Disagree

The outlook for the merger of Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE) and The Williams Companies Inc. dimmed further this week as favorable tax treatment of ETE units and Williams shares was cast into doubt in an ETE regulatory filing.

In a move that could be seen as retribution for state Senate Republicans’ negotiating tactics and opposition to a proposed natural gas severance tax, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell Tuesday signed an executive order placing an immediate ban on leases for oil and gas development on any land owned and managed by the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).

While oil and natural gas producers, particularly independents, would disagree, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last Wednesday said that proposed onshore and offshore fees and taxes in the Obama administration’s budget for fiscal year (FY) 2011 “are not going to put anybody out of business.”

While oil and natural gas producers, particularly independents, would disagree, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Wednesday said that proposed onshore and offshore fees and taxes in the Obama administration’s budget for fiscal year (FY) 2011 “are not going to put anybody out of business.”

While oil and natural gas producers, particularly independents, would disagree, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Wednesday said that proposed onshore and offshore fees and taxes in the Obama administration’s budget for fiscal year (FY) 2011 “are not going to put anybody out of business.”

Industry advocates agree that a massive transition to a “hydrogen energy economy” will begin with utility companies, but they disagree on whether to start with transportation or with power generation.

FERC on Thursday finalized procedures to allow for enhanced due process for companies that disagree with the findings of staff operational audits. The new procedures will allow the subject of an operational audit to challenge an audit finding or proposed remedy before the Commission issues an order on the disputed matter in the audit.

FERC on Thursday finalized procedures to allow for enhanced due process for companies that disagree with the findings of staff operational audits. The new procedures will allow the subject of an operational audit to challenge an audit finding or proposed remedy before the Commission issues an order on the disputed matter in the audit.

The gong has sounded for the start of a widening debate in California over how to structure its electricity markets in the future. Legislative and regulatory initiatives are proposing a move to a core/noncore structure, and the stakeholders are lining up on all sides of the debate. It is not clear whether the state will opt for a regulatory, political or economic solution, or like its infamous 1996 electric restructuring law, make it a hybrid of all three.