Allows

After a four-year wait, Cincinnati Gas &amp Electric Co. and PSIResources finally received unconditional approval of their mergerinto Cinergy Corp. from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Afinal decision on the merger was held up by potential Congressionalaction on the Public Utility Holding Company Act.

California’s Gov. Pete Wilson has signed into law a measurethat for the first time, allows full judicial review of CaliforniaPublic Utilities Commission decisions. This could mean more courtchallenges to future energy decisions when the law goes into effectJan. 1, 1999.

California regulators last week liberalized the use of utilityemployees in non-utility energy affiliate companies as part oftheir action finalizing a set of rules on the interaction betweenthe state’s three major electricity utilities and their affiliatedcompanies. With the advent of retail electric competition each ofthe utilities have several unregulated affiliates offering energysupplies and related services.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is moving ahead with the sale offive additional power plants, following the California PublicUtilities Commission’s decision this week to lift a temporary haltto the plant auction in response to an appeal by local governmentofficials and a citizens’ action group in San Francisco where twoof the plants are located. PG&E is now authorized to reviewpreliminary bids (“nonbinding expressions of interest”) frompotential buyers.