Entergy Texas Seeks to Sever Competitive Generation Service from Current Rate Proceeding

Entergy Texas, Inc. filed an unopposed motion to sever issues related to Competitive Generation Service (CGS) from the remaining settled issues in Docket 37744, addressing Entergy's rates and reconciled fuel costs. Entergy said that parties active in the Competitive Generation Service discussions are not opposed to the motion. The Commission granted the motion and severed the issues on Dec. 1.

Major unresolved issues regarding Competitive Generation Service, which by legislation is to be available to large customers as a condition of discontinuing further work on Entergy's transition to competition study, include the customers eligible for such service, a potential cap on such competitive load, the pool of potential suppliers (such as limiting suppliers to Qualifying Facilities in the Entergy Texas footprint), and most significantly, the customer classes bearing cost recovery for the service, particularly any unrecovered costs faced by Entergy resulting from customers' election of competitive generation.

Though Entergy said significant progress has been made, "[a]dditional time, however, is needed for thorough evaluation of a key unresolved issue -- recognition of Qualifying Facility output (in the amount of the CGS load) as firm capacity."

"The Company anticipates that clarity regarding this issue, which should be instrumental in furthering settlement discussions, can be achieved by mid-December. No agreement has been reached yet; however, the parties continue to explore options that could ultimately produce a settlement on all or a significant portion of the CGS issues," Entergy said.

The parties' ultimate goal is to conclude settlement negotiations in time for the Commission to consider these issues at its January 20, 2011 Open Meeting.