By November 30, 1999

The Commission has the option to confirm, reject, or modify existing plans dealing with customer choice or stranded costs. This affects Texas-New Mexico Power and El Paso Electric Company. The utility, a party with standing, or the Commission may recommend modifications to the plan. The Commission should wait for the utility or parties to initiate this process if they feel it is necessary.

By December 1, 1999

A report to the legislature on Commission examinations into the issues listed in Section 19 of the Act regarding:
1. Standard offer
2. Consumer education and protection
3. Safety, reliability, quality and performance standards for competitive power suppliers and distribution and transmission facilities
4. The presence of market power, its impacts on the restructure of the electric industry and methods available to limit or eliminate adverse impacts
5. Alternative operations and regulations, including an independent system operator
6. Regional transmission and governance efforts, both public and private, and the advisability of regional cooperation by the state
7. Emergency and back-up service
8. The advisability and desirability of requiring renewable energy portfolio standards in supply service offer to customers in the state
9. How power may be purchased from on-site generation, including facilitating net metering.
Item 9 is already being addressed in a Commission rulemaking. The Commission should conduct workshops to deal with the other issues early enough to be able to subsequently promulgate rules before customer choice.

By March 1, 2000

Transition plans to be filed by public utility to provide detailed descriptions of proposals to implement customer choice and open access. The plan should include proposals to separate regulated from unregulated services, unbundled cost of service studies, standard offer service, proposed tariffs for transmission and distribution service, projected stranded costs and its recovery, education programs, and procedures for balancing, settlements and communications with competitive power suppliers.

By July 1, 2000

Commission approval of procurement procedures identified in transition plans for standard offer service to residential and small business customers.

By September 1, 2000

Utility update of transition plan to include price of supply service procured for standard offer.

Before December 1, 2000 **********

Commission approval of stranded costs to be recovered from residential and small business classes. This is part of Commission approval of transition plans filed on March 1, 2000.

By December 1, 2000

A second report to the legislature on Commission examinations of the issues in Section 19 mentioned above.

Before January 1, 2001

Public utilities must separate into at least two corporations, separating supply service on a competitive unregulated basis from transmission and distribution services on a regulated basis.

By January 1, 2001

Commission must approve distribution and transmission tariffs (although it would be more practical to have them approve by December 1, 2000).

Before January 1, 2001*********

The Commission shall promulgate rules for the protection of consumers (page 30, Item F.).

Before January 1, 2001*********

The Commission shall adopt codes of conduct (page 22, Item D.).

Before January 1, 2001*********

The Commission shall approve “Non-subsidization of affiliate” statements of policy and procedure (page 24, Item E.).

Miscellaneous requirements

License applications by competitive power suppliers are deemed approved within forty-five days of its filing unless the Commission, in its discretion, extends the approval period for thirty days or rejects the application before the 45 days are up.

The Commission is required to conduct customer education efforts necessary to enable customers to make informed decisions pursuant to Section 12 of the Act. Funding for the Commission, for such efforts and for administration for the Act ($500,000), through the system benefits charge does not begin until 2001. Therefore, the Commission should seek funding for such programs through traditional means for the year 2000.

Rural Electric Cooperatives and Municipal Utilities have the option to continue doing business as usual or opting for competition. Different rules apply to each and it is not expected that they will opt for competition initially.