Producing state Kansas is sticking its toes in the water ofretail gas competition with a notice of inquiry (NOI) from theKansas Corporation Commission (KCC), “the goal of which is toexplore whether extending restructuring to all retail consumers isin the public interest. We also wish to explore other regulatoryalternatives which may bring benefits to smaller retail gasconsumers.”

While the majority of Kansas retail gas consumers still do notqualify for transportation-only service, the KCC recently approvedseveral requests by LDCs to reduce the threshold level at whichcustomers can choose their gas suppliers. Initially, the KCC islooking at several alternatives to expand choice. They include thefollowing: allowing all retail customers to choose suppliers,modifying the purchased gas adjustment (PGA) mechanism to includeperformance-based rate-making and/or modifying the KCC’s purchasecontract review process, and requiring LDCs to utilize acompetitive bidding process to determine both gas and pipelinecapacity purchases. Other alternatives also will be considered, theKCC said in its NOI.

Additionally, KCC staff has developed six general principles itbelieves any customer unbundling plan should adhere to. They are:

The KCC is requesting comment on specific questions from LDCsand other interested parties within 60 days of receipt of the NOI,which was filed Feb. 11.

©Copyright 1999 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. Thepreceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, inwhole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent ofIntelligence Press, Inc.