Posted by Edward G. Lanza, Esq. on 30 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: General
The Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved AT&T Inc.’s $86 billion buyout of BellSouth Corp. on Friday, the day after the company offered a new slate of concessions for consumers and competitors.The FCC’s approval was the last major regulatory hurdle for the proposed deal, which is the largest telecommunications merger in U.S. history.
Posted by Edward G. Lanza, Esq. on 30 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: General
AP via StAugustine.com:
Florida Power & Light has sued BellSouth Corp. for $7 million to cover the cost of replacing shared utility poles that were damaged by three hurricanes that hit the peninsula in 2004, according to court documents.
Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne destroyed thousands of utility poles in eight counties on Florida’s east coast.
BellSouth had installed the poles, but FPL used its own funds and resources to repair or replace nearly 2,500 poles in order to restore power as quickly as possible, according to FPL’s lawsuit.
Atlanta-based BellSouth failed to reimburse the Florida utility company for the work, FPL claims.
Posted by Edward G. Lanza, Esq. on 29 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: General
Texans can look forward to starting the New Year sifting through dozens of electricity plans. Lost among the choices will be substantial savings.
January 1 marks the day Texas tosses aside the “price to beat” pricing mechanism set by its biggest utilities and approved by state regulators and plunges into a fully deregulated retail power market governed by the laws of supply and demand in which generators compete for the nearly six million residential customers who can now pick their power provider.But the Lone Star state is charging ahead despite backtracking by others.
Posted by Edward G. Lanza, Esq. on 29 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: General
AT&T has offered a new set of concessions that are expected to satisfy the two Democrats on the Federal Communications Commission and lead to approval of the company’s $85 billion buyout of BellSouth.
Approval by the full commission could happen as soon as Friday.
AT&T filed a letter of commitment with the agency Thursday night that adds a number of new conditions to the deal, including a promise to observe “network neutrality” principles, an offer of affordable stand-alone digital subscriber line service and divestment of some wireless spectrum.
Posted by Edward G. Lanza, Esq. on 28 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: General
AT&T launched television service in Connecticut on Wednesday, using its phone lines to compete with cable TV companies in a battle for viewers that’s being fought in federal court… Cable companies are fighting AT&T, accusing state regulators of establishing separate systems for AT&T and cable TV. AT&T does not face requirements such as a gross receipts tax and requirements to provide public access and service for all customers in its sales area.
Posted by Edward G. Lanza, Esq. on 28 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: General
With its takeover by telecom giant AT&T Inc. potentially days away, BellSouth Corp. shares continued to rise Wednesday and are now up more than 75 percent for 2006.
Shares of BellSouth added 57 cents to end at $46.62 on the New York Stock Exchange, where they have traded between $26.42 and $47.09 in the past 52-week period. The company’s market capitalization is about $85 billion.
BellSouth’s acquisition by AT&T, which was announced in March, will be the largest telecommunications merger in U.S. history and awaits only Federal Communications Commission approval.
Posted by Edward G. Lanza, Esq. on 28 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: General
Wind, almost everybody’s best hope for big supplies of clean, affordable electricity, is turning out to have complications.
Engineers have cut the price of electricity derived from wind by about 80 percent in the last 20 years, setting up this renewable technology for a major share of the electricity market. But for all its promise, wind also generates a big problem: because it is unpredictable and often fails to blow when electricity is most needed, wind is not reliable enough to assure supplies for an electric grid that must be prepared to deliver power to everybody who wants it — even when it is in greatest demand.
Posted by Edward G. Lanza, Esq. on 28 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: General
Be ready for a cold start to the New Year. Major power plants in the country could trip as they are running out of fuel just when power demand is seen to rise with the expected deepening of winter in January, a latest dossier put together by the Central Electricity Authority has warned.
According to the dossier, big generation units burning coal are running critically low on stocks. As of December 10, coal stock at power plants all over India was half the requirement. Against a need to keep stocks at 20 million tonnes, the inventory declined to 12.405 million tonnes. In some plants, stocks are down to a level which will last for only 4-6 days.
Posted by Edward G. Lanza, Esq. on 27 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: General
Arizona Public Service Co. is trying to use its eminent domain power to wrest ownership of 7,000 acres in Navajo County from a historic ranching company.
APS officials said the company needs the land to ensure a steady water supply for its Cholla Power Plant near Joseph City. The state’s largest utility has been pumping water from land owned by the Aztec Land and Cattle Company for nearly 35 years under a lease with the ranch.
That lease expires in August and the two big companies have been negotiating a new one for months. But with no end in sight, APS spokesman Steven Gotfried said the company was forced to sue to take over ownership.
Posted by Edward G. Lanza, Esq. on 26 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: General
The York Dispatch: Members of the nuclear watchdog group Three Mile Island Alert developed the petition during the summer of 2001 and say a response by the federal agency is long overdue. The group proposed the idea as a deterrent to terrorists who think an unmanned entrance gate is a sign that a successful attack is possible.
The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to ask for public comment on a five-year-old petition by an activist group that wants the agency to require nuclear power plants to station guards at facility entrances.
Welcome to Utility News, a law blog hosted by Saul Ewing LLP. Utility News is a source of information for individuals interested in public utilities and their regulation.
Edward G. Lanza, Editor
Subscribe to Utility News in a reader
Or subscribe to receive updates by email