Chief

In a surprising bit of candor, the chief political architect ofCalifornia’s 1996 electric industry restructuring law last weekrevealed that out-of-state energy companies paying high prices forgeneration assets, exceeded state lawmakers goals of gettingconsumers out from under the enormous stranded costs of the state’sthree major investor-owned utilities.

In a surprising bit of candor, the chief political architect ofCalifornia’s 1996 electric industry restructuring law told a groupof industry participants at a statewide energy roundtablediscussion in San Diego that the state’s lawmakers intentionallyderegulated generation to draw out-of-state capital to pay off theenormous stranded costs of the state’s three major investor-ownedutilities.

California’s top energy regulator thinks the momentum forrestructuring the state’s natural gas industry has lost most of itssteam. Responding to questions during a break at a statewide energyroundtable in San Diego Tuesday, Richard Bilas, president of theCalifornia Public Utilities Commission, said he is unsure whenregulators will be able to make recommendations to the statelegislature for further gas unbundling.

Producers – and the lawyers, brokers and analysts they break bread with – last week received a second helping of what was for lunch eight months ago at Houston’s Petroleum Club: a bullish outlook for gas prices.

Producers – and the lawyers, brokers and analysts they breakbread with – received a second helping of what was for lunch eightmonths ago at Houston’s Petroleum Club: a bullish outlook for gasprices.

New KN Energy chief Richard Kinder must have put the fear of God in the NGPL pipeline team. After years of pipeline underutilization and decontracting, NGPL locked in contracts last week for nearly all of its firm transportation capacity, just as shareholders of Kinder Morgan and KN were approving the $900 million stock-for-stock merger of the two companies. KN Energy’s transformation and recovery could be one of the fastest seen in the energy industry in a long time.

Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Bill Richardson made aspirited request to a host of gas industry executives last week,asking for their help to pass a federal electric restructuring billbefore the end of this year. Richardson, addressing attendees ofthe Natural Gas Roundtable in Washington D.C., said the gasindustry stands to gain handsomely if electric restructuring getspassed as soon as possible.

Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Bill Richardson made aspirited request to a host of gas industry executives yesterday,asking for their help to pass a federal electric restructuring billbefore the end of this year. Richardson, addressing attendees ofthe Natural Gas Roundtable in Washington D.C., said the gasindustry stands to gain handsomely if electric restructuring getspassed as soon as possible.

Reliant Energy’s board of directors elected Eddie Meche to thepost of vice president and chief risk control officer for Reliant.Meche joined Reliant in 1997 and most recently served as vicepresident for risk control for the company’s Wholesale Group.