Gov. Bill Owens signed SB99-153 last week, opening the door forvoluntary unbundling by Colorado’s gas utilities. The bill had beenpassed by the state’s House of Representatives then presented tothe Governor May 17.

The bill allows utilities to volunteer plans to the ColoradoPublic Utilities Commission. The Commission decides controversialissues such as capacity assignment, provider of last resort andwhether LDCs should be forced to exit the merchant function. Oncethe plan is approved, the utility can then open up its servicearea.

The Public Service Co. of Colorado, the state’s largest gasutility, said it was in favor of the legislation but would not acthastily. “We’re not going to submit a plan for a while. Right now,we’re aiming to have one put together sometime near Jan. 1, 2000,”said Mark Salley, a Public Service Co. spokesman. He added thatalthough the company will not start deregulating right away, itwill start itemizing customers’ bills so they can start comparingprices.

KN Energy, the LDC for 50,000 customers in Northeast Coloradoand the western slope of the state, has already decided to open itsservice areas to competition. With its ongoing unbundling programsin Nebraska and Wyoming, KN Energy’s affiliate, KN Energy GasService has an advantage in deregulating Midwest markets and plansto be extremely active in Colorado, said KN Energy spokespersonSarah Hanson.

One concern that was dealt with in the Senate was a provisionthat would allow some municipal utilities to keep from public eyesinformation deemed to be sensitive from a competitive standpoint.The bill was amended to require a public hearing to determine whichmunicipal utility records could be closed.

For some utilities, however, the measure did not go far enough.Phil Tollefson, a director at Colorado Springs Utilities, arguedthat these hearings would tip off rates to competitors. He said ifthe public hearing determines that the records should be open, itwould “be like getting into the ring with one hand tied behind ourback. And that would be kind of stupid on our part.” Tollefson saidhe is wavering on whether to recommend the utility should unbundleor not.

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