Administrative

FERC Chief Administrative Law Judge Curtis Wagner Jr. has extended by two weeks the deadline for an initial decision in the case in which Transwestern Pipeline is alleged to have arranged more lucrative negotiated-rate deals last winter prior to posting available firm transportation capacity to its web site — a move that extracted higher rates and limited the capacity availability for recourse-rate shippers for service to California.

In an ironic twist, the same Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) administrative law judge (ALJ) who had cited Oneok for contempt in May for refusing to turn over documents related to an OCC investigation last Wednesday granted the company’s motion for a stay in the state attorney general’s request that the company be cited for contempt for not turning over the same documents related to natural gas sales made last winter.

In an ironic twist, the same Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) administrative law judge (ALJ) who had cited Oneok for contempt in May for refusing to turn over documents related to an OCC investigation on Wednesday granted the company’s motion for a stay in the state attorney general’s request that the company be cited for contempt for not turning over the same documents related to natural gas sales made last winter.

As was expected, FERC Chief Administrative Law Judge Curtis Wagner Jr. last Thursday refused to appoint a judge to oversee negotiations of a money settlement in the high-profile dispute in which two El Paso Corp. affiliates are accused of illegally rigging bids for pipeline capacity and violating the Commission’s affiliate standards. He said the parties have three weeks to settle the dispute on their own.

As was expected, FERC Chief Administrative Law Judge Curtis Wagner Jr. yesterday refused to appoint a judge to oversee negotiations of a money settlement in the high-profile dispute in which two El Paso Corp. affiliates are accused of illegally rigging bids for pipeline capacity and violating the Commission’s affiliate standards. He said the parties have three weeks to settle the dispute on their own.

Bruce Birchman, the FERC administrative law judge (ALJ) overseeing proceedings related to possible refunds for electricity overcharges in California, last Thursday issued a revised trial schedule related to the proceeding under which he now plans to certify proposed findings of fact in mid-December.

After listening to weeks of confusing and often mind-numbing testimony, FERC Chief Administrative Law Judge Curtis Wagner Jr. tossed parties a curve last week when he “strongly encourage[d]” them to reach a money settlement in the high-profile dispute in which El Paso Corp. affiliates are accused of engaging in illegal activity to inflate prices for natural gas in the California market.

FERC Chief Administrative Law Judge Curtis Wagner Jr. yesterday “strongly encourage[d]” parties to reach a monetary settlement in the high-profile case in which California regulators have accused El Paso Natural Gas and El Paso Merchant Energy Co. (EPME) of illegally manipulating natural gas prices in California and committing affiliate violations.

FERC Chief Administrative Law Judge Curtis Wagner has ordered El Paso Merchant Energy Co. (EPME) to produce a copy of a highly sensitive internal memorandum, which allegedly reveals the intimate working relationship between parent El Paso Corp. and affiliates El Paso Natural Gas and EPME, into the record of a high-profile case exploring charges of affiliate and market-power abuse.