DR 98-096
                                     
               CONCORD ELECTRIC COMPANY and EXETER & HAMPTON
                             ELECTRIC COMPANY
                                     
           Fuel Adjustment Clause and Purchased Power Adjustment
                                  Clause
                                     
                          Order Approving Charges
                                     
                         O R D E R   N O.  22,966
                                     
                               June 29, 1998
     
         APPEARANCES: LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae by
     Scott J. Mueller, Esq. on behalf of Concord Electric Company
     and Exeter & Hampton Electric Company; and Henry J. Bergeron
     and Todd M. Bohan for the Staff of the New Hampshire Public
     Utilities Commission.
     
     I.   PROCEDURAL HISTORY
               On June 1, 1998, Unitil Service Corporation,
     (Unitil), on behalf of Concord Electric Company (CEC) and
     Exeter & Hampton Electric Company (E&H) (collectively the
     Companies), filed with the New Hampshire Public Utilities
     Commission (Commission) revised tariff pages, supporting
     testimony, and exhibits for proposed revisions to the
     Companies' retail fuel adjustment clauses (FAC) and
     purchased power adjustment clauses (PPAC) and short-term
     purchased power rates for qualifying facilities (QFs) for
     the period of July 1, 1998 through December 31, 1998.
     II.  POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES AND STAFF
          A.   The Companies
               Unitil presented calculations supporting CEC's
     request for a FAC credit of ($0.00425) per kWh and a PPAC
     charge of $0.00276 per kWh.  The combined effect of the two
     rates is to decrease a typical 500 kWh residential
     customer's bill by $3.45 per month, or 6.24%.
               Unitil also presented calculations in support of
     E&H's request for a FAC credit of ($0.00407) per kWh and a
     PPAC charge of $0.00266 per kWh.  The combined effect of the
     two rates is to decrease a typical 500 kWh residential
     customer's bill by $5.06  per month, or 9.23%.         Unitil witness Scott A. Long, Senior Energy
     Analyst for Unitil Service Corp., presented the July 1998
     through December 1998 Unitil Power Corporation (UPC)
     production plan, associated costs, and estimated short-term
     avoided cost rate in his direct testimony. The UPC
     production plan is the basis for UPC's fuel, purchased
     power, and transmission service costs, and is used in
     developing UPC's wholesale rates which it charges CEC and
     E&H under the Unitil System Agreement for firm service.
               UPC's demand charge is $22.01/kW-Month, the base
     energy charge is $0.0057/kWh, and the fuel charge is
     $0.02069/kWh.  The demand charge is decreasing from
     $26.35/kW-Month primarily due to an anticipated over
     recovery on June 30, 1998.  This over recovery was caused by
     lower than expected refueling and outage costs associated
     with major unit outages occurring in the period, lower than
     forecast capacity costs associated with cost of service
     contracts, and lower than forecast short-term capacity
     costs.
               The base energy charge is decreasing from
     $0.00632/kWh due to an over recovery associated with
     unplanned outages of the Seabrook and Bay State Agawam
     units.  Since the plants did not run as planned, lower than
     expected costs were realized.
               The fuel charge is decreasing due primarily to low
     projected oil prices and the effect of no significant
     outages to major units over the July 1, 1998 to December 31,
     1998 filing period.  Oil prices are expected to remain at
     current low levels over the summer period and are projected
     to rise slightly toward the last part of the year.
               UPC's proposed rates represent a 16.45% decrease
     in demand charges (from $26.35 to $22.01), a decrease of
     9.69% in base energy charges (from $0.00632 to $0.00570),
     and a decrease in fuel charges of 7.9% (from $0.02247 to
     $0.02069).
               In her prefiled testimony, Linda S. Hafey, Project
     Leader of Regulatory Operations for Unitil Service Corp.,
     provided an explanation of the Companies' Mitigation
     Proceeds Credit (MPC), the Sales Margin Retention Credit
     (SMRC), and the Participation Incentive Credit (PIC) as well
     as the Non-Participant Protection Adjustment (NPA) for the
     Retail Competition Pilot Program.  This included an
     explanation of how the NPA protects non-participating
     customers from unrecovered power supply costs due to
     customer participation in CEC's and E&H's Retail Competition
     Pilot Program.
               The Companies also filed revised tariffs for
     short-term power purchase rates for Qualifying Facilities as
     follows:
               Energy Rates on Peak          3.04 cents per kWh
                           Off Peak          2.22 cents per kWh
                          All Hours          2.53 cents per kWh
                     Capacity Rates         $0.00 per kW-year
          B.   Commission Staff
               Staff did not provide testimony or oppose the
     Companies' filings but did conduct cross examination on a
     number of issues: 1) the causes of the reductions in the
     demand charges, 2) the erroneous billing by ISO-New England
     to Public Service Company of New Hampshire which was later
     correctly billed to UPC, 3) the impact on the Companies of
     the Maine Yankee shutdown, and 4) the projected growth
     figures for the year 1998 over 1997.
     III.  COMMISSION ANALYSIS 
               We have reviewed all the testimony and exhibits in
     this case, including the responses provided by the
     Companies.  Based on our review of the record, we find that
     the FAC for the July 1, 1998 through December 31, 1998
     period will be a credit of ($0.00425) per kWh for CEC and a
     credit of ($0.00407) per kWh for E&H.  For the same period,
     the PPAC will be $0.00276 per kWh for CEC and $0.00266 per
     kWh for E&H.  For a typical CEC residential customer using
     500 kWh per month, the net result of the FAC and PPAC
     changes is a $3.45 decrease to the monthly bill.  For a
     typical E&H residential customer using 500 kWh per month,
     the net result of the FAC and PPAC changes is a $5.06
     decrease to the monthly bill.
               We find that the proposed short-term avoided
     capacity and energy rates are just and reasonable.
               Based upon the foregoing, it is hereby
               ORDERED, that Concord Electric Company's Fuel
     Adjustment charge for the period of July 1, 1998 through
     December 31, 1998, shall be a credit of ($0.00425) per kWh
     while its Purchased Power Adjustment charge shall be
     $0.00276 per kWh; and it is
               FURTHER ORDERED, that Exeter & Hampton Electric
     Company's Fuel Adjustment charge for the period of July 1,
     1998 through December 31, 1998, shall be a credit of
     ($0.00407) per kWh while its Purchased Power Adjustment
     charge shall be $0.00266 per kWh; and it is
               FURTHER ORDERED, that Concord Electric Company and
     Exeter & Hampton Electric Company file revised tariff pages
     in compliance with this order on or before July 13, 1998.
     
     
               By order of the Public Utilities Commission of New 
     
     Hampshire this twenty-ninth day of June, 1998.
     
     
     
                                                                 
      Douglas L. Patch    Bruce B. Ellsworth     Susan S. Geiger
          Chairman           Commissioner         Commissioner
     
     
     Attested by:
     
     
     
                                      
     Thomas B. Getz
     Executive Director and Secretary