Transition

A smooth transition of the merger between Unicom and PECO Energy that created Exelon Corp. is just one of several reasons why the company believes it will meet or surpass its 2001 earnings target of $4.50 per share, said Exelon Co-CEO John W. Rowe last week.

A smooth transition of the merger between Unicom and PECO Energy that created Exelon Corp. is just one of several reasons why the company believes it will meet or surpass its 2001 earnings target of $4.50 per share, said Exelon Co-CEO John W. Rowe earlier this week.

“What we have is basically a two-lane road, and the marketers and everyone else want to use it as a six-lane highway,” Edward Tirello, analyst for Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, said describing the U.S. power grid. “But someone is going to have to spend a enormous amount of money to [make it happen], and no one is spending any money right now.”

The Ohio Public Utility Commission approved Monongahela Power’selectric transition plan on the one year anniversary of the dayOhio’s electric restructuring bill took effect.

Electric restructuring is almost a reality for Ohio consumersstatewide as American Electric Power’s (AEP) transition plan andMonongahela Power’s plan were approved by the Public UtilitiesCommission of Ohio. AEP’s and Monongahela’s Ohio customers will nowjoin the customers of the other three utilities in enjoying thefreedom of choosing their electricity supplier, with servicestarting as early as Jan. 1.

Electric restructuring is almost a reality for Ohio consumersstatewide as American Electric Power’s (AEP) transition plan wasthe latest to be approved by the Public Utilities Commission ofOhio. AEP’s Ohio customers will now have the freedom of choosingtheir electricity supplier, with service starting as early as Jan.1.

ScottishPower announced a transition plan for PacifiCorpyesterday that includes a workforce reduction of 1,600 PacifiCorpemployees over the next five years. By 2004, PacifiCorp is expectedto deliver annual cost savings from 1998 levels of $300 million inoperating expenses and $250 million in capital expenditures.Employee reductions will occur from all areas of the businessacross the company’s six-state service area. ScottishPower is aleading international multi-utility company with a marketcapitalization of about $16 billion and 7.5 million customersacross the U.K., western U.S. and Australia. Its merger withPortland, OR-based PacifiCorp was completed in November 1999.PacifiCorp currently serves 1.5 million customers in Oregon, Utah,Wyoming, Idaho, Washington and California.

One of the “biggest issues” facing the natural gas industry inthe upcoming year with respect to Y2K will be the readiness of “keyproviders and dependent players,” namely the electricity andtelecommunications industries, said pipeline and LDC officials lastweek.

A daily auction process to allocate pipeline transportationcapacity in the secondary market is the “linchpin” to removingprice caps for short-term transportation, FERC Commissioner LindaBreathitt said yesterday at the seventh annual DOE-NARUC NaturalGas Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. “Without market power mitigation,I am unwilling to release the price cap.”