On April 24, 1996, FERC issued Orders 888 and 889, which encourage wholesale
competition. The primary objective of these orders is the elimination of
monopoly power over the transmission of electricity. To achieve this objective,
FERC requires all public utilities that own, control, or operate facilities
used for transmitting electric energy in interstate commerce to:
file open access nondiscriminatory transmission tariffs containing minimum
terms and conditions,
take transmission service (including ancillary services) for their own
new wholesale sales and purchases of electricity under open access tariffs,
develop and maintain a same-time information system that will give existing
and potential users the same access to transmission information that the
public utility enjoys, and
separate the transmission from generating and marketing functions and communications.