Blasts

The Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA), which representsindependent power producers, told FERC yesterday that proposedattempts to temporarily halt market-based pricing in New York’spower market this summer — through administrative rates, pricescreens or price caps — should be rejected.

“The fact that Dynegy and Amoco are parties to this protest is not surprisingbecause both have a long-standing practice of raising affiliate abuse issuesevery time an opportunity presents itself. The mantra of affiliate abuseby these parties has become very tiresome,” the pipeline told FERC, addingits answer would prove them wrong.

An irate Koch Gateway Pipeline told FERC this week that DynegyMarketing and Trade, Amoco Energy Trading and Marathon Oil don’thave a clue how to run a gas pipeline and should refrain fromattempting to understand how its parking and lending service (PAL)works. Despite being totally devoid of any factual basis, theirjoint protest filed last week with the Commission wasn’t totallyunexpected, however, Koch said.

Coastal’s ANR Pipeline is continuing its battle against aproposed pipeline that would challenge its dominance of theWisconsin market. ANR is calling for backers of the GuardianPipeline project to make costs of the project public to provewhether it would reduce Wisconsin gas prices.

Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) released a letter last week fromFERC Chairman James J. Hoecker that is “sharply critical” ofelectric restructuring bill H.R. 2944, sponsored by Rep. Joe Barton(R-TX) and reported out of the House Energy and Power Subcommitteelast November. Hoecker’s letter was a response to a Nov. 3 inquiryby Markey.

Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) released a letter this week fromFERC Chairman James J. Hoecker that is “sharply critical” ofelectric restructuring bill H.R. 2944, sponsored by Rep. Joe Barton(R-TX). The bill was reported out of the House Energy and PowerSubcommittee last November. Hoecker’s letter was a response to aNov. 3 inquiry by Markey.

While ANR Pipeline has maintained all along that competitors to its Wisconsin system expansion – the Guardian and Horizon pipelines – are very bad indeed, it doesn’t hurt to get a second opinion.

ANR Pipeline brought in a big gun this week to mow down theopposition to its proposed Wisconsin expansion project. It hiredformer Wisconsin Public Service Commission Chairman CharlesCicchetti, now a consultant with the Pacific Economics Group and abusiness professor at the University of Southern California, totout its project over others, particularly the competing GuardianPipeline.

In a terse letter to FERC recently, Cuba Wadlington Jr.,Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line’s senior vice president and generalmanager, became the first pipeline representative to formallycriticize the Commission’s recent departure from its long-standingpolicy of issuing preliminary determinations on pipeline expansionapplications.