Approve

Shareholders of both WPS Resources Corp. and Peoples Energy Corp. voted last week to approve WPS Resources’ $1.52 billion purchase of Peoples (see NGI, July 17). The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2007 pending approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

A Kentucky producer has called on FERC to quickly approve Equitrans LP’s proposed pipeline to ease the capacity constraint in the eastern part of the state that has led to natural gas production being shut in over the past two years.

The Senate voted late Thursday to approve a measure that would put an end to the “royalty holiday” for oil and natural gas producers in the Gulf of Mexico when energy prices reach high levels.

The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) Wednesday voted to approve the terms of a joint proposal, which will increase electric and natural gas delivery rates for Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. customers through June 30, 2009. Noting that Central Hudson’s electric and gas delivery rates have not increased in over a decade, the PSC determined that the new rate plan will enable the company to increase infrastructure investment, expand assistance to low-income customers and meet “unavoidable” cost increases.

PNM Resources, which supplies natural gas to 481,000 customers in New Mexico, on Tuesday asked state regulators to approve a rate hike to help pay for infrastructure expansion and to compensate for rising costs for fuel and steel.

Dallas-based Remington Oil and Gas Corp. has set a special shareholders meeting for June 29 to approve the merger and acquisition by Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. Helix, formerly Cal Dive International, agreed earlier this year to pay $27 in cash and provide Remington shareholders 0.436 shares of Helix for each Remington share (see Daily GPI, Jan. 24).

With momentum building in all six western states where the utility operates, Utah and Wyoming became the first two states to approve the proposed $9.4 billion purchase of PacifiCorp from ScottishPower by Iowa-based utility holding company MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., part of billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate. Utah regulators approved the deal last Friday, and Wyoming’s regulators earlier gave a verbal okay with a final written order to be issued next week, effective Feb. 10.

The American Gas Association (AGA), which represents gas utilities, had its fingers crossed that Congress last week would approve a total of $4.2 billion in funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for fiscal 2006. But when the legislative dust settled late Wednesday, the Senate funded the program at only half that level and below what it had approved in fiscal 2005, despite record-breaking home heating costs this winter.

The American Gas Association (AGA), which represents gas utilities, earlier this week had its fingers crossed that Congress would approve a total of $4.2 billion in funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for fiscal 2006. But after the legislative dust settled Wednesday, the Senate funded the program at only half that level and below what it had approved in fiscal 2005, despite record-breaking home heating costs this winter.