DR 98-139
Public Service Company of New Hampshire
Special Contract Service Rates
Order Approving Delay in Filing Procedural Schedule
O R D E R N O. 23,012
September 8, 1998
APPEARANCES: Gerald M. Eaton, Esq. for Public Service
Company of New Hampshire; Representative Jeb E. Bradley;
Ransmeier and Spellman by Dom S. D'Ambruoso for Anheuser-Busch;
Gallagher, Callahan and Gartrell by David A. Garfunkel, Esq. for
the Wausau Papers of New Hampshire; Dupont Group by James Monahan
for Cabletron Systems; Anne F. Ross, Esq.; James T. Rodier, Esq.,
Henry Veilleux for the Business and Industry Association; Pentti
Aalto; Office of the Consumer Advocate by Michael Holmes, Esq.
for residential ratepayers; and Eugene F. Sullivan, III, Esq. for
the Staff of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission
On July 31, 1998, the New Hampshire Public Utilities
Commission (Commission) issued an Order of Notice opening a
proceeding to consider Public Service of New Hampshire's (PSNH)
May 31, 1998, request to modify its tariff to amend certain
special contracts. PSNH's proposed tariff change was intended to
provide a rate decrease to customers taking service under special
contracts tied to the Fuel and Purchase Power Adjustment Clause
(FPPAC) and the "BA" component of FPPAC. The filing was
precipitated by a change made to the BA factor of the FPPAC in
DR 98-014 to provide base rate relief to all PSNH ratepayers.
The Order of Notice scheduled a pre-hearing conference
for August 25, 1998, for each party to provide a preliminary
statement of its position with regard to PSNH's petition and to
set a procedural schedule to govern the Commission's
investigation into the proposed tariff modification. Prior to
the pre-hearing conference, requests to intervene were received
from Representative Jeb E. Bradley, Anheuser-Busch (AB), Campaign
for Ratepayers Rights (CRR), Wausau Papers of New Hampshire
(Wausau), Cabletron Systems (Cabletron), Anne Ross, Esq., James
Rodier, Esq., and Elliot and Williams Roses, Inc.
At the duly noticed pre-hearing conference on August
25, 1998, representatives from PSNH, the New Hampshire Public
Utilities Commission Staff (Staff), the Office of Consumer
Advocate (OCA), Wausau, the Business & Industry Association of
New Hampshire (BIA), AB, and CRR were present along with Mr.
Rodier, Ms. Ross, Representative Bradley and Mr. Aalto. The
previously filed requests for intervention were granted.
Following the pre-hearing conference the BIA filed for
intervention. No objections having been received, the
intervention is granted. In accordance with the Order of Notice,
the parties and Staff stated their initial positions.
PSNH stated that changes to the BA portion of FPPAC
created an unintentional rate increase to 35 special contract
customers. PSNH sought to solve the discrete problem of
eliminating the unintended rate increase to those 35 special
contract customers without affecting other customers' rates.
Rather than having to renegotiate 35 contracts, PSNH proposed to
address this issue in one proceeding through a tariff revision.
The BIA's concern is that the value of the affected
special contracts be retained and not impact other customers.
Similarly, Representative Bradley took the position that there
should be no impact on other customers in any mechanism
undertaken to maintain the value of the special contracts. Ms.
Ross concurred with the position taken by BIA and Representative
Bradley.
AB and Wausau stated the joint position that the
special contracts should be amended to maintain the BA impact at
the current level.
Cabletron stated its concern that any impact from
adjusting the special contracts not place any further burden on
Cabletron and other ratepayers not being served under special
contracts.
Mr. Rodier took the position that the end result of any
adjustment to special contracts should result in no effect upon
special contract rates. He argued that the mechanism should not
be through a tariff change but through an amendment which would
be applied uniformly to all 35 special contracts.
The OCA stated that the contracts in question were
negotiated by sophisticated participants at arms length and
approved by the Commission. The Commission would have to be
presented with evidence that any change to these contracts is in
the public interest. CRR concurred with the position of the OCA.
Staff took no position.
The Parties participated in a technical session at
which they discussed other proceedings that would affect special
contacts and the scope of this docket. The parties and Staff
scheduled another technical session for September 3, 1998.
Following the September 3, 1998 technical session,
Staff notified the Commission by letter dated September 4, 1998,
that the parties and Staff were working towards a generic
modification to these 35 special contracts to address potential
changes in the inputs to the FPPAC rate and changes in
anticipation of retail competition. The letter stated the
parties would meet again on October 6, 1998, to discuss these
issues.
Based upon the foregoing, it is hereby
ORDERED, that the parties shall meet on October 6, 1998
and file with the Commission on or before October 9, 1998, a
proposed procedural schedule for the remainder of this
proceeding; and it is
FURTHER ORDERED, that the motions to intervene are
granted; and it is
FURTHER ORDERED, that PSNH shall notify all 35 special
contracts at issue herein of the proposed generic change to these
special contracts; and it is
FURTHER ORDERED, that PSNH shall notify all the parties
to DR 96-150 and all other parties holding special contracts of
its proposed changes to these special contracts.
By order of the Public Utilities Commission of New
Hampshire this eighth day of September, 1998.
Douglas L. Patch Bruce B. Ellsworth Susan S. Geiger
Chairman Commissioner Commissioner
Attested by:
Thomas B. Getz
Executive Director & Secretary