DE 97-251
New England Power Company
Petition to Transfer Facilities to USGenNE
Order Adopting Procedural Schedule
O R D E R N O. 22,849
February 17, 1998
APPEARANCES: Michael Holmes, Esq., for the Office
of the Consumer Advocate; David Marshall, Esq., for the
Conservation Law Foundation; Office of Attorney General of
the State of New Hampshire by Wynn E. Arnold, Esq., for the
Governor's Office of Energy and Community Services; James
Monahan for Cabletron Systems, Inc.; F. Anne Ross, Esq., for
the Retail Merchants Association of New Hampshire; LeBoeuf,
Lamb, Greene & McRae by Scott J. Mueller, Esq., for USGen
New England, Inc.; Carlos Gavilondo, Esq., for New England
Power Company; Rubin & Rudman by Karla Doukas, Esq., for
Enron Energy Services Company; and Eugene F. Sullivan, III,
Esq., and Robert J. Frank, Esq., for the Staff of the New
Hampshire Public Utilities Commission.
On December 8, 1997, New England Power Company (NEP)
filed with the Commission a petition to transfer its New
Hampshire-based generating facilities to USGenNE. NEP asks the
Commission to (a) approve the transfer of generating facilities
pursuant to RSA 374:30, (b) make the necessary determinations
under 18 C.F.R. 365.3(b) relating to exempt wholesale generators
and (c) authorize, pursuant to RSA 369:1, the issuance of long-term debt to enable the divestiture of generating assets.
By Order of Notice issued January 6, 1998, the
Commission scheduled a prehearing conference for January 22, 1998
and set deadlines for intervention requests and objections
thereto.
During the prehearing conference, the Commission
granted timely intervention requests filed by the following
entities: the Town of Littleton, NH (Littleton); the
Conservation Law Foundation (CLF); USGen New England, Inc.
(USGen); the Office of Attorney General of the State of New
Hampshire on behalf of the Governor's Office of Energy and
Community Services (the Governor); the Business and Industry
Association of New Hampshire (BIA); and Enron Energy Services
Company (Enron). The Commission also granted oral motions to
intervene by Cabletron Systems, Inc. (Cabletron) and the Retail
Merchants Association (RMA). The Office of the Consumer Advocate
(OCA) is a statutorily recognized intervenor.
During the prehearing conference, in accordance with
the Order of Notice, the intervenors and Staff stated various
preliminary views and concerns with regard to the NEP filing. In
particular, several parties expressed concern that NEP's filing
should be considered in conjunction with any settlement agreement
that might be filed by GSEC and others in DR 96-150. Staff
stated that GSEC should be made a party to this proceeding
because its rights and interests are implicated by the filing.
Following the prehearing conference, the parties agreed
to a proposed procedural schedule which, as memorialized in a
January 29, 1998 letter from Carlos Gavilondo to the Commission,
is as follows:
Technical Session February 17, 1998
Discovery Rolling; February 23, 1998
(First round) (Cutoff for first round)
Responses to Discovery Requests March 4, 1998
(First round)
Intervenor Testimony March 11, 1998
Rebuttal Testimony March 18, 1998
Hearings March 24, 25, 26 & 31, 1998
April 1 & 2, 1998
We find the proposed procedural schedule to be
reasonable in light of the current scope of the docket as it is
now defined by NEP's Petition to Transfer. However, NEP and
others should be aware that the scope of this proceeding could
change dramatically if our review of the filing reveals that the
requested approvals have broader implications, particularly
concerning matters which are addressed in DR 96-150. In
addition, we herein direct Granite State Electric Company to
appear as a party in this proceeding and to comply in all
respects with the above-referenced procedural schedule.
Based upon the foregoing, it is hereby
ORDERED, that the proposed procedural schedule
delineated above is APPROVED; and it is
FURTHER ORDERED, that full intervenor status is granted
in this matter to the Town of Littleton, NH; the Conservation Law
Foundation; USGen New England, Inc.; the NH Governor's Office of
Energy and Community Services; the Business and Industry
Association of New Hampshire; Cabletron Systems, Inc.; the Retail
Merchants Association; and, Enron Energy Services Company; and it
is
FURTHER ORDERED, that Granite State Electric Company is
directed to appear as a party in this proceeding and to comply
with the procedural schedule set forth herein.
By order of the Public Utilities Commission of New
Hampshire this seventeenth day of February, 1998.
Douglas L. Patch Bruce B. Ellsworth Susan S. Geiger
Chairman Commissioner Commissioner
Attested by:
Thomas B. Getz
Executive Director and Secretary