Claiming

After claiming last week that Hurricane Lili had sunk one of its rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, Rowan Companies Inc. said Monday that a closer look reveals that the Rowan-Houston was involved in a “collision” resulting in the rig sinking. The company said the investigation is ongoing.

Claiming it has a more cost-effective, quicker solution, California’s regulatory commission last week filed the outline of its plan for reorganizing bankrupt Pacific Gas and Electric Co. with a federal bankruptcy court in San Francisco. Creditors would be paid off by the end of January next year, at which time utility electricity rates would be lowered, ultimately saving consumers billions of dollars.

Both Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) were claiming victory Friday, after a federal judge presiding over the utility’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding rejected a blanket federal legal preemption of state laws as they relate to the company’s reorganization plan. While the CPUC sees the decision as sinking the plan, PG&E reads it as simply requiring it to get more specific about what state laws should be preempted by federal jurisdiction in order to put its plan into effect.

Both sides — Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) — were claiming victory Friday, following a ruling by the federal judge presiding over the utility’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. State regulators pointed to the judge’s rejection of a blanket federal legal preemption of state laws as they relate to Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan. PG&E reads the decision as simply requiring it to get more specific about what state laws should be preempted by federal jurisdiction in order to put its plan into effect.

Claiming that KeySpan Corp. violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the law firm of Weiss & Yourman said last week that it is bringing a class action lawsuit against KeySpan and certain individuals associated with the company in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The lawsuit is being brought on behalf of purchasers of KeySpan shares between April 26, 2000 and July 17, 2001.

Claiming that KeySpan Corp. violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the law firm of Weiss & Yourman said on Thursday that they are bringing a class action lawsuit against KeySpan and certain individuals associated with the company in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The lawsuit is being brought on behalf of purchasers of KeySpan shares between April 26, 2000 and July 17, 2001.

Claiming that a state-imposed moratorium on divestiture in Nevada would not be in the consumers’ best interest, energy expert Susan Tierney testified before the Public Utility Commission of Nevada (PUC) last week that Nevada Power Co. ratepayers could save up to $281 million over the next five years if the proposed divestiture of certain Nevada Power Co. plants is approved.

Claiming to be an innocent victim, TXU Energy Trading is seekinga stay of a decision ordering CNG Transmission to turn overpipeline capacity that was initially awarded to TXU toan existingpipeline shipper, who FERC found had properly exercised itsright-of-first-refusal (ROFR) for the capacity.

While claiming FERC doesn’t want pipeline companies to have topay “ransom” to landowners, Commission Chairman James Hoecker saidpipelines must do a better job of hammering out early, innovativedeals with property owners affected by their projects.