Electricity study approved

      Nevada Power Co. has joined eight other Southwestern electric utilities and related organizations to study the feasibility of establishing an independent system operator for the region.
      The independent system operator, or ISO, would have no ownership in any of the utilities it serves. Instead, it would be an independent traffic cop for electric power transmission after anticipated deregulation, said Larry Luna, manager of transmission planning for Nevada Power.
      The ISO, to be named the Desert Southwest Transmission and Reliability Operator, would be charged with ensuring reliability and nondiscriminatory open access to transmission lines.
      Utilities in Arizona and New Mexico are participating in the study, which is expected to take six months.
      California utilities will have their own ISO under a deregulation plan adopted there.
      Approval by state utility regulators and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is probably needed to establish the Desert Southwest ISO, Luna said.
      Nevada Power favors deregulation and the introduction of competition to the electric utility industry, as long as its shareholders' and customers are not harmed, said Frank McRae, director of governmental and regulatory affairs at Nevada Power.
      "We need a fair ability to compete as a supplier" of power, McRae said. The investor-owned utility wants "the old level playing field" established.
      It doesn't want to be put at a disadvantage by regulations that hamper it but not its competitors, McRae said.
      A public hearing on the ISO proposal will be discussed at 2 p.m. April 4 at the Nevada Power Co. headquarters meeting room.
      Interested people also will be invited to participate in meetings in Tucson, Ariz., Phoenix, and Albuquerque, N.M.
      Others joining in the study include Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, Arizona Public Service Co., the municipally run Salt River Project in Arizona, Tucson Electric Power Co., El Paso Electric Co., Texas-New Mexico Power Co., Public Service Co. of New Mexico, and the Western Area Power Administration, Desert Southwest region.