Advocate

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), a major opponent of oil and natural gas production in the United States and advocate of green fuels, has called on Vice President Dick Cheney to use his “considerable influence” to get OPEC nations to increase their oil production during his trip to the Middle East.

Oregon regulators last Tuesday granted a consumer advocate’s request for deferred accounting treatment of an estimated $20 million in federal and state taxes collected in retail rates during the last three months of 2005 by Portland General Electric (PGE).

Over the objections of state regulators and consumer advocate and power groups, FERC has upheld a ruling in a November 2006 order that allows the agency to override permit denials by state regulators to promote construction of electric transmission facilities in a national corridor.

In an indication of the current lovefest between California’s Democratic-controlled state legislature and its Republican governor, free-market advocate Rachelle Chong’s confirmation to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) was unanimously approved by the state Senate Thursday, less than 24 hours after the Rules Committee put aside reservations and sent the issue to the full Senate. Without the move, Chong would have been forced to step down from the powerful agency.

A veteran telecommunications attorney and former Federal Communications Commission member who is a strong free market advocate, Rachelle Chong, had her appointment to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) take a detour last Wednesday when a state Senate committee held up deciding whether she will be able to serve out the rest of her term. The head of the state legislative body and also committee chairman, Sen. Don Perata, publicly committed to taking a committee vote Wednesday.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) last week approved a natural gas rate settlement between Kinder Morgan and the commission’s public advocate. The associated rate increase took effect Monday.

Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line shippers, industry associations and customer advocate groups have accused Panhandle affiliate Southwest Gas Storage of charging “unjust and unreasonable” rates for jurisdictional storage services, and have called on FERC to act quickly to provide some rate relief.

Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line shippers, industry associations and customer advocate groups have accused Panhandle affiliate Southwest Gas Storage of charging “unjust and unreasonable” rates for jurisdictional storage services, and have called on FERC to act quickly to provide some rate relief.

A New Mexico pipeline safety advocate has filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the departments of Justice and Transportation to find out the status of an enforcement inquiry into the fatal explosion on the El Paso Natural Gas pipeline in August 2000.