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With the official start of spring, time began to press California’s wide-ranging efforts to fix past, present and future (short and long-term) energy problems. For every positive last week, there seemed to be greater negative developments to deal with, rolling blackouts being the most dramatic. By last Friday, the prospect for bigger problems ahead seemed unavoidable.

With the official start of spring, time began to pressCalifornia’s wide-ranging efforts to fix past, present and future(short-and long-term) energy problems. For every positive lastweek, there seemed to be greater negative developments to dealwith, rolling blackouts being the most dramatic. By last Friday,the prospect for bigger problems ahead seemed unavoidable.

With little in the way of fresh fundamental news, natural gastraders were forced to base their decisions on a combination oftechnical factors and their own personal instinct Thursday, as theylifted prices steadily higher throughout the trading session. TheApril contract closed 17.1 cents higher at $5.212, just off its$5.22 high on the day.

There appeared to be nothing in the way of concrete progress towardresolving the California energy crisis, as much-talked about long termpower contracts have failed to materialize, and negotiations areapparently just beginning on the plan of state politicos to buy outthe power lines of the state’s investor-owned utilities (see DailyGPI, Feb. 20)

The legislative architect of California’s 1996 precedent-settingelectric industry restructuring law Monday proposed a $2 billionreserve be carved out of the state’s next fiscal budget to fund astate effort to buy or build new generation plants. Theannouncement came at the same time the state energy commission,which approves all new power plants of 50 MW or larger, released alegislatively mandated report that concludes the state’s generationresources are adequate, and temporary peaking plants are not neededfor the upcoming summer.

There was no shortage of hand-wringing and news mediaannouncements in the West in the wake of recent electricity pricespikes and multi-million-dollar estimated consequences fromCalifornia’s relatively modest round of rolling brownouts aroundthe San Francisco Bay Area. The big question — particular inCalifornia — is whether new solutions will come from regulators,lawmakers or the market.

About 80 electric-related companies are due to respond laterthis week to FERC inquiries aimed at determining whether marketmanipulation was a contributing factor to the wild price gyrationsin the Midwest electricity market in late June.