Boston (Platts)--15Nov2012/244 pm EST/1944 GMT
The Mississippi Public Service Commission and the New Orleans City Council on Thursday approved plans by Entergy Mississippi and Entergy New Orleans, respectively, to join the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator in December 2013. The approvals -- which include conditions generally similar to those included in approvals in Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas, and are acceptable to Entergy -- are the last that Entergy and its subsidiaries need from state and municipal regulators. And they are the last substantive approvals needed, an Entergy representative said Thursday. Entergy joining MISO has US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cost allocation approval. Article continues below... Request a free trial of: Electric Power Daily No other daily publication delivers so complete an account of North American power industry news as Electric Power Daily. For those who need solid grounding every day in this complex arena where so much is at stake, Electric Power Daily is a must read.
The Mississippi Public Service Commission and the New Orleans City Council on Thursday approved plans by Entergy Mississippi and Entergy New Orleans, respectively, to join the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator in December 2013. The approvals -- which include conditions generally similar to those included in approvals in Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas, and are acceptable to Entergy -- are the last that Entergy and its subsidiaries need from state and municipal regulators. And they are the last substantive approvals needed, an Entergy representative said Thursday. Entergy joining MISO has US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cost allocation approval.
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No other daily publication delivers so complete an account of North American power industry news as Electric Power Daily. For those who need solid grounding every day in this complex arena where so much is at stake, Electric Power Daily is a must read.
The Mississippi PSC's Public Utilities Staff, which represents utility customers, in September reached a proposed settlement agreement with the utility. No intervener in the MISO case opposed the settlement except Southwest Power Pool. SPP has told regulators in all the Entergy jurisdictions that customers of the company's utility subsidiaries would realize greater benefits if Entergy joined SPP instead of MISO. The New Orleans City Council's Utility Committee and other parties -- after several months of discussion ended earlier this month -- agreed on conditions approving the move while protecting the interest of Entergy New Orleans customers. The Utility Committee on Tuesday recommended that the city council approve Entergy's plan to join MISO. The US Department of Justice, in a Thursday statement approving plans by Entergy Arkansas and Entergy Mississippi to acquire two power plants from KGen Power, said that "Entergy's commitments to obtain membership in [a regional transmission organization] and divest its transmission system to a third party with the incentive to make efficient transmission investments are significant steps towards restoring competition in the Entergy service area." "If Entergy follows through on its commitments, these measures will address the [DOJ] Antitrust Division's concerns by eliminating Entergy's ability to maintain barriers to wholesale power markets, ensuring that all Entergy service area generation is dispatched independently and at lowest cost, increasing market transparency and oversight, and properly aligning incentives for the construction of transmission," it said. DOJ noted that its Antitrust Division "does not endorse any particular RTO or independent transmission company."--Housley Carr, newsdesk@platts.com --Edited by Keiron Greenhalgh, keiron_greenhalgh@platts.com
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