On Sept. 14 the first areas of the electricity market in Great Britain will open to full competition in supply, according to Professor Stephen Littlechild, director general of electricity supply. This means nearly 10% of domestic and small business customers identified by post codes and all customers with half-hourly meters and maximum demand meters will have access to competition. More than 750,000 customers serviced by Eastern Electricity, Manweb, Scottish-Power and Yorkshire Electricity will be able to choose their electricity supplier. The remaining companies are scheduled to open their markets between October and December. The process should be completed by June 1999.

Keep That Power Flowing With the electricity failure experienced in Auckland last February still fresh in people's minds, Southpower, one of the 37 electricity distribution companies in New Zealand, is taking steps to make sure the power stays on for its customers. Managing Director Chris Laurie has commissioned EA Technology, Capenhurst, England, to thoroughly examine the company's network infrastructure and equipment, maintenance programs, security standards for supply, emergency contingency measures and management procedures.

Listen to Small, Medium Business Markets There are 8.2 million small and medium businesses in the United States, which account for more than 85% of commercial locations, 45% of employees and 35% of the total U.S. energy sales, according to a report by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Palo Alto, California, U.S.

"Most small or medium businesses have an owner or proprietor as the primary decision-maker," said Rich Gillman, manager of EPRI's Understanding Energy Markets Target. "So understanding how that person makes everyday decisions is essential to energy providers."

The report, Listening to Small and Medium Businesses: Opinions, Attitudes and Decision Making in Open Energy Markets, provides information and insights to energy providers seeking customers in this market. It explores the attitudes, perceptions and needs of this group.

For the study, EPRI put together 27 small group discussions (focus groups) with topics such as businesses' opinions about incumbent electricity providers, influences on their choice of future suppliers and customers' most likely switching behaviors. Focus groups were conducted in states where deregulation has already been implemented (California and Pennsylvania) and states where deregulation is still being discussed (Illinois, Texas, and North Carolina).

Small businesses are defined in the study as having three to five employees with medium-sized businesses having six to 25 employees. The types of businesses most commonly mentioned in the focus groups are service oriented, such as retail, printing/publishing, real estate, construction, medical, consulting, and computer services.

Joint Ventures Await Energy Liberalization Law The Italian energy company ENEL is scheduled to open up 25 percent of its electricity supply market to competition by 1999, according to an European Union agreement signed in December 1996. ENEL, which provided 63 percent of Italy's electricity in 1997, believes that joint ventures with U.S. utility Enron, British utility Entergy and car manufacturer Fiat would enable the utility to reduce its generation percentage without selling off generation assets. The joint ventures would keep ENEL from incurring substantial stranded costs.

Industry Ministry Opens Electricity Market An order from Spain's Industry Minister will allow foreign companies to compete directly against national electricity companies Endesa, Iberdrola, Union Fenosa and Hidrocantabrico. Foreign companies, including Electricite de France and Portugal's REN, have already requested to buy and sell electricity in the industrial sector.

Distribution Company Sold Enron International was the successful bidder for the controlling stake in Elektro Eletricidate e Servicos S.A. The distribution company, Elektro, serves 1.5 million customers through 51,000 miles of lines. The company is located in a high growth area of the state of Sao Paulo. In 1997, Elecktro had net sales of 10,300 gigawatt hours with revenues of US$1.3 billion. Electro complements Enron's integrated business, which includes gas transportation and distribution as well as power generation interests.

Independent Grid Operations Scheduled for 2000 Malaysian Energy Minister Leo Moggie announced that Malaysia plans to set up an independent grid system operator (IGSO) that would use the existing transmission network of the national utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and pay a fee for its use. Once the IGSO is set up, the government would evaluate whether to introduce a power pool. Existing power purchase agreements between BHD and independent power producers would be honored. Also, TNB would maintain ownership of the network and would maintain the facilities.

LILCO Shares No Longer Traded Long Island Lighting Co. (LILCO) combined with KeySpan Energy Corp. to form MarketSpan Corp., a new holding company that will provide natural gas to former LILCO and Brooklyn Union customers. MarketSpan will also own and operate LILCO's non-nuclear electric generation assets. In addition, MarketSpan owns the unregulated businesses previously owned by KeySpan including gas exploration, production and transportation. Portions of LILCO's power delivery facilities were purchased by the Long Island Power Authority, which will now provide electric service on Long Island.

Counting Down to Elec Elec 98, the international exhibition of electricity, automation and related services and applications, will occur Dec. 7-11, 1998 at the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center in Paris, France. The 2000 exhibitors will provide a panorama of their industries to the 150,000 expected visitors.

This year's show will include exhibitors in seven areas: generation, transmission and distribution of electricity; automation and field buses; industry; building; lighting; heating, air conditioning, ventilation; and maintenance and services.