Pennsylvania’s state Senate convincingly voiced its support forSB601, a gas deregulation bill for residential and small commercialcustomers, with a 47-3 vote of approval late Monday night. The billis now in the hands of Pennsylvania’s House of RepresentativesConsumer Affairs committee. If the bill is signed into law, each ofthe Pennsylvania natural gas utilities would be required to submita restructuring plan to the PUC by Nov. 1.

John Quain, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission chairman,said at a Pennsylvania Gas Association meeting the window to getthe bill through the entire legislature will close when thislegislative session ends June 15. “We must get it done. We need tocapture the moment,” he said. “We are on the brink of somethingexciting, very positive, and necessary. The natural gas industry isready for change.”

Quain added that, if passed, the bill will allow the state’s gasindustry to enjoy the same success as other deregulated industries.”It’s time for [the gas] industry to catch up and move forward frommonopoly regulation to competition. It makes no sense to me to haveone fuel regulated in Pennsylvania when all others now arecompetitive.”

PECO Energy, a gas utility serving 415,000 natural gas customersin Philadelphia suburban counties, already has begun work preparingthe company’s restructuring plan, which will detail how the utilitywould interact with gas marketers and unbundle its services andrates.

Formed by a collaborative of LDCs, marketers and regulators, SB601has instigated debate due to its compromising nature. It freezes LDCrates from the time it is passed until Jan. 1, 2001, which displeasesLDCs, but it also requires mandatory capacity assignment until July2002, which does not sit well with marketers. Overall, however, mostkey players in the state feel this bill can be successful (See Daily GPI, March 18).

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