Controversy

The controversy over how to define natural gas gathering in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) is likely to ratchet up a few notches at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and in the courts in the months ahead.

With the controversy over Senate energy legislation on simmer for the time being, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has scheduled a September hearing to consider the nomination of former New Mexico regulator Suedeen G. Kelly for a seat on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

With the controversy over Senate energy legislation on simmer for the time being, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has scheduled a September hearing to consider the nomination of former New Mexico regulator Suedeen G. Kelly for a seat on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

After years of bickering, protests and heated controversy, Guardian Pipeline has been completed and is scheduled to begin delivering natural gas supplies to northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin markets before mid-December, says a spokesman for CMS Energy, a partner in the pipeline. But there is one glitch.

After years of bickering, protests and heated controversy, Guardian Pipeline has been completed and is scheduled to begin delivering natural gas supplies to northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin markets before mid-December, says a spokesman for CMS Energy, a partner in the pipeline. But there is one glitch.

It didn’t take a millennium; it just seemed like it at times. Finally, after years of controversy over its route, including protestors on FERC’s doorstep, the Commission last week approved the U.S. leg of the Millennium Pipeline, a 424-mile line from the Canadian border under Lake Erie to the New York City market area, originally proposed in December 1997 [CP98-150].

It didn’t take a millennium; it just seemed like it at times. Finally, after years of controversy over its route, including protestors on FERC’s doorstep, the Commission Wednesday approved the U.S. leg of the Millennium Pipeline, a 442-mile line from the Canadian border under Lake Erie to the New York City market area, originally proposed in December 1997 [CP98-150].

With a more hospitable subcommittee chair, four witnesses to a House energy subcommittee Monday told a less-than-sensational story about Perot Systems Corp.’s role in the development of California’s wholesale electricity markets, leaving the congressional chair to question what all the fuss has been in Sacramento, which happens to be part of his district.

Former Enron Corp. CEO Jeffrey Skilling has claimed in recent interviews that he was unaware of the details of off-balance sheet transactions that pushed the company toward bankruptcy in December, but The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that internal company documents indicate management and the board of directors considered the dubious deals “integral” to Enron’s growth. In recent days, Skilling has denied intimate knowledge of the transactions, while former CFO Andrew Fastow, who set them up, has indicated through attorneys that he did so with Enron management’s full knowledge.