El Paso Merchant Energy racked up a total of $691 million in hedging losses in the first 13 months of its contract for 1.2 Bcf/d of capacity on affiliate El Paso Natural Gas, making it imperative for the trading arm to flow as much gas as it could to California to help make up those losses, the company revealed in a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hearing this week.
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California Utilities, IPPs, Nymex Argue Over Power Crisis
While Chairman James Hoecker last week expressed doubt FERC could provide any real “immediate” relief to California electric customers, the state’s two largest investor-owned utilities called on the Commission to move quickly to rescue the malfunctioning wholesale power market, saying it could not stand on the sidelines as the nation’s first retail electric experiment teeters on the brink of disaster. (See related report, this issue).
Pipelines, Producers Argue Investments, Returns
Producers are eating a bigger slice of the revenue pie,pipelines claim. Pipelines, however, are piling up a much greaterreturn for a much smaller investment, producers retort. And that’sjust the beginning of the arguments spawned by FERC’s probing thepossibility of lighter-handed regulation of pipelines, includingnegotiated terms and conditions.
Industry, Regulators Argue Transportation Auctions
FERC’s proposal to organize and monitor the short-term marketthrough daily auctions is either a belated and unnecessaryadministrative nightmare – or the road to vigorous competition inthe transportation market, i.e. the “commoditization” oftransportation.
Canadian Pipes, Producers Argue Nova Bypass
Peace lasted less than two months in the Canadian natural gascommunity. Now comes the hard part of its April 8 agreement onpipeline regulation and competition – thrashing out what it meansin a contest over a small project with big implications.