The Changing Structure of the Electric Power Industry 2000: An ... - EIA

Table 6. Relative Size of Registered Holding Companies as of December 31, 1998
37 For a more extensive discussion of PUHCA, see Energy Information Administration, The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935:
1935-1992, DOE/EIA-0563 (Washington, DC, January 1993), pp. 39-53.
38 J. Seligman, The Transformation of Wall Street and The History of the Securities and Exchange Commission in Modern Corporate Finance,
(Boston, MA: Houghton, Mifflin Company, 1982), p. 134.
30
Holding Company System
Consolidated
Assets
(thousand
dollars)
Twelve Months’
Consolidated
Operating Revenues
(thousand dollars)
Number of
Customers
Energy Information Administration/ The Changing Structure of the Electric Power Industry 2000: An Update
Retained
Earnings a
(thousand
dollars)
Allegheny Energy, Inc. (E) ......... 6,747,793 2,576,436 1,418,353 836,759
Alliant Energy Corp. (E) (G) ........ 4,959,000 2,131,000 1,295,500 537,372
Ameren (E) (G) ................. 8,847,439 3,318,208 1,479,365 1,472,200
American Electric Power Co. (E) .... 19,483,200 6,345,900 3,022,479 1,683,561
Central and South West Corp. (E) . . . 13,744,000 5,482,000 1,752,000 1,740,000
CINergy Corp. (E) (G) ............ 10,298,800 5,876,300 1,870,000 945,200
Columbia Energy Group (G) ....... 6,968,700 5,731,800 2,100,000 409,544
Conectiv (E) (G) ................ 6,100,000 3,100,000 1,049,706 276,939
Consolidated Natural Gas Co. (G) . . . 6,361,900 2,760,400 1,880,000 1,591,543
Eastern Utilities Associates (E) ..... 1,302,638 538,801 305,018 56,062
Entergy Corp. (E) ................ 22,848,023 11,494,772 2,495,000 2,526,888
GPU Corp. (E) .................. 16,288,109 4,248,792 2,041,000 2,230,425
National Fuel Gas Co. (G) ......... 2,684,459 1,248,000 704,217 428,112
New Century Energies (E) (G) ...... 7,672,000 3,610,900 2,658,000 740,677
New England Electric System (E) .... 5,070,535 2,420,533 1,363,000 998,912
Northeast Utilities (E) ............. 10,387,381 3,767,714 1,729,250 560,769
PECO Energy Power Co. (E) ....... 118,000 18,500 NA NA
Southern Co. (E) ................ 36,192,000 11,403,000 3,794,000 3,878,000
Unitil Corp. (E) (G) ............... 376,855 149,639 114,500 36,401
Total ........................ 186,450,832 76,222,695 31,071,388 20,949,364
a
Retained earnings are the balance, either debit or credit, of appropriated or unappropriated earnings of an entity that are retained
in the business.
E = Electric.
G = Gas.
NA = Not applicable.
Source: Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial and Corporate Report (Washington, DC, July 1, 1999), p. 3.
ments of the Act. The SEC also was charged with
regulating the issuance and acquisition of securities by
holding companies. Strict limitations on intrasystem
transactions and political activities were also imposed. 37
The holding companies at first resisted compliance, and
some challenged the constitutionality of the Act, but the
Supreme Court upheld PUHCA's legality. By 1947,
virtually all holding companies had undergone some
type of simplification or integration, and by 1950 the
utility reorganizations were virtually complete. 38 As of
December 31, 1998, there were only 15 registered
holding companies in the Unites States (Table 6).
Additionally, there were 53 holding companies exempt
from SEC regulation by SEC order, and 112 holding
companies exempt since they fell under the umbrella of
PUHCA Section 3 (a) (1) and/or (2), which states:
The Commission . . . shall exempt any holding company,
and every subsidiary company thereof . . . from any . . .
provisions of this title . . . unless it finds the exemption
detrimental to the public interest or the interest of
investors or consumers if �(1) such holding company,
and every subsidiary company thereof . . . are predominantly
intrastate in character and carry on their
business substantially in a single State in which such
holding company and every such subsidiary company
thereof are organized;