211 



value could exist with the Direct Service Industry load and the 

 flexibility that comes with it. There is no question that when it was 

 first put into place, when we first got the DSIs here, they gave us 

 a remarkable load steady across the entire year, which helped us 

 really spread fixed cost over a large number of kilowatt hours. I be- 

 lieve there are still more benefits to be extracted fi*om the Direct 

 Service Industry load by making some changes in the way they op- 

 erate. And for instance, I know at least one DSI who has more 

 flexibility than most of the rest in terms of their ability to endure 

 longer interruptions. And I would like to see us really creatively 

 get together and work on trying to capture more benefits, and then 

 assign the appropriate cost. If we give them credit for what they 

 bring to this, we might end up being better able to sustain this in- 

 dustry, and I have to tell you that certainly even though we do not 

 serve the Direct Service Industry loads that are located within our 

 service territory, all of the employees who work in these companies 

 are customers of mine and we have a very real interest in them 

 continuing to have jobs and maintaining the viability of those com- 

 munities. 



So I guess what I am urging is that we not just accept all the 

 facts as they are today and asking either it ought to be or it ought 

 not to be. I think what we need to do is get a lot more creative in 

 terms of looking at this and see if there is not a better way to ap- 

 proach this pricing and the way we actually serve this load so we 

 could all benefit in the region. 



Mr. DeFazio. Okay. I think the panel members probably heard 

 my earlier question, I was talking about the concern about least- 

 cost planning. Now I realize that the private utilities are subjected 

 to their PUCs and the rules of the PUCs, so maybe I should first 

 direct this to the publics, and to Mr. Golden. Do you think that 

 preference customers should be somehow individually held account- 

 able to either individual or to a contributory portion of the process 

 developed by the Power Council, or do you think everything is just 

 fine the way it is? 



Mr. Golden. That is too easy for me. Go ahead, Fergus. 



Mr, DeFazio. Mr. Drummond, do you want to address that? 



Mr. Drummond. Yes, indeed. First of all, it seems to me that if 

 the Power Council's plan is truly a least-cost plan and it does con- 

 tain least-cost resources, it is still going to be a valid and valuable 

 road map for the region as well as individually. I am not convinced 

 that individual utility resource development is going to be that 

 much different, in large part because each and every time a public 

 utility or even a private utility tries to develop a resource, the first 

 thing they face, be it from their own customers, from public hear- 

 ings that they hold, or from any energy facility siting committee, 

 is the Council's plan. Be it at FERC, if it is a hydroelectric project, 

 wherever the regulatory body sits, the first thing they have to an- 

 swer to is where does your project fit in the Council's plan. So I 

 am not convinced necessarily that regional plsmning is by any 

 means harmed or even wounded with the diverse nature of re- 

 source development that we are headed toward. 



I would also suggest, you know, as per discussions of public in- 

 volvement, the utilities that I represent are governed by elected 

 boards. They face their public each time they face election, just as 



