DR 98-142
                                     
                         Northern Utilities, Inc.
                                     
                 1998/1999 Demand Side Management Program
                                     
                    Order Approving Procedural Schedule
                                     
                         O R D E R   N O.  23,014
                                     
                             September 9, 1998

         APPEARANCES:  LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, L.L.P. by
     Paul B. Dexter, Esq. for Northern Utilities, Inc. and Michelle A.
     Caraway and Stephen P. Frink for the Staff of the New Hampshire
     Public Utilities Commission.
     
     
     I.   PROCEDURAL HISTORY
               On August 3, 1998, Northern Utilities, Inc. (Northern)
     filed with the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission
     (Commission) a petition for approval of its 1998/1999 Demand Side
     Management (DSM) Program for the period November 1, 1998 through
     October 31, 1999.  Northern proposes to continue offering its
     currently approved DSM programs, with some minor modifications. 
     Northern proposes the following Conservation Charges for effect
     November 1, 1998: Residential Water Heating at $0.0108/therm, an
     increase of $0.0168/therm over the existing Conservation Charge;
     Residential Heating at $0.0221/therm, an increase of
     $0.0097/therm; Small Commercial at $0.0325/therm, an increase of
     $0.0136/therm; and Large Commercial at $0.0193/therm, an increase
     of $0.0145/therm.
     
               By an Order of Notice issued August 13, 1998, the
     Commission scheduled a Prehearing Conference for September 1,
     1998, set deadlines for intervention requests and objections
     thereto, and outlined a proposed procedural schedule.  No party
     filed for intervention.  The Office of the Consumer Advocate
     (OCA) is a statutorily recognized intervenor.
               At the Prehearing Conference, Northern and Staff agreed
     to modify the proposed procedural schedule as outlined in the
     Order of Notice.  The revised procedural schedule is as follows:
          Data Requests by Staff and           September 8, 1998 
             Intervenors
     
          Company Data Responses              September 15, 1998 
     
          Technical Session                   September 23, 1998 
     
     `    Testimony by Staff and              September 29, 1998 
             Intervenors
     
          Data Requests by the Company           October 5, 1998 
     
          Data Responses by Staff and           October 12, 1998 
             Intervenors
     
          Settlement Conference                 October 15, 1998 
     
          Filing of Settlement Agreement,       October 20, 1998 
             if any
     
          Hearing                               October 27, 1998.
     
               Also at the Prehearing Conference, Northern and Staff
     stated their positions with regard to the filing for the record.
               Northern stated that it is seeking approval to continue
     its DSM program as offered during the 1997/1998 program year and
     which reflects the fourth year of its DSM program offerings. 
     Northern has not proposed any major program modifications.
               Staff stated that its preliminary concerns with
     Northern's filing relate to: program designs for both residential
     and commercial and industrial customers; whether the filing
     reflects actual installations achieved during the 1997/1998
     program year; how Northern accounted for approximately $55,300 of
     DSM costs overspent during the 1996/1997 program year which it
     agreed would be borne by shareholders as part of a settlement
     reached in Northern's DSM filing last year; the potential rate
     impacts of the proposed conservation charges; and the
     reasonableness of the inputs used in the benefit-cost analysis.  
     II.  COMMISSION ANALYSIS
               We find the proposed procedural schedule to be
     reasonable and will, therefore, approve it for the duration of
     the proceeding.
               Based upon the foregoing, it is hereby 
               ORDERED, that the procedural schedule delineated above
     is APPROVED.
     
     
               By order of the Public Utilities Commission of New
     Hampshire this ninth day of September, 1998.
     
     
     
     
                                                                  
       Douglas L. Patch    Bruce B. Ellsworth    Susan S. Geiger
           Chairman           Commissioner        Commissioner
     
     Attested by:
     
     
     
                                      
     Thomas B. Getz
     Executive Director and Secretary