The Pennsylvania Gas Deregulation bill, which was introduced tothe state legislature last week, will meet steadfast oppositionduring the upcoming Senate Consumer Protection committee hearing onMarch 23. The hearing will be the first time the bill goes up fordebate.

The bill was introduced to the Senate by Sen. Jeff Piccola(R-15) and to the House by Rep. Frank Tulli (R-106) despite thedisapproving opinions of a high-powered groups. A source close tothe situation said Enron, along with Shell, Connectiv Energy, DTEEdison America, Green Mountain Energy Resources, and the NaturalGas Supply Association combined to submit a letter in late Februaryto PUC Commissioners John Quain and Aaron Wilson voicing theirdispleasure. They opposed the collaborative’s decisions to allowmandatory capacity assignment until 2002, to permit LDC affiliatesto market to Pennsylvania customers, and to allow the metering,billing and collection services to stay bundled.

In the proposed legislation, the source said these issues werenot addressed to the liking of the opposing parties. Arepresentative from Connectiv will testify against the legislationat the March 23 hearing.

“While the current proposal contains some positive aspects,” theauthors of the letter wrote, “our review leads us to the emphaticconclusion that, if enacted, this proposal will not producebenefits — robust competition, lower prices, better service andmore innovative products — all of us are striving to deliver tothe Commonwealth’s natural gas customers and, particularly,residential and small businesses.”

The only other company to speak out against the bill is NationalFuel Gas, a gas utility serving 195,444 customers in Pennsylvania.It is scheduled to testify at the Consumer Protection hearing aswell. “We don’t want to make any specific statements yet,” said NFGspokesperson Julie Coppola. “We’re still working to make the billbetter but, as of now, we don’t support it.”

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