Actions

Recent actions by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to beef up electric reserve margins and establish multiple receipt points for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports represent close to $1 billion in increased rate base in the coming years for Sempra Energy’s two utilities, according to Sempra COO Don Felsinger, speaking Tuesday at the Banc of America Securities Energy & Power Conference in Las Vegas.

Recent actions by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to beef up electric reserve margins and establish multiple receipt points for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports represent close to $1 billion in increased rate base in the coming years for Sempra Energy’s two utilities, according to Sempra COO Don Felsinger, speaking Tuesday at the Banc of America Securities Energy & Power Conference in Las Vegas.

Promising continued legal actions and citing a “shocking disregard for public welfare,” California Attorney General Bill Lockyer last week filed a civil lawsuit in an East San Francisco Bay state Superior Court against Houston-based Enron Corp., alleging unfair business practices and violations of the state’s commodity law. The state court filing came three days after his office asked FERC to reconsider a refund order directed at the state last month.

Promising continued legal actions and citing a “shocking disregard for public welfare,” California Attorney General Bill Lockyer Thursday filed a civil lawsuit in an East San Francisco Bay state Superior Court against Houston-based Enron Corp., alleging unfair business practices and violations of the state’s commodity law. In a move to get around Enron’s bankruptcy protections, Lockyer said he hopes to have a jury trial under way in a California court before the end of this year.

Although both sides are refusing to give any details, settlement talks between California and San Diego-based Sempra Energy are ongoing and could encompass claims that collectively represent $1-2 billion. A spokesman for state Attorney General Bill Lockyer confirmed Tuesday that talks are taking place but he would not characterize their current status.

Although both sides are refusing to give any details, settlement talks between California and San Diego-based Sempra Energy are ongoing and could encompass claims that collectively represent $1 to $2 billion, according to a Bloomberg News report Monday following a meeting with Bill Lockyer, California’s attorney general (AG). A state AG spokesman confirmed the accuracy of the report Tuesday, although he would not characterize the status of the talks or their current stage.

Feeling rooked by Canadian Superior’s announcement last week of a halt operations at the El Paso Mariner I-85 well in the Atlantic Ocean off Nova Scotia, following 3-1/2 months of drilling, a number of class action lawsuits have been filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Canadian Superior Energy Inc.

Charging the Bush administration with pushing federal actions that favor a large political contributor, environmental groups have attacked the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) plan to open up a two counties, Otero and Sierra, in southern New Mexico to oil and gas drilling.

Charging the Bush administration with pushing federal actions that favor a large political contributor, environmental groups have attacked the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) plan to open up a two counties, Otero and Sierra, in southern New Mexico to oil and gas drilling.