Advocate

FERC Commissioner Pat Wood III said last week that while he doesn’t advocate asking Congress to restore the agency’s authority to regulate gathering, he is concerned about problems that offshore producers may be facing in a de-regulated market.

An advocate of stiff pipeline safety laws, Rep. James L.Oberstar (D-MN) last week said he was “generally supportive” of therecent move by the Department of Transportation’s Office ofPipeline Safety’s (OPS) to toughen the requirements for safetyinspections of large hazardous liquid pipelines. But he believesPresident Clinton’s decree to the agency to beef up the safetystandards for small liquid and natural gas pipelines came up short.

A California utility consumer advocate and a Kentucky-basedeconomist/consultant offered a national meeting of state regulatorycommissioners in San Diego last week different prescriptions forproviding long-term relief to retail consumers in the midst ofvarious electric industry restructuring efforts scattered aroundthe nation.

An advocate of stiff pipeline safety laws, Rep. James L.Oberstar (D-MN) said he was “generally supportive” of the recentmove by the Department of Transportation’s Office of PipelineSafety’s (OPS) to toughen the requirements for safety inspectionsof large hazardous liquid pipelines. But he believes PresidentClinton’s decree to the agency to beef up the safety standards forsmall liquid and natural gas pipelines came up short.