Awareness

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) reintroduced legislation last Tuesday to increase regulations on hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking).

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) kicked off National Hurricane Awareness Week on Monday predicting the 2002 Atlantic hurricane (June 1-Nov. 30) season will likely have normal to slightly above normal levels of activity with nine to 13 tropical storms, six to eight hurricanes and two to three major hurricanes (category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale ). NOAA officials warned the public not to become complacent following two seasons in which there were no direct hurricane hits on the United States.

Southern California Gas Co. said it is launching an informationcampaign this week to raise awareness of high natural gas prices.The campaign will include ads in major local newspapers and onradio stations, inserts in gas bills and direct mailings to alertcustomers to higher gas prices, explain the reasons for theincreases and outline their options to take greater control oftheir gas bills. SoCalGas is projecting that a monthly natural gaswinter bill for a typical residential customer will increase about$20, to $70 from $50. The company noted that unusually high demandthis summer has resulted in lower-than-expected gas storage levelsnationwide. This summer’s peak usage of natural gas on SoCal’ssystem for the first time exceeded the previous winter’s peak.SoCalGas is the nation’s largest gas distribution utility serving18 million consumers through 5 million meters. The company’sservice territory encompasses 23,000 square miles throughoutcentral and Southern California.

In anticipation of a hot summer, the California IndependentSystem Operator (ISO) this week will kick off its Power Watch 2000awareness campaign during which it will issue media alerts advisingthe public when electricity demand is nearing peak levels and ofthe need to use conservation measures.