In a classic states’ rights confrontation, California ischallenging FERC jurisdiction over the operation of the state’s twononprofit organizations created to make electric restructuring runsmoothly, the Independent System Operator (ISO) overseeing thetransmission grid and the Power Exchange (PX) providing a wholesalespot electricity market. Two bills have been proposed in the statelegislature to change the status of the ISO and PX in directresponse to FERC jurisdictional questions.
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Industrials, LDCs Continue Bypass Battle
Lower costs and the opportunity to control their own supply arestill the main drivers of industrial bypass of local distributioncompanies, the energy manager for U.S. Gypsum told state regulatorsyesterday.
Marketers Slam CT Draft Unbundling Ruling
Gas marketers said last week a preliminary unbundling ruling bythe Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) allowsthe state’s local distribution utilities to erect “insurmountablebarriers to entry” into the retail gas market and will snuff outwhat little competition exists today.
Marketers Blast Connecticut LDC’s Unbundling Tariffs
The Connecticut retail gas market “will quickly turn into nomarket at all” if the state Department of Public Utility Control(DPUC) approves the August unbundling tariff filings made by thestate’s three local distribution companies, retail gas marketerssaid last week in a joint brief. The DPUC is expected to issue afirst phase unbundling order later this week that will address theissues presented by the marketers.
Williams Buys Back Kern River Option
Williams’ Kern River Pipeline has taken action to ensure itscontinued control over market access, completing an agreement tobuy-out a future option on the California portion of the line heldby Southern California Gas. The option would have been exercisablein 2012.
Williams Assumes Full Control of EnergyVision
Williams took a bigger jump into the energy marketing businessyesterday by announcing it has acquired full ownership ofEnergyVision by purchasing the 50% interest in the company that washeld by BEC Energy. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
FERC Shoots Down Two Midcoast Projects
Midcoast Interstate Transmission’s efforts to continue itsmonopoly control of the pipeline transportation market in northernAlabama fell by the wayside last week when FERC rejected its twocontroversial project proposals citing disinterest on the part ofshippers.
Dominion Makes Bid for Archer
Dominion Resources unit Dominion Energy has agreed to pay (US)$128 million, C$7.60/share, to acquire Archer Resources Ltd. ofCalgary, AB. The deal gives Dominion Energy control of Archer’sdaily production of approximately 72 MMcf/d of gas and 1,500 b/dof oil in Alberta, plus Archer’s 16 processing facilities and over500,000 undeveloped acres. Dominion Energy said the deal, ifconsummated as expected, would increase its gas productioncapability by approximately 50%.