Consumer

Calpine CEO Peter Cartwright said Wednesday the merchant power company has become the nation’s single largest gas consumer and remains on the lookout for additional gas producing properties to support its growing fleet of power plants.

UGI Utilities, Consumers Energy, South Carolina Electric and Gas and Southwest Gas received top marks in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2003 Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study.

With heavy pressure from the state’s largest utility, a California Assembly committee Wednesday rejected an eleventh-hour attempt to push an alternative to the pending settlement between Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and state regulators. The Utility Reform Network (TURN) claimed the measure would save retail electric utility consumers $2.8 billion over the next decade, compared with the utility-regulator settlement.

Re-creating the natural gas market through direct producer-consumer connections is going to be difficult for both sides, as they incorporate into their planning the functions once performed by the middle-man trading sector. In addition to price, the term and the credit arrangements tied to a supply contract are key factors a gas buyer needs to consider when negotiating, according to representatives of industrials and local distribution companies (LDCs) who spoke Wednesday at the LDC Forum in Chicago sponsored by Interchange Energy.

Re-creating the natural gas market through direct producer-consumer connections is going to be difficult for both sides, as they incorporate into their planning the functions once performed by the middle-man trading sector. In addition to price, the term and the credit arrangements tied to a supply contract are key factors a gas buyer needs to consider when negotiating, according to representatives of industrials and LDCs who spoke Wednesday at the LDC Forum in Chicago sponsored by Interchange Energy.

A broad coalition of business, government and consumer leaders called on U.S. industrial leaders to take the “10 Percent Pledge” to lower their energy use and costs by 10% to help ease the potential shortfall in natural gas supplies this winter.

Stressing that the state has more than adequate power supplies this summer and in future summers, the California Energy Commission (CEC) last week raised its estimates of power reserve levels after 2005 as part of a generally upbeat future power update by the state’s agency handling power plant siting and energy planning. The energy agency sees reserve margins in California as high as 20% this summer.

Susan Kennedy was quickly cleared by the Senate Rules Committee for confirmation as the new commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission. Statewide consumer, utility and environmental groups appeared to support the appointment of the former Democratic Party and governor’s adviser. Confirmation by the full Senate is expected later this month. In part of her questioning, Kennedy said she was unhappy with the level of the so-called exit fees assigned late last year by the CPUC for direct access customers in California. At their current levels, she said it would take 10 to 20 years for bundled utility customers to get their fair share from the customers buying their own power supplies from third-party providers.

A House lawmaker on Tuesday withdrew an amendment seeking retroactive refund protection for natural gas customers, after energy leaders pledged to work out a compromise solution that possibly would bar interstate gas pipelines from intentionally drawing out regulatory proceedings in which they are accused of charging high transportation rates.