In an answer to a complaint filed by Niagara Mohawk EnergyMarketing that was supported by a number of other power marketparticipants, the New York ISO told FERC last week that it is aware ofthe software problems that caused scheduled power exports to berejected in early May despite being commercially and economicallyviable. The rejection caused NMEM to lose $68,000 in four hours (seeDaily GPI, June 23). The ISO said ithopes to have repairs to its export software completed bymid-July. “Accordingly, the issues and requested relief in thecomplaint are essentially moot, and the complaint should therefore bedismissed,” the ISO told FERC. “The complaint suggests that thecurrent SCUC procedures were adopted in a deliberate effort todiscriminate against exports from New York. This is not true,” theISO said. “The SCUC protocols that caused the [Niagara Mohowk] exporton May 8 not to be scheduled were the result of the implementation ofassumptions made in the software development process in favor ofpreserving reliability…”

The New York Independent System Operator board of directors lastweek delayed consideration of a recommendation by the ISO’smanagement committee to impose price caps of $1,000 on bids forenergy and ancillary services and $1,100 for regulation services.The committee, which is made up of participants in the wholesalepower market, had voted June 5 in favor of asking the board to seekFERC approval of the price caps, which if approved would have beeneffective Oct. 31. However, several market participants haveappealed the vote under ISO procedures, and the board now wants tohear the appeal. The governance committee of the board will meetJune 29 to consider the issues of the appeal and to determine howto proceed.

Pangea Petroleum Corp. has begun preliminary negotiations toacquire Texas-based Mass Energy, a company with extensive mineralleases in East Texas. If negotiations are completed, Pangea plansto develop a natural gas project in South Texas encompassing fournew wells capable of producing approximately 2.3 bcf per well ofgas. Pangea Chairman Chuck Pollock said the acquisition will expandthe company’s domestic energy holdings and will add “veryexperienced management to the company.” Pangea expects to close onthis acquisition in the next six weeks.

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