Dereg

Nearly 20 years of competition in the natural gas market has reduced national energy costs by more than $600 billion, according to a new study issued last week.

Nearly 20 years of competition in the natural gas market has reduced national energy costs by more than $600 billion, according to a new study issued Monday.

If there was any question remaining that the California crisis would have a negative impact on the electric deregulation progress around the rest of the nation, it has been answered, and the response is ‘yes.’ Three quarters of the utility regulators across the nation polled said that the financial, reliability and political consequences of the California snafu will slow, or even halt, the spread of deregulation to their states, according to a recent national survey created by Standard & Poor’s and conducted by RKS Research & Consulting.

If there was any question remaining that the California crisis would have a negative impact on the electric deregulation progress around the rest of the nation, it has been answered, and the response is ‘yes.’ Three quarters of the utility regulators across the nation polled said that the financial, reliability and political consequences of the California snafu will slow, or even halt, the spread of deregulation to their states, according to a recent national survey created by Standard & Poor’s and conducted by RKS Research & Consulting.

At the request of Reps. W.J. “Billy” Tauzin (R-LA) and JoeBarton (R-TX), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said it will lookinto “possible jurisdictional limitations” on states’ authority todesign successful retail completion plans, and whether additionalfederal legislative or regulatory action is required.

Deregulation of New Hampshire’s electricity market moved a giantstep closer to becoming a reality on Tuesday. The New HampshirePublic Utilities Commission approved the state’s settlementagreement with Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH),allowing the process of electric restructuring to continue on itstrack.

The benefits of deregulating the electric power industry may be”deferred” — or may not be realized at all — if monopolyutilities are left unchecked to exercise market power in arestructured marketplace, according to an FTC staff report.

Two retail marketer bankruptcies in Georgia and the legislativeand regulatory retrenchment in California should take most of theblame for the slowdown in gas deregulation nationwide, according toMarie Lihn, principal economic analysis manager for the GasTechnology Institute (GTI). A nationwide preoccupation withelectric restructuring has not helped the cause either, she said inan interview regarding a new GTI study on gas deregulation.

AES Corp.’s energy service arm, NewEnergy, said yesterday it hasreceived its business license as an alternative supplier ofelectricity from the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN).The company will be able to sell electricity to Nevada consumers assoon as the market is opened to competition.