The end of a lawsuit challenging Xcel Energy's ability to sell its power plants came after more than a year of discussions into the end of the lawsuit and a related Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hearing on the sale of any power plants, according to legal correspondence between attorneys for Xcel Energy, Golden Spread Electric Cooperative and the FERC.
The lawsuit was no longer germane to Xcel Energy and its operating company, Southwestern Public Service Co., because Texas and New Mexico legislators in May approved legislation postponing electric deregulation in the Texas High Plains until at least 2007, Xcel Energy spokesman Bill Crenshaw said Tuesday.
The deregulation law passed in 1999 is intended to increase competition among electric service providers.
"The 1999 law would have required that no company could own more than 20 percent of the generation capacity available to serve in this region," Crenshaw said. "That would have meant that there would have had to have been at least five owners of power plants in the region. That requirement is no longer in effect."
Golden Spread had sued, claiming a transfer of power plants to any other entity would violate a 1998 sales agreement between Golden Spread and SPS.
According to the legal correspondence, Xcel Energy asked FERC to drop its hearing on divestiture of any power plants on June 21, 2001. A Jan. 10 letter notes that FERC dropped a docket in regards to the company's relations with certain rural electric cooperatives but noted that FERC made no mention for the docket number for the request to sell any power plants.
"The purpose of this letter is to make clear that Xcel Energy is seeking formal commission action terminating Docket No. EC01-51-000," the Jan. 10 letter said.
A March 18 letter from Xcel Energy's Washington law firm requested that Golden Spread drop its court action contesting the FERC docket to sell power plants, and noted that Golden Spread could not do so until it was certain the FERC docket was no longer pending.
On April 4, Xcel Energy's assistant general counsel, William M. Dudley, concurred that the March 18 letter reflected Xcel Energy's desire to drop the FERC docket.