Capitol

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan will be waving his red flag on natural gas supply issues again on July 10 in front of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Three weeks ago Greenspan told a House panel that if the United States wants to maintain its current standard of living, it will have to become a bigger player in the global gas market by importing more liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan will be waving his red flag on natural gas supply issues again on July 10 in front of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Three weeks ago Greenspan told a House panel that if the United States wants to maintain its current standard of living, it will have to become a bigger player in the global gas market by importing more liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Responding to a chorus of calls from Capitol Hill and California politicians, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week said it will release to the public the mass of documents that has been furnished by sellers and others as part of the agency’s probe into potential manipulation of prices for natural gas and electricity in western markets, and in related refund proceedings. However, it noted some of the information still will remain confidential.

As California was plunged into its second consecutive day of daytime darkness on Tuesday, FERC regulators remained as divided as ever on whether to impose price caps on wholesale power sales in the West to prevent continuing blackouts and price hikes this summer.

FERC has turned over to two House Energy and Commerce subcommittees and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee energy companies’ responses about their participation in Enron-style trading practices and round-trip, or “wash,” transactions, including the replies that sought confidential treatment by the Commission.

Under mounting pressure from Capitol Hill, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week kicked off an investigation into whether the once-powerful Enron Corp. manipulated wholesale electricity prices during the energy crisis that rocked California last year. If manipulation is found, FERC Chairman Pat Wood told a Senate committee that federal regulators or the courts could void some of the long-term forward contracts that the state signed to lock in supplies.

Under mounting pressure from Capitol Hill, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has kicked off an investigation into whether the once-powerful Enron Corp. manipulated long-term electricity prices during the energy crisis that rocked California last year. If manipulation is found, FERC Chairman Pat Wood earlier this week said federal regulators or the courts could void some of the long-term forward contracts that the state signed.

Former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay canceled his much-awaited appearances before Senate and House subcommittees this week in the wake of a blistering internal company report that said Lay, as well as other senior management officials, the board of directors and the company’s outside auditor, contributed to the financial collapse of the once-powerful energy trader last fall. Both congressional panels are now considering issuing subpoenas for Lay to testify at a later date.

Legislation pending on Capitol Hill that seeks to cut emissions of power plant pollutants would force electric utilities to jumpstart a “massive construction effort” in order to meet the compliance timeframe included in the measure, Gerard Anderson, president of DTE Energy Resources, told a Senate panel last Thursday. That construction effort, in turn, would hike the cost of power and in many regions impact the reliability of the overall electric grid, Anderson said.