Two Republican state senators in New York, key supporters of Marcellus and Utica shale gas drilling, are anxious to see Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration move forward with the process to establish rules for drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF). Meanwhile, officials in the Town of York in Livingston County, became the latest municipality to reject a proposed moratorium on fracking.
Anxious
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New York GOP Wants Fracking to Advance; York Rejects Moratorium
Two Republican state senators, key supporters of Marcellus and Utica shale gas drilling in New York, are anxious to see Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration move forward with the process to establish rules for drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF).
Buyers, Sellers Duke it Out Before EIA Report; September Up
September natural gas managed a modest gain Wednesday as traders positioned themselves ahead of the weekly inventory report. For every trader anxious to cover a short position there seemed to be another willing initiate a new sale. At the close September had risen nine-tenths of a cent to $4.003 and October added nine-tenths of a cent as well to $4.024. September crude oil rebounded from steep losses in the last two sessions, adding $3.59 to $82.89/bbl.
CPUC Clears Decks for ’05 on Distributed Generation, Utility ROE, Transmission
Anxious to clear its agenda and get ready for a Holiday lull, the California Public Utilities Commission Thursday cranked out more than a half-dozen energy actions, including the acceleration of a critical power transmission line project, the continuation of a $125 million distributed generation incentive program, and the setting of 11%-plus returns-on-equity (ROEs) for the state’s two major utilities.
CPUC Establishes New Economic Development Unit
An economic development unit, or “economic conscience” has been added to the California Public Utilities Commission, pushed by anxious state officials who are wrestling with a $35 billion budget deficit and a stagnated economy. Regulation in the energy, water and telecommunications sectors is viewed as a key to economic recovery by both California’s governor and the former utility executive/economist he picked to head the CPUC this year.
Enron Layoffs Begin; Bankruptcy Filing Expected Soon
Anxious Houston-based employees Friday were waiting for formal news that their employer, Enron Corp., had filed for bankruptcy, expected to be the largest in U.S. history, and waited to learn whether layoffs will begin in the United States as they have in Europe. Across the country, others kept an eye on whether Enron would file a lawsuit against its short-term merger partner Dynegy Corp. for backing out of the transaction last week. Meanwhile, companies that had once dealt with the former trend-setting energy trader began tallying their own expected losses should Enron go under, and in Washington, DC, legislators announced they would begin investigating exactly who knew what when.
Bankruptcy Filing Expected By Tuesday, Layoffs Begin
Anxious Houston-based employees Friday were waiting for formal news that their employer, Enron Corp., had filed for bankruptcy, expected to be the largest in U.S. history, and also to learn whether layoffs will begin in the United States as they have in Europe. Across the country, others kept an eye on whether Enron would file a lawsuit against its short-term merger partner Dynegy Corp. for backing out of the transaction last week. Meanwhile, companies that had once dealt with the former trend-setting energy trader continued tallying their own expected losses should Enron go under, and analysts began looking at the pieces, attempting to comprehend and explain a situation gone terribly wrong.
PG&E Bankruptcy Judge Okays Payments
In a packed courtroom filled with anxious creditors, a federal bankruptcy judge gave the Pacific Gas & Electric utility the authority Tuesday to make payments to customers and suppliers of both gas and electricity, and set a hearing for April 18 on the utility’s request for an injunction against state regulators’ orders for accounting changes related to past electricity stranded cost collections of billions of dollars.
CA to Inherit Transmission Grid Upgrades
Contrary to the impression left by state policymakers nowanxious for California to buy the state’s three investor-ownedutilities’ portion of the state transmission grid, the overworked,congestion-plagued system has had more than 100 upgrade projectstotaling more than $1 billion under way in the past three yearssince the state-chartered independent operator (Cal-ISO) assumedcontrol of the private-sector assets. The utility owners havecontinued to foot the bill for the upgrades and expansions.
CA Grid Holds Together Despite Order Expiration
Despite anxious moments, California’s staggering grid systemheld together Wednesday, avoiding the rolling blackouts somein-state market participants feared would happen in the wake of thefederal emergency order expiring.