Decide

Even with favorable momentum at FERC Questar’s Southern TrailsPipeline won’t get very far without California regulatory help inremoving what it views as the main impediment to its locking upmulti-year deals with at least three large end-users who currentlyship gas on SoCalGas.

Even with favorable momentum at FERC (see NGI, Oct. 11), Questar’s Southern Trails Pipeline won’t get very far without California regulatory help in removing what it views as the main impediment to its locking up multi-year deals with at least three large end-users who currently ship gas on SoCalGas.

California, as the nation’s early poster child for energyindustry restructuring, has to bite the bullet and decide if itwants robust retail competition for natural gas and electricity, orwhether it wants to stop where it is now with wholesalecompetition, “declare victory and everyone go home,” said thestate’s top energy regulator, Richard Bilas, an economist andpresident of the California Public Utilities Commission. If itwants retail competition, then the state should consider adoptingsome of the aspects of Georgia’s gas restructuring andPennsylvania’s electricity changes.

The fate of a $500 million federal loan guarantee program forsmall oil and gas producers and their suppliers (H.R. 1664), okayedby the Senate earlier this month, is still up in the air as themeasure heads for a U.S. House-Senate conference committee and avote in the House.

The fate of a $500 million federal loan guarantee program forsmall oil and gas producers and their suppliers (H.R. 1664), okayedby the Senate last week, is still up in the air as the measureheads for a U.S. House-Senate conference committee and a vote inthe House.

While Pennsylvania’s gas deregulation bill for residential andsmall commercial customers has grabbed most of the focus on thestate’s gas industry, the fate of Philadelphia’s embattledmunicipal gas utility, Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), also will bedecided during the current legislative session. A movement hasarisen in both the state Senate and the House of Representatives toattach an amendment onto the deregulation bill, which would shiftPGW control from the city government-selected Gas Commission to thePennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

While Pennsylvania’s gas deregulation bill for residential andsmall commercial customers has grabbed most of the focus from thestate’s gas industry, the fate of Philadelphia’s embattledmunicipal gas utility, Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), will also bedecided during the current legislative session. A movement hasarisen in both the state Senate and the House of Representatives toattach an amendment onto the deregulation bill which will shift PGWcontrol from the city government-selected Gas Commission to thePennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

ANR Pipeline has yet to decide whether to proceed with expansionof its Eugene Island system in the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of aFERC order upholding a previous decision that approved the projectbut put ANR at risk for its cost. “I think all I can say at thispoint is we’re continuing to review the order and consider ouroptions,” an ANR spokesman said Friday.