Three Utility Financing Issues (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
May 17, 1984 |
| Report Number |
IB83103 |
| Authors |
Sylvia Morrison and Kevin Flaherty, Economics Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
This paper addresses three electric utility issues that all speak to theissue of improving cash flow for utilities at a time when costly constructionprograms, consumer-conscious regulation, and uncertain demand projections,have made it difficult for utilities to meet the requirements of investors.To summarize, the three issues are: (1) whether Congress should require theFederal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to insist that companies applyingfor inclusion of construction work in progress (CWIP) in their rate basesdemonstrate that all less expensive alternatives to building new plants havebeen tried; (2) whether Congress should amend the Public Utility HoldingCompany Act (PUHCA) to permit registered holding companies to ownsubsidiaries which are not related to electricity generation and to invest upto 10% of their assets in these subsidiaries without Securities and ExchangeCommission (SEC) approval; and (3) whether Congress should take action tofinance completion of Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS) nuclearplant #3.
