Appointed

Alberta should raise oil and gas royalties on new and existing projects, increasing the province’s revenue 20%, according to a report by a government-appointed task force empaneled earlier this year to examine the province’s royalty and tax structure.

Alberta should raise oil and gas royalties on new and existing projects, increasing the province’s revenue 20%, according to a report by a government-appointed task force empaneled earlier this year to examine the province’s royalty and tax structure.

Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Denise Bode is resigning her post effective May 31 to lead a new natural gas foundation in Washington, DC. Bode, who was appointed to the commission in 1997 by former Gov. Frank Keating, said she is in the process of forming the American Clean Skies Foundation. “Today, there is a national debate on climate change and energy,” she said. “We see policymakers promoting alternative fuels such as wind, solar, biofuels and nuclear. These are all legitimate alternatives — although some much less than others — yet none can offer energy in great abundance at a reasonable price any time soon. On the other hand, burning natural gas instead of the principal alternatives reduces greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 50%. We intend to make natural gas not only part of the debate, but the solution.” Bode said she has talked with gas industry officials about the foundation, including Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. However, she said the foundation “is not going to be a Chesapeake entity.” Chesapeake has admitted funding an anti-coal campaign in Texas (see Power Market Today, Feb. 20) Gov. Brad Henry, a Democrat, will name Bode’s replacement. Bode’s current term was to expire in 2010. Early in her career Bode worked as a staffer on Capitol Hill and later headed up the Independent Petroleum Association of America lobbying group in Washington.

The Missouri Energy Task Force, a blue-ribbon panel appointed last December by Gov. Matt Blunt, on Thursday recommended the state adopt a “common-sense approach” to meeting the increasing energy demands within the state. Among other things, the panel recommended diversifying energy sources to include wind-and ethanol-based fuels, as well as increasing conservation efforts to keep energy costs affordable.

The Alaska Senate rejected legislation to tax oil companies at 23.5% of net profits, a measure that the House had approved Tuesday. A conference committee has been appointed to attempt a compromise before the lawmakers adjourn their special session at midnight Thursday.

The seemingly solid agreement among a mix of liberal/moderate Democrats and conservative/moderate Republicans on the newly configured five-member appointed California Public Utilities Commission last Thursday was jarred loose and split into a majority of market-based-solution advocates and a minority of command-and-control supporters over the creation of a telecommunications “Consumer Bill of Rights.” The measure was six years in the making and has gone through several iterations in the past 18 months.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has appointed Martin Cohen, who has served as executive director of the state’s Citizens Utility Board (CUB) for the last 12 years, as chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). Cohen will be the first consumer advocate ever to lead the ICC.

For the first time this year, California had a full complement of governor-appointed energy regulators last week, and they didn’t delay getting on the job, following the May 2 announcement from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, selecting his chief energy adviser as the new chairman of the California Energy Commission (CEC) and a former Reagan administration treasury official and international banker as the fifth member of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

Stanley Horton, who once guided Enron Corp.’s vast natural gas pipeline system, was appointed Monday as COO and president of Cheniere Energy Inc. Horton, who is charged with helping Cheniere develop several liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminals along the Gulf Coast, assumes his new position April 18.