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Alleging the law that created the framework for a deregulatedelectric market in Nevada will be detrimental and unfair to theirstockholders and their customers, Nevada Power and Sierra PacificPower filed in federal court yesterday to have the law declaredunconstitutional.

Exercising a new prerogative created by a state law passed lastyear, California Gov. Gray Davis last week named one of his closeadvisers and newest regulators, attorney Loretta Lynch, to bepresident of the five-member California Public UtilitiesCommission, which oversees the restructuring of the energyindustries, along with telecommunications, water, trucking andpublic transportation.

Exercising a new prerogative created by a state law passed lastyear, California Gov. Gray Davis this week named one of his closeadvisers and newest regulators, attorney Loretta Lynch, to bepresident of the five-member California Public UtilitiesCommission, which oversees the restructuring of the energyindustries, along with telecommunications, water, trucking andpublic transportation.

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI ) said yesterday ithas created a new program that focuses on Internet security issuesas they impact the energy industry in response to a series ofrecent hacker incidents, which brought e-business to a halt onseveral high profile websites. There is a growing concern thatsimilar intrusions could interrupt the critical interdependentsystems that support the global energy infrastructure. “Ourimmediate focus is on the vulnerabilities of the electronic systemsthat monitor and operate our business systems and provide criticalcommunications within and outside the energy business,” saidCharlie Siebenthal, manager of EPRI’s Enterprise InfrastructureSecurity (EIS) program. “In the long term, the EIS program willshift its emphasis to the design and management of electronicsecurity activities that will augment a company’s existing physicalsecurity programs.” The program will consist of a series ofworkshops covering broad program issues, in-depth electronicsecurity technical issues, and legal issues. Participation is opento any company actively engaged in the production, transportation,distribution, or sale of energy. The first EIS workshop will beheld April 26-28, 2000 in Orlando, FL. Details are posted on theprogram website, http://eis.epri.com/. For additional informationon the EIS program please contact Susan Marsland (650/855-2946) orat smarslan@epri.com.

Letting no grass grow under the feet of its newly-created Carolinas empire, Carolina Power and Light (CP&L) got a jump on competitors by shortening both the length and the lead-time of its proposed interstate Palmetto Pipeline project and turning it into an intrastate. The pricetag on the project drops from $175 million to $100 million and it will run 82 miles (instead of 175 miles) along the right-of-way of now-integrated North Carolina Natural Gas to a new power plant being developed by CP&L. It will require no federal or state certification.

Exxon Mobil Corp. continues to tout the benefits of the mergerthat created the new company. “When we announced plans for themerger — about a year ago — both companies recognized this wasa once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Chairman Lee Raymond.”Since that time, we have further refined the opportunities andbenefits available to the merged company.” The synergy benefits ofthe merger are expected to be greater and realized sooner thanpreviously thought, Raymond said.

Chevron has agreed to transfer all of its oil and gas assets inUtah’s Uinta Basin to Shenandoah Energy, a new company created byThe Chandler Company, in exchange for an equity ownership interestin Shenandoah and an undisclosed amount of cash. Shenandoah alsowill acquire all of Chandler’s stock. The transactions will have aneffective date of July 1, and are expected to close by Nov. 30,subject to certain conditions and approvals.

Mexico’s energy regulatory commission (CRE) created thePuebla-Tlaxcala geographic zone for gas distribution. The zonecovers 51 municipalities in the two states. An investment of about$50 million is expected to develop the project, and Gaz de Francehas expressed an interest.

Vector Energy Corp., created just over a year ago through oiland gas asset acquisitions, is leaving drill bits behind in favorof dot-coms and ISPs. “Nobody cares about oil and gas,” said VectorFounder and President Sam Skipper. Over the next several yearsVector will be either divesting its oil and gas properties ormerging them into another company, he said. Meanwhile it’s headingfor Internet territory, with a letter of intent to acquire onepublicly-held Internet Service Provider (ISP) and promises of anagreement with another with 8,000 subscribers.