Acknowledging

Acknowledging the expanding role for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the U.S. gas supply mix, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week gave a major boost to three LNG projects — Southern LNG Inc.’s expansion of its Elba Island facilities in Georgia, AES Ocean Express LLC’s Bahamian import terminal and Tractebel’s Bahamian terminal — and expressed its support for the gas industry’s continued thrust in this direction.

Acknowledging the expanding role for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the U.S. gas supply mix, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Wednesday gave a major boost to three LNG projects — Southern LNG Inc.’s expansion of its Elba Island facilities in Georgia, AES Ocean Express LLC’s Bahamian import terminal and Tractebel’s Bahamian terminal — and expressed its support for the gas industry’s continued thrust in this direction.

While acknowledging that industry liquidity has been crimped in recent months as big-league names abandon the energy trading playing field, Entergy Corp. for the most part hasn’t been impacted “in any meaningful way” from the unwinding of trading books, John Wilder, Entergy’s CFO, said last Tuesday while appearing at Edison Electric Institute’s 37th annual financial conference in Palm Desert, CA.

Acknowledging that the natural gas industry had converged to a point with the power industry where it is now one energy industry, the Gas Industry Standards Board (GISB) has adopted a working model for a new organization that would set the rules and practices for wholesale and retail electricity along with natural gas markets. By a unanimous 25-0 vote, GISB formally expanded its purpose to permit the “consideration of electric wholesale and retail standards and model business practices.”

Acknowledging the converging and consolidating natural gas and power industries, Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioners last week issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (RM01-10) combining the standards of conduct for natural gas pipelines and electric transmission providers and broadening their application to require separation of the regulated monopolies from all other company affiliates.

Acknowledging that development of an Alaska natural gas pipeline will cost too much for the state to carry alone, Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles is proposing federal legislation mandating the Alaska Highway route and is calling for federal tax incentives to enable companies to bring North Slope gas to market. However, the move, say critics, could threaten development of a gas line.

Acknowledging that federal regulators hold most of the trump cards related to lowering natural gas costs, the California legislature nevertheless has produced four bills aimed indirectly at cutting consumer costs by developing more underground storage (AB 78X), producing more in-state gas supplies (AB 73X), eliminating anti-competitive tariffs (AB 23X), and shortening new pipeline permitting processes (AB 42X).

Acknowledging that federal regulators hold most of the trump cards related to lowering natural gas costs, the California legislature nevertheless has produced four bills aimed indirectly at cutting consumer costs by developing more underground storage (AB 78X); producing more in-state gas supplies (AB 73X); eliminating anti-competitive tariffs (AB 23X); and shortening new pipeline permitting processes (AB 42X).

Acknowledging that the state’s cost for spot wholesale power supplies has increased significantly since the PG&E utility bankruptcy filing, the newest member of the California Public Utilities Commission lashed out at merchant generators and power suppliers last week for “manipulating” the western wholesale electricity market and extracting billions of dollars out of the states’ economies. If the situation does not ease soon, Gov. Gray Davis is likely to seize some of the private sector power plants, according to Geoffery Brown, a former San Francisco public defender named to the CPUC by Davis earlier this year.