Discourage

Seeking to improve market transparency and provide a better means to detect and discourage discriminatory practices, FERC last Wednesday said that it would replace a number of reporting filings currently made by the power industry with a quarterly electronic report, which the Commission believes will equalize reporting requirements for both traditional public utilities and power marketers and make information more easily available to the public.

The focal point of California’s and various other state energyderegulation plans — nonutility retail energy service providers— has been all but forgotten in the rounds of legal, regulatoryand political battles that have fallen out of skyrocketingwholesale natural gas and electricity prices this year. Althoughthe focal point of the angst has been California, the energyentrepreneurs are feeling the pinch at the retail level elsewhere,too.

Regulators can be expected to add more controls on natural gasand power risk management, which will add a layer of complexity anddiscourage new hedging operations, according to two close observersof the industry.