[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 79 (Friday, April 24, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 20436]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10897]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 35-26859]


Filings Under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, as 
Amended (``Act'')

April 17, 1998.
    Notice is hereby given that the following filing(s) has/have been 
made with the Commission pursuant to provisions of the Act and rules 
promulgated under the Act. All interested persons are referred to the 
application(s) and/or declaration(s) for complete statements of the 
proposed transaction(s) summarized below. The application(s) and/or 
declaration(s) and any amendments is/are available for public 
inspection through the Commission's Office of Public Reference.
    Interested persons wishing to comment or request a hearing on the 
application(s) and/or declaration(s) should submit their views in 
writing by May 12, 1998, to the Secretary, Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Washington, D.C. 20549, and serve a copy on the relevant 
applicant(s) and/or declarant(s) at the address(es) specified below. 
Proof of service (by affidavit or, in case of an attorney at law, by 
certificate) should be filed with the request. Any request for hearing 
should identify specifically the issues of fact or law that are 
disputed. A person who so requests will be notified of any hearing, if 
ordered, and will receive a copy of any notice or order issued in the 
matter. After May 12, 1998, the application(s) and/or declaration(s), 
as filed or as amended, may be granted and/or permitted to become 
effective.

New Century Energies, Inc., et al., (70-9193)

    New Century Energies, Inc. (``NCE''), a registered holding company, 
Public Service Company of Colorado (``PSCo''), a gas and electric 
public utility subsidiary company of NCE, and NC Enterprises, Inc. 
(``NC Enterprises''), a nonutility subsidiary of NCE, each located at 
1225 Seventeenth Street, Denver, Colorado 80202-5534, have filed an 
application-declaration (``Application'') under sections 6(a), 7, 9(a) 
and (10) of the Act and rule 54 under the Act.
    PSCo currently owns all of the issued and outstanding common stock 
of New Century International, Inc. (``NCI''), a nonutility subsidiary 
of NCE, which, in turn, owns a 50% interest in Yorkshire Power Group 
Limited, which, through a wholly owned subsidiary, Yorkshire Holdings 
plc, owns Yorkshire Electricity Group plc, a regional electric company 
operating in the United Kingdom,\1\ NCI also owns a minority interest 
in Independent Power Corporation plc (``IPC''), a British company that 
is in the business of developing, owning, and operating foreign 
electric generating plants. Applicants state that IPC will be qualified 
to be a ``foreign utility company,'' as defined under section 33 of the 
Act.
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    \1\ PSCo obtained authorization from the Commission under 
section 3(b) of the Act to acquire this indirect interest in 
Yorkshire Electricity Group plc. See Holding Co. Act Release No. 
26671 (Feb. 19, 1997).
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    Applicants propose that PSCo transfer its interest in NCI to NC 
Enterprises.\2\ As consideration for the acquisition of the securities 
of NCI, NC Enterprises will issue a note (``Note'') to PSCo. The sale 
will be made at NCI's book value, which, as of December 31, 1997, was 
approximately $289.8 million.
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    \2\ By order dated August 1, 1997 (Holding Co. Act Release No. 
26748) (``Merger Order''), PSCo was authorized to transfer its 
interest in NCI to NCE, NC Enterprises or e prime, inc., a 
nonutility subsidiary of NC Enterprises. Furthermore, the Merger 
Order authorized the transfer through the declaration of a dividend 
by PSCo to NCE, followed by a subsequent capital contribution of the 
securities of NCI by NCE to NC Enterprises or to e prime, inc. The 
proposal in this Application differs from the proposal authorized in 
the Merger Order.
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    The Note will have a twenty-year maturity and bear interest at a 
fixed annual rate equivalent to the annual rate of interest as of the 
date of execution of the Note on a U.S. Treasury bond with a twenty-
year maturity plus 100 basis points. Interest only will be paid under 
the Note for the first three years, and thereafter, interest and 
principal will be paid annually with principal amortized over the 
remaining years of the Note (seventeen years) payable in equal annual 
installments. NC Enterprises will have the option to prepay the entire 
obligation, including accrued and unpaid interest, at any time, without 
any prepayment premium. Commencing on the first anniversary date of the 
Note, interest payments will be made on each subsequent anniversary 
date during which the Note is outstanding.\3\

    \3\ NC Enterprises plans to prepay the Note with the proceeds 
from capital contributions made by NCE upon the anticipated sale of 
common stock in 1998 and 1999, as proposed in a post-effective 
amendment to file no. 70-9007. (The supplemental order has not yet 
been issued in this matter.)
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    For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, 
under delegated authority.
Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-10897 Filed 4-23-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-M