Conference to eye natural gas, electric restructuring

The US Department of Energy and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) are sponsoring a meeting on promoting competition in restructured natural gas and electricity markets.

The North American Summit on Harmonizing Business Practices will be held at the Adam's Mark Hotel, Dallas, Nov. 29 to Dec. 1.

Sponsors said differences among network companies�gas and electric distribution companies, pipelines, electric transmission companies, and independent system operators�have become barriers to the development of mature and competitive markets.

Robert W. Gee, assistant DOE secretary for fossil energy, told NARUC that a lack of uniformity in business rules and standards "has the potential to be a significant impediment to the profitable market entry and operation of competitive energy service providers on a regional or national basis. The diversity in rules and procedures for providing essentially the same service in different areas may increase the cost to consumers and decrease the profits of such competitive providers.''

NARUC Pres. Bob Rowe, a member of the Montana Public Service Commission, said: "We now have a better understanding of some of the challenges we face in energy restructuring. The development of different business practices by different agencies and network companies could become a significant impediment to efficiently doing business across many different network systems.

"This is an issue not only for suppliers who must do business on many networks but also for utilities who must increasingly face the challenge of consolidating diverse network systems. Obviously the main beneficiary of such efforts is the consumer, who will be able to choose from more suppliers with lower transaction costs,'' Rowe said.