Along with its two more headline-grabbing actions on electricity procurement and transmission, the California Public Utilities Commission last Thursday established a two-phase proceeding to be completed before the end of the year to “ensure reliable, long-term supplies of natural gas” are available to the state.

The first phase will deal with issues the CPUC feels need to be resolved by mid-year, including questions about liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The proceeding will be a CPUC rulemaking case in which it sets policies and rules dealing with supplies and infrastructure in the nation’s second most gas-dependent state.

“Given the current state of the natural gas market, it’s imperative that we carefully re-evaluate our policies that affect natural gas infrastructure and supply to maintain reasonable rates for consumers,” said Michael Peevey, CPUC president, on a measure the five-member CPUC adopted unanimously.

Following up on a two-day natural gas markets workshop jointly held in early December by the CPUC and California Energy Commission, recommendations from many of the participants are included in the four areas that the CPUC identified as needing action this year:

Phase one will deal with issues involving interstate pipeline contracts that come due this summer and the access to proposed LNG facilities; the second phase will deal with issues that can wait until year-end, such as emergency reserves and ratemaking policies.

More information is available on the CPUC web site, www.cpuc.ca.gov.

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