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Utilities pitch merger tonight North Medford High meeting starts at 7 By DAVID PRESZLER ScottishPower and PacifiCorp's whirlwind tour to woo customers hits the Rogue Valley tonight. Representatives of the two power companies have been traveling throughout the six states Pacific Power serves for six months, trying to convince customers -- and, more importantly, public utility commissions -- to support their proposed merger. "We've been crisscrossing the Northwest," says ScottishPower spokeswoman Rachel Sherrard of a goodwill tour that has already included more than 200 meetings. "It's just been incredible." ScottishPower has been hanging its sales pitch on better customer service but has not promised the lower rates that regulators, especially in Oregon, have been calling for. Tonight's meeting is at 7 p.m. at the North Medford High School auditorium, 1900 N. Keene Way Drive. Oregon Public Utility Commission officials will be there to hear the public's comments or concerns about the merger. Alan Richardson, the ScottishPower official scheduled to become Pacific Power's chief executive, will speak at the meeting, as will Dennis Steinberg, Pacific Power's senior vice president. Tonight's meeting is the second of four scheduled around Oregon this month. Last week, about 50 people attended a similar meeting in Portland. Meetings are scheduled for Wednesday night in Klamath Falls and Thursday night in Bend. The companies have taken a grass-roots approach to the merger pitch, hitting a variety of towns and cities from Rock Springs, Wyo. to Yakima, Wash. Richardson has taken the lead role, speaking to workers, regulators and customers about the merger. "He's presented the story to at least 3,000 people now," says Sherrard. "It's been going very well." To be completed, the merger needs approval from the public utility commissions in all six states that Pacific Power serves: Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Washington, Montana and California. The regulatory response has been mixed thus far, with Oregon's public utility commission staff recommending it be denied and Idaho's recommending it be approved. Utah's staff is scheduled to make its recommendation today. Final decisions from the state commissions aren't expected until this fall. Negotiations between the companies and the state commissions will continue throughout the summer. ScottishPower is preaching better customer service as the chief benefit of the merger. The company has pledged to invest $55 million over the next five years to improve customer service and system reliability. It's also taken out full-page advertisements in numerous newspapers touting $50 payouts to customers if service guarantees aren't met. "As a package, it's unique," says Sherrard. A similar program already is in place in the United Kingdom. And out of 4.5 million chances for failures on those service guarantees, ScottishPower failed to meet the standards only 179 times, Sherrard says. But customer service improvements may not be enough to sway commissions, led by Oregon's, that want to see lower rates. In initially recommending against the merger, the staff of Oregon's commission said the deal isn't clearly in the public's best interest -- a requirement under state law for such mergers. ScottishPower says the merger will create a more efficient company, reducing corporate costs by an estimated $10 million a year, but the company won't commit to specific rate cuts. "Rates will be lower than they otherwise would be," says Sherrard, adding that the Northwest pays lower rates than the rest of the nation. "Our focus is on keeping the low rates where they are." Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA