'Uncertainty' greatest challenge facing utilities Eastern Utilities chief executive tells shareholders.BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 1996--"The electric utility industry is undergoing the most dramatic period of change in its history," Donald G. Pardus, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, told the annual meeting of Eastern Utilities Associates (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : EUA EUA Examination under anesthesia, see there ) shareholders today. Pardus said: "The transition to a competitive market for electric utilities is bound to be rough. Markets are becoming more competitive; customer expectations and demands are growing. There will be many bumps and potholes." Calling the 1990s a "decade of uncertainty" for utilities, he added: "Coping with The Coping With series of books is a series of books aimed at 11-16 year olds, written by Peter Corey and published by Scholastic Hippo. The first book, Coping with Parents, was released in 1989, and the series continued until the last book, Coping with Cash these near-term uncertainties will be one of the toughest challenges our entire team has ever faced. The rules governing the new competitive environment are still being formulated." Pardus outlined EUA's 'Choice and Competition' plan to restructure the industry, noting its two key differences from other utility plans: o A simultaneous start for competition in all New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt. states as early as 1998; and o The full costs of fossil-fuel and hydroelectric generating plants and the going-forward costs of nuclear units would compete head-to-head at market prices with all sources of electricity. He outlined the steps taken to return EUA's energy management subsidiary, EUA Cogenex, to profitability and the progress of EUA's other investments in energy-related diversification: o TransCapacity, which develops and provides computer systems enabling natural gas users to track and use pipeline capacity. o BIOTEN, where testing is to begin on the prototype turbine generator it developed, fueled by sawdust sawdust used as litter for chickens and bedding for horses. Sawdust made from treated timber may cause pentachlorophenol and other wood preservative poisoning. Fungi growing in sawdust litter in poultry houses may cause poisoning in the birds. . Besides generating electricity and providing usable heat, the unit can help solve the challenge of sawdust disposal in an environmentally acceptable way. o Bluestone bluestone, common name for the blue, crystalline heptahydrate of cupric sulfate called chalcanthite, a minor ore of copper. It also refers to a fine-grained, light to dark colored blue-gray sandstone. Energy Services, which is developing a regional municipal water treatment and purification purification, in religion, the ceremonial removal of what the religion deems unclean. The usual agents of purification are water (as in baptism), bodily alteration (as in circumcision), and fire. plant. "These are examples of the niche-type energy-related investment opportunities we continue to seek out," Pardus concluded, adding: "A contribution of as little as $1 million to our earnings represents 5 cents per common share. If EUA were a larger company, that million could get lost in the rounding." Pardus called the formation of Duke/Louis Dreyfus Energy Services (New England) by EUA, the Duke Energy subsidiary of Duke Power and the Louis Dreyfus Electric Power unit of the Louis Dreyfus Group Louis Dreyfus Group is a diversified French private company that is involved in agriculture and energy commodities (global processing, trading and merchandising). It owns and manages ocean vessels, develops and operates telecommunications infrastructures and is involved in real a way to expand the "menu of services we can offer as a diversified energy services company." He explained that EUA's electric utility customers today represent about 4 percent of the New England energy market. "The remaining 96 percent will be open to us through Duke/Louis Dreyfus Energy Services" when competition starts, he said. EUA is a Boston-based diversified energy services company whose shares are traded on the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and Pacific Stock Exchanges. Subsidiaries are Blackstone Valley Electric Co.; Eastern Edison Co.; Newport Electric Corp.; EUA Cogenex Corp.; EUA Energy Investment Corp.; EUA Ocean State Corp.; EUA Service Corp.; EUA Energy Services, Inc.; and Montaup Electric Co. Together, the companies are known as the EUA System. Information about EUA is available on the World Wide Web at <http://www.eua.com> CONTACT: Eastern Utilities Associates, Boston Clifford J. Hebert, Jr., 617/357-9590 |
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