Utility players.

• Position: Speculations regarding publicly-owned utility stocks

One of the problems with owning stock in the local utility is trying to figure out when you're winning: Do you celebrate because your electric or gas bill is lower than expected, or do you mourn your company's falling earnings because the weather's been great?

Can't we have it three ways mild weather, lower bills and higher earnings per share?

Probably not, but there are other reasons many people want to own a piece of the state's five publicly traded utilities - Carolina Power & Light, Duke Power, North Carolina Natural Gas, Piedmont Natural Gas and Public Service Company of North Carolina.

"The utilities are slow moneymakers,- says stockbroker Jon Benet of Prudential Securities in Charlotte, "but in this type of stock-market environment, they can give a lot of stability."

Yield is the main reason to buy utility stocks, and the North Carolina companies deliver. In mid-June, four were paying dividends of 6% to 6.8%. (N.C. Natural Gas, the target of an on-again, off-again acquisition bid, had a yield of 5.5%.)

Some utilities in other regions pay yields of 7% to 9%. And there are turnaround situations in which mismanaged utilities seem to have nowhere to go but up. But taking the risk on a utility making a turnaround is counter to the main purpose of buying utility stocks.

The North Carolina companies' capital-appreciation possibilities also look decent, Benet says, noting that the five stocks are trading more than 10% below their highs of early 1991. Raleigh-based CP&L, for example, was trading at about $45 in mid-June, down from its peak of $49.63. Charlotte-based Piedmont Natural Gas reached $31.50 earlier in the year, but it was down to about $28. Over the past 12 months, CP&L has traded between $35 and $49.63, while Piedmont has veered between $23 and $31.50. Charlotte-based Duke Power's stock was priced at about $27 in mid-june, toward the low end of its 52-week range of $26.75 and $32.63.

Several industry observers say it pays to go with gas right now. "They are seeing a little bit better growth than the electrics," says Phil Sanders, an investment analyst for NCNB. "They still have market share they can penetrate, particularly in the home-heating market."

Guy Chance, research director for Scott & Stringfellow of Richmond, Va., says there is "no question about the consumer trend to natural gas. Gas is absolutely cheaper [than generation] in terms of BTUs. And gas is far more reliable."

Duke Power's cost per BTU in 1990 was $18.28 vs...