debate over electric industry restructuring, but any payments lie in the future. For ratepayers in the gas market, however, the time has come. So far, state regulators have interpreted the law as prohibiting any sharing of gas market {open_quotes}transition{close_quotes} costs between shareholders and ratepayers. In recent cases, state commissions (PUCs) have decided that the {open_quotes}filed rate{close_quotes} doctrine requires a passthrough to consumers once the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approves the changes in pipeline rates. The question now concerns how to allocate costs between customers who rely on the local utility for service and those who do not. Whether the same lines will be drawn for electric customers remains to be seen, but the battle is worth watching.

• OSTI ID: 96025
• Journal Information: Fortnightly, Journal Name: Fortnightly Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 133; ISSN FRTNE8
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
COMPETITION
COST RECOVERY
DEREGULATION
ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY
NATURAL GAS
NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY
PRICES