Conceding

Conceding that its decision was not a “popular” one, FERC Thursday approved, subject to 169 conditions, the controversial AES Sparrows Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project near Baltimore and associated Mid-Atlantic Express pipeline, which would bring 1.5 Bcf/d of natural gas to growing markets in the Northeast.

Conceding defeat following word that Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) members and shareholders had voted Monday in favor of merging with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) (see Daily GPI, July 10), Atlanta-based IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) said late Monday that while it was disappointed in the outcome, it thought the process was beneficial for its own stockholders as well as for stockholders of CBOT.

Without conceding any wrongdoing on its part, El Paso Electric Co. (EPE) has agreed to pay $14 million and lose the right for market-based trading for two years as part of a settlement with FERC trial staff that resolves issues arising from the agency’s investigation into the company and Enron Corp. [EL02-113-000]. The settlement was disclosed by the staff in written testimony filed Thursday.

Without conceding any wrongdoing on its part, El Paso Electric Co. (EPE) has agreed to pay $14 million as part of a settlement with FERC trial staff that resolves issues arising from the agency’s investigation into the company and Enron Corp. [EL02-113-000]. The settlement was disclosed by the staff in written testimony filed Thursday.

Conceding defeat to the courts, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted last Wednesday to eliminate the contract term limit for incumbent pipeline shippers who exercise their rights of first refusal (ROFR) to retain transportation capacity under contracts that are due to expire shortly. The decision was a blow to existing pipeline shippers, who believed FERC’s requirement of a five-year term matching cap under ROFR thwarted potential abuses.

Conceding defeat to the courts, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted Wednesday to eliminate the contract term limit for incumbent pipeline shippers who exercise their rights of first refusal (ROFR) to retain transportation capacity under contracts that are due to expire shortly. The decision was a blow to existing pipeline shippers, who believed FERC’s requirement of a five-year term cap under ROFR thwarted potential abuses.

Conceding that federal regulators belatedly have taken steps to offer wholesale power price relief, California Gov. Gray Davis last week announced an agreement with Sempra Energy’s San Diego Gas and Electric Co. that wipes out a $740 million debt the utility was facing for uncovered wholesale electricity costs. The state will buy SDG&E’s transmission lines for just under $1 billion, or 2.3 times book value, and commit to provide all of its native generation to the state on a cost-based, below-market basis.

Conceding that federal regulators belatedly have taken steps to offer wholesale power price relief, California Gov. Gray Davis Monday announced an agreement with Sempra Energy’s San Diego Gas and Electric Co. that wipes out a $740 million debt the utility was facing for uncovered wholesale electricity costs. The state will buy SDG&E’s transmission lines for just under $1 billion, or 2.3 times book value, and commit to provide all of its native generation to the state on a cost-based, below-market basis.

Utility companies were close to conceding defeat late last week in their effort to get an amendment attached to a congressional spending bill that would absolve them of prosecution under the clean-air lawsuits bought by the Justice Department on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier this month (See NGI, Nov. 8).