Accept

Enron Task Force prosecutors have asked a judge in Houston to explain why he refused to accept a plea agreement that would have sent Lea Fastow to jail for five months.

TransCanada Corp. lost its appeal of the National Energy Board’s (NEB) “Fair Return” decision (RH-R-1-2002), which turned a deaf ear to the pipeline’s concerns about competition and an inadequate rate of return given its market risks.

TransCanada Corp. lost its appeal of the National Energy Board’s (NEB) “Fair Return” decision (RH-R-1-2002), which turned a deaf ear to the pipeline’s concerns about competition and an inadequate rate of return given its market risks.

A federal judge in Houston Thursday agreed to accept a guilty plea from former Enron Corp. assistant treasurer Lea Fastow, but the five-month sentence, which was agreed upon by the defense and prosecution, could be altered after the court mandated a pre-sentencing report. Meanwhile, a plea bargain agreement for Andrew Fastow, Enron’s ex-CFO, remained tentative.

A federal judge in Houston Thursday agreed to accept a guilty plea from former Enron Corp. assistant treasurer Lea Fastow, but the five-month sentence, which was agreed upon by the defense and prosecution, could be altered after the court mandated a pre-sentencing report. Meanwhile, a plea bargain agreement for Andrew Fastow, Enron’s ex-CFO, remained tentative.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) promised a fellow lawmaker on Wednesday that he would work to tackle the issue of creating transparency in natural gas price reporting beyond simply calling for a study in pending energy legislation when the bill reaches the Energy and Commerce Committee in the House of Representatives.

Anticipated demand allowed Algonquin to accept “a limited amount” of due-shipper imbalance make-up nominations for Christmas Day. However, the pipeline said no due-shipper gas would be available Thursday.

In an online auction scheduled for 11 a.m. CST Monday, Gulf South will accept bids for 5 million dekatherms of Firm Storage Service (FSS) capacity through its web site (www.gulfsouthpl.com, click “Auctions”). The capacity will be available from April 1, 2002 to March 31, 2004. See the bulletin board or call Stacy Franz at (713) 544-5228 for more information.

PNM, or Public Service Company of New Mexico, has asked stateregulators to accept a negotiated settlement raising rates 3.7% forresidential customers and 7% for larger customers and resolving ayears-long dispute that has wound its way through two regulatorycommissions and the state supreme court.