DR 98-192
Connecticut Valley Electric Company Inc.
1999 Conservation and Load Management Percentage Adjustment
Order Suspending Proposed Rates
O R D E R N O. 23,155
February 26, 1999
On November 4, 1998, Connecticut Valley Electric
Company Inc. (CVEC) filed with the New Hampshire Public Utilities
Commission (Commission) its Proposal for 1999 Conservation and
Load Management (C&LM) Percentage Adjustment (C&LMPA). CVEC
proposed a 1999 C&LMPA which is substantially composed of the
collection of the net present value of the net revenue loss (NRL)
for the 1999-2024 period. CVEC ramped down its C&LM programs
during 1997, as authorized by the Commission in Order No. 22,536
(March 31, 1997). The proposed 1999 C&LMPA recovers no direct
program spending, only the net present value of future NRL, as
well as 1999 administrative costs and prior period
over/undercollections. The 1999 C&LMPA is also proposed to be
applicable only to off-season billings in the March through
November 1999 period. No C&LMPA billing is proposed for the peak
season months of January, February, and December 1999. In its
November 4, 1998 filing, CVEC proposed the following C&LMPAs for
effect March 1, 1999: 2.32% for the Residential rate class and
4.37% for the Commercial/ Industrial rate class.
By an Order of Notice issued November 30, 1998, the
Commission scheduled a prehearing conference for January 4, 1999.
On December 30, 1998, the Governor's Office of Energy and
Community Services (ECS) filed a late Motion for Full
Intervention. There were no objections to ECS' motion to
intervene. The Office of the Consumer Advocate (OCA) is a
statutorily recognized intervenor. On January 11, 1999, the
Commission issued Order No. 23,103 granting ECS's motion to
intervene and approving the procedural schedule.
Pursuant to the approved procedural schedule, CVEC,
ECS, the OCA and Staff engaged in formal discovery. On January
25, 1999, ECS, the OCA and Staff submitted prefiled direct
testimony. A settlement conference was scheduled for February 5,
1999, but was canceled by the parties as a result of telephonic
conferences. On February 17, 1999, CVEC, the OCA, and Staff
entered into a Stipulation. The Stipulation addresses all of the
issues raised by the OCA and Staff and contains revised C&LMPAs
reflecting the provisions of the Stipulation. ECS was not a
signatory to the Stipulation. On February 18, 1999, a hearing
was held before the Commission.
Due to various Commission commitments, the next weekly
Commission meeting is not scheduled until March 8, 1999.
Therefore, the Commission has not had an opportunity to
deliberate this docket. Given that CVEC filed proposed C&LMPAs
for effect March 1, 1999 within both its initial November 4, 1998
filing and the Stipulation, we will suspend the proposed rates to
allow adequate time for the Commission to deliberate and issue
its final order in this proceeding. Further, we will order CVEC
to continue to bill the currently effective C&LMPAs.
Based upon the foregoing, it is hereby
ORDERED, that CVEC's proposed Conservation and Load
Management Percentage Adjustments are SUSPENDED; and it is
FURTHER ORDERED, that CVEC continue to bill the C&LMPAs
currently in effect until the final order in this docket is
issued.
By order of the Public Utilities Commission of New
Hampshire this twenty-sixth day of February, 1999.
Douglas L. Patch Susan S. Geiger Nancy Brockway
Chairman Commissioner Commissioner
Attested by:
Kimberly Nolin Smith
Assistant Secretary