Charges

Sierra Pacific Resources and subsidiary Nevada Power filed a lawsuit Monday against El Paso, Sempra Energy and Dynegy, charging the companies and Enron conspired to restrict pipeline capacity and gas supplies and made false price reports in order to drive up prices. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas seeking $600 million in damages, alleges the companies engaged in restraint of trade, fraud, violation of Nevada’s RICO Act and civil conspiracy.

The British Columbia Utilities Commission said Friday that it has approved BC Gas Utility’s application for an increase in the rates it charges for the natural gas commodity. The increase will add approximately 16% to the typical residential customer’s total gas bill, about 6% less than the wholesale cost the distributor believes it may have to pay over the next 12 months. BC Gas said that the increase works out to an additional C$184 per year for a typical Lower Mainland home; C$167 per year for a typical home in the Interior and C$183 per year for a typical home in the Kootenays. The increase — which was requested earlier in the week (see Daily GPI, March 18) — will take effect April 1, 2003. The utility estimates the full impact of increased commodity prices would add almost 22% to the typical residential customer’s bill. Most of the company’s current gas contracts expire at the end of this month and it is in the market for supplies going forward. BC Gas serves 764,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in more than 100 communities in British Columbia.

El Paso Corp. is nearing a $1.7 billion settlement with California to resolve allegations that it manipulated natural gas prices in the state during the energy crisis in 2000 and 2001, according to published reports Thursday.

South Carolina regulators approved Tuesday a $75 million-plus settlement with Duke Energy subsidiary Duke Power that resolves charges the power utility underreported its profits in 1998 through 2000 to evade a rate decrease for electric customers in South Carolina and North Carolina. The North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC), which also was party to the agreement, approved the deal on Oct. 29.

In what some shippers see as ironic given the sorry status of the pipeline’s own credit rating, PG&E Gas Transmission Northwest’s (GTN) existing collateral demands on credit-risky customers have raised skepticism from federal regulators and shippers alike in recent weeks. The proposed tougher-than-federally-required credit standards for the pipeline’s shippers have been put on hold by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which wants to hold a technical conference on the issue.

In what some shippers see as ironic given the sorry status of the pipeline’s own credit rating, PG&E Gas Transmission Northwest’s (GTN) existing collateral demands on credit-risky customers have raised skepticism from federal regulators and shippers alike in recent weeks. The proposed tougher-than-federally-required credit standards for the pipeline’s shippers have been put on hold by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which wants to hold a technical conference on the issue.

A former El Paso Corp. vice president and energy trader was indicted last Wednesday on charges that he submitted price and volume information on a series of bogus natural gas trades to Platt’s Inside FERC Gas Market Report to use in calculating its index price for gas. The news helped to fuel the steady slide in El Paso stock throughout most of last week, during which it lost about 20% of its value to trade at about $6.71 a share Friday.

Retail natural gas rates continued to fall in the states of Washington and Nevada on Wednesday, and even lower charges could become effective by Friday. The lucky customers are with Bellevue, WA-based Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and Las Vegas-based Southwest Gas Corp.

Retail natural gas rates continued to fall in Washington and Nevada Wednesday and the lowered charges could become effective by Friday. The lucky customers are with Bellevue, WA-based Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and Las Vegas, NV-based Southwest Gas Corp.