ENERGY

Labor, Consumers Join Utilities Against ‘Wheeling’: Unions, independent power producers, consumer activists and environmentalists--including San Francisco-based Toward Utility Rate Normalization and the Natural Resources Defense Council-- announced that they oppose any move to deregulate retail electricity sales. Wholesale generation is now largely deregulated, but some big industrial power users--including General Motors Corp.--want to shop for electricity outside their local utility’s territory, with that utility only delivering the power. Consumer activists and the utilities say this could let big users “cherry pick” low rates, leaving small businesses and residential ratepayers to pay more of their local utilities’ fixed costs. Environmentalists fear that retail deregulation could reduce utilities’ efforts to conserve fuel and reduce air pollution. Industrial users say that retail “wheeling” would result in lower rates for households as well as their companies.